Sales of newly launched condominium
projects of all grades also slowed.
Buyers, even in the upper-end segment,
have become much more cautious and
selective. Out of seven new
condominium projects launched in the
downtown area, only Na Vara Residence
and Urbitia Thonglor Station were sold
out. Other projects in downtown and
newly launched midtown/suburban
projects achieved only around 30%
sales rate in Q1 2016.
Continuing from 2015, this year will
also be a major stress test for the
Bangkok condominium market with the
peak supply of over 61,000
midtown/suburban condominium units
expected to be completed as the
construction of many condominium
projects have been delayed from last
year. The key factor remains how many
end-users will be able to get a mortgage
loan and how many investors will be
able to either resell before completion
or go ahead with transfer if they cannot
resell.
In addition to the government stimulus
package announced in October 2015, on
March 22 2016, the government
approved the “Baan Pracha Rat” project
aiming to ease the stress in the
residential market from the tightening
mortgage criteria, especially in the
lower-end segment. The project
includes THB 30 billion of prefinancing
loans to developers and THB
40 billion of post-financing loans to
low- or unstable income first time
home buyers who buy a residential unit
valued less than THB 1.5 million but
cannot get a mortgage loan.