Thailand property: Bangkok condos ride domestic demand

Last year saw Bangkok’s condo market bounce back 25% from 2008, during which quarterly presales slipped steadily down to just 3.15 billion baht by major listed companies in the final quarter.

Presales for the last quarter of 2009 shot up 380% from this trough to 15.14 billion baht, according to research by Raimon Land.

The upswing was strongest for low-priced condos – those priced less 5 million baht – and demand was increasingly propelled by Thais, with only 8.8% of sales going to foreign buyers.

But although cheaper units provided 51.3% of last year’s sales, mid- and high-end condomiums from well-known developers shot up 133% last year from 2008.

Overall, just 16% of completed condo units were left unsold at the end of 2009.

Looking ahead, Raimon Land’s vice-president, Simon Derville, expects the market to pick up further in 2010, to beat last year’s total of 22 new condo projects.

‘A very competitive year in anticipated in 2010, with at least a similar number of new launches to 2009,’ he told the Bangkok Post.

The resale market also gathered pace in 2009, especially in Bangkok‘s ever-popular Sukhumvit Road area.