According to Bangkok-based developer Sansiri, the Thai property market is picking up slightly due to foreign investment.
“Selling to foreigners is a big business,” commented president Srettha Thavisin.
“If we don’t take care of them, then word of mouth is going to be a big destroyer for us.”
Sansiri is planning to grow its sales to international buyers by a whopping 75% in 2017. In real terms, this would see an increase of investment from Bt5.7bn in 2016 to Bt10bn this year.
The company has claimed that it could sell even more units to foreign buyers if it wasn’t for the legal restrictions that are in place – there are currently limits on the percentages of apartment freeholds that can be held by foreigners in any Thai condominium complex.
The major attraction to Bangkok property has been price, with many international investors being drawn to the city by affordable units that still offer a good rental yield.
“Affordability is key,” added Thavisin.
“People from Hong Kong and China see this as small change.”
About 37% of international demand in 2016 came from Hong Kong and 31% from China, with buyers from Singapore, Taiwan and Japan also making an impact.
However, sales to Thai nationals are not anticipated to grow much more than the Bt28bn recorded in 2016, and experts are warning officials to keep up essential work on infrastructure projects if they don’t want international investment to go the same way.
“The local market is stable but badly in need of an infrastructure boost.”
