The number of secondhand residences for sale in Thailand declined by 3.3 percent as of the third quarter of 2022. According to the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), an increase in activity across the segment is the cause of this as buyers rushed to close deals before year’s end.
“The decline (in secondhand residences) could possibly be attributed to an increase in second-hand home transfers during the period,” Khun Vichai Viratkapan, REIC Acting Director-General, told the Bangkok Post. “The number of second-hand homes transferred in the third quarter of 2022 increased from the first and second quarters. It was also 15 percent higher than the third quarter of 2021.”
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Many homebuyers were driven by a sense of urgency with the Thai government’s easing of LTV limits expiring in 2022 in addition to transfer and mortgage fees going back to their original rates. These programs offered significant savings to those purchasing a property which may have led to increased activity.
“They included a cut in transfer and mortgage fees from 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively, to 0.01 percent each for a unit priced at THB3 million or less which just covered used homes. Another was an expiration of the easing of the LTV limits,” Khun Vichai stated. “The property measures were extended another year yet with a change which is a cut in the transfer fee from 2 percent to 1 percent, no longer 0.01 percent. But the impact on the property market will be the end of the easing of the LTV limits.”
REIC data found supply of secondhand residences in Thailand was concentrated towards the lower end of the pricing scale. Units priced at THB1 million and below, THB3-5 million and THB2-3 million were the largest price categories.
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