Property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has advised property owners in Phuket to carefully inspect their properties, following the 4.3-magnitude earthquake that hit on Monday.
Most of the luxury resorts and residential properties on the island are following safety standards but a number of homes were slightly damaged by the quake. Authorities are expected to release official figures once inspections have been carried out.
While none of the 18 resort developments managed by JLL were affected, the company expects the quake to have a short-term impact on property transactions there.
“The good news is the Phuket quake was of a relatively small Richter scale and most of the luxury resort and residential properties in the costal destinations are believed to be constructed to high standard,” said Dexter Norville, Head of JLL Phuket.
However, property owners and managers must perform inspections, regardless of whether the property is low-rise or low-density, he added.
After an earthquake, they should initially inspect the building’s major structures like beams, columns and shear walls. Municipal civil engineers and surveyors usually conduct such inspections.
Norville added that residential buildings must provide a set of evacuation plans on incidents other than fire and inform residents of such procedures.
Meanwhile, JLL is still studying the possible effects of the recent earthquake on Phuket’s property market. “But for now, the recent quake is unlikely to have a long-term effect on the Phuket real estate market as the Richter scale was small and the damage has been minimal and restricted to old properties close to the epicentre,” said Norville.
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