Demand for Bangkok Condo Units Expected to Absorb Supply In One Year

As the political turmoil has slowed and nearly ceased in Thailand, the condo market has already seen significant upward trends and is expected to maintain a very high demand, despite the large number of available units that will be completed by the end of the year.

The managing director of the consultancy Plus Property Co, Poomipak Julmanichoti said that while during the political situation the company sold three resale condos every other day, they are now selling three every day. This is just an indication of a city-wide trend that is expected to continue until at least 2015.

In the early months of 2014, negative sentiments of the property market as a whole caused many developers to freeze projects and dampened sales industry-wide. However, the second half of the year is predicted to attract enough buyers that the entire supply of condos (94,718 condos available in the first half of the year) will be absorbed within a year.

A telling sign of the current state of the market is that the average prices of condos rose by 7%  in the first half of the year, from 88k to 94k baht per square meter. The most popular and promising zones for condo investments include Thong Lor, Phrom Pong and Rathathewi. The neighborhood surrounding BTS stations that had the highest price per square meter are Ratchadamri, Ratchathewi, Prom Pong and Surasak, all costing between 200k and 270k per square meter.

The highest take up rates were seen in the central business district of Bangkok, at an average of 74% around the main hub of the BTS Siam/ Silom interchange. The Silom-Sathon-Rama IV was the highest at 84% and Siam Square –Ratchathewi-Phaya Thai at 74%.