This week real estate news from Thailand reported promising messages in many areas of the industry. Despite the political unrest that is still taking over the country, the real estate industry is showing signs of improvement for luxury properties, high yields for downtown Bangkok condos and land, rapid development growth in previously less-populated areas, and even signs of growth with the niche elderly housing market.
The Ratchada-Ladprao area in Bangkok has emerged as a prime location for both commercial and residential real estate. Over the past five years it has seen dramatic changes and growth, which is likely due to factors such as convenient access to the mass transit system and good connectivity to major city roads. Supporting evidence includes the fact that selling prices have increased by approximately 8 percent per annum, reflecting an increase in development expenses, including land price, labour and material costs. For commercial properties, the average rental rate in this area was about THB 495 per square metre at the end of last year, an increase from THB 465 per square metre in 2012.
Within Bangkok, downtown condos and houses are currently considered to be some of the smartest real estate investments to be made in Thailand, as CBRE recently reported that in 2013 residential rentals and property sales prices in down town Bangkok rose for the first time in 20 years while condominium yields remained stable at 5.3%.
The depreciation of the Thai Baht due to political unrest has caused a spike in sales of luxury properties to foreign investors, who are capitalizing on the fact that they now have about ten percent more buying power than they had in Q3 of 2013. The luxury property sector is actually doing so well right now that the demand is exceeding the supply, reported The Nation.
New long-stay resorts catered toward senior living are starting to emerge as a trend in Thailand. Currently, Europeans, Australians, Americans and Japanese who fall into a high income bracket are among the target demographic for these high end developments. One such resort, Absolute Living (Thailand) Co., in Pattaya aims to capitalize on this business potential, with the recent opening of the Long Lake Hillside Resort.
