The condominium market in Bangkok has recently attracted strong interest from overseas investors particularly from Asia, according to a recent report released by Bangkok-based property agency Plus Property.
Enquiries from foreign buyers, mostly from Singapore and Hong Kong, have increased more than 15 percent in the past two months and could make up 20 percent of new condo sales in Q3, said Anukul Rathpitaksanti, managing director of Plus Property.
“Sales of new and second-hand condominiums through our company have topped THB50 million (US$1.67 million) so far. Most of the Hong Kong and Singapore buyers, who are targeting Bangkok, believe that their home markets are overheated. They’re also worried about the moves their respective governments take to curb rising property prices,” said Anukul.
Hong Kong property prices rose 30 percent in 2009 and the government recently restricted personal mortgages by imposing higher deposited ratios for second and third real estate investments.
The Singapore government, on the other hand, has made it a requirement for developers to charge progress payments for new launch projects selling off plan or any condo units being sold during the construction process.
Singaporean and Hong Kong buyers also prefer to buy in Bangkok, since they are limited to the bottom end of their home markets, while they can get into the top end condos in Bangkok, added Anukul.
“The average price of a condo unit in Hong Kong is THB400,000 (US$13,342) psm and a unit in Singapore is not far behind that figure while in Bangkok, buyers can buy a unit from quality developer at THB80,000 (US$2,668) psm,” he said.