Bangkok’s top-end property and real estate sector is dominated by Thai buyers and investors, with 81 percent of the top 100 purchases by value seen by one real estate firm being made by local buyers.
Real estate firm CBRE Thailand said that buyers of high-end property in Bangkok – those with prices above THB 40 million and rising to close to THB 250 million – some 73 percent were for condominiums with the remainder being landed property.
Interestingly, 62 percent were buying high-end properties in Bangkok for their own use while the remaining 38 percent were buying for investment purposes.
The company’s research also noted that three- and four-bedroom units, together with penthouses, accounted for only 4 percent of the total downtown market, yet it again reiterated there is real demand underpinned by these end-users.
Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, Managing Director of CBRE Thailand, told Dot Property Group: “The analysis is based on CBRE’s top 100 residential transactions, which were concentrated in the prime downtown locations in Bangkok, including Silom/Sathorn, Central Lumpini and Sukhumvit.
“Given the value of these transactions, the analysis also looked exclusively at the top end of the market therefore is not a representation of the overall market.
“What is clear is that an increasingly number of buyers are purchasing for investment in these locations as they believe in the capital appreciation potential.”
Aliwassa added that in this segment of the market, buyers are generally cash-rich and can afford to transfer without taking a mortgage. However, a number of these cash-rich buyers do opt for a mortgage as well when it makes financial sense to leverage.”