Homebuilder AP plans on launching 65 new residential projects in 2022, the single highest amount this year. Despite the rising cost of both building materials and labor as well as ongoing challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the developer is confident in the real estate market as a whole.
“Despite many challenges including the pandemic, a higher inflation rate and cost of development, housing demand remains strong, particularly for low-rise houses. The condo market is gradually picking up but will not be hot as the past,” Khun Vittakarn Chandavimol, AP Chief of Corporate Strategy and Creation, explained to the Bangkok Post.
Over the course of 2022, AP expects to launch 29 townhome projects, 26 single-detached housing developments, three high-rise condos, two low-rise condos and five low-rise projects in Thailand’s provinces. The total value of these new launches is THB78 billion.
According to the homebuilder, the first six months of this year will not see much of a change. However, it believes activity will pickup as Thailand enters the third quarter and the economy turns the corner.
“The market in the first half of 2022 will remain unchanged from last year, but we expect it will improve in the second half as people become familiar with a new way of life with a pandemic and an economic recovery kicks in,” Khun Vittakarn stated.
Related: Thai developers announce new project launch plans for 2022
AP joins Supalai as developers who are returning to the Bangkok condo market. New launches hit a 15-year low in 2021, but activity picked up during the final three months. Colliers International Thailand found that more than 7,000 units were introduced in the fourth quarter, a significant increase from the previous three quarters.
The three high-rise condos to be launched by the homebuilder are joint venture projects with Japanese firm Mitsubishi Estate. These are slated for the Rama IV, On Nut and Lat Phrao areas.
However, it is low-rise housing in Bangkok and its suburbs where demand is strongest. The trend bears out in AP’s plans to launch 50 new projects in this sector. More than 70 percent of the developer’s revenue in 2021 was derived from low-rise houses.