The Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) has announced the air transport statistics for June 2010.

Total international passenger disembarkations at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport were 1,013,782 in June 2010 compared to 994,205 in June 2009, an increase of 2% but this represents a 19% decline on June 2008 disembarkations. Domestic passenger disembarkations at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports were 394,278 in June 2010 compared to 431,514 in June 2009, a 9% decline on both June 2009 and 2008 disembarkations.

International disembarkations at Phuket’s airport were 94,681 in June 2010 compared to 64,451 in June 2009, a 47% increase. This represents a 23% increase on June 2008 figures. Domestic passenger disembarkations were 102,505 compared to 108,270 in June 2009, a decline of 5% on June 2009 and a 9% decline on June 2008 figures.

CB Richard Ellis manages more than 2.5 billion sq. ft. (232.3 million sq.m.) of commercial property globally. This portfolio is more than 850 million sq. ft. (79 million sq.m.) larger than the #2 firm, which manages 1.65 billion sq. ft. (153.3 million sq.m.).

In Thailand, CBRE manages over 6.4 million sq.m. of grade A offices, world class villas, luxury condominiums and apartments, retail in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui such as Energy Complex which is an energy saving development and applies LEED, an internationally recognized green building certification system, for new construction.  Some of other properties under CBRE’s management are Athenee Tower, CyberWorld Tower, Exchange Tower, The Met, The Infinity, The Rajdamri, Royal Residence Park, Vasu The Residence, Samui Park Avenue, Royal Phuket Marina, Laeng Singh Villas, The Heights, Layan Estate.   

Energy Complex

CBRE Executive Managing Director, Asia Pacific Asset Services, Mr. Sam Cuccurullo said CBRE was the leading commercial property manager in the Asia Pacific region, with 800 million sq. ft. (74.3 million sq.m.) under management.

“We have now created a global Asset Services Executive Committee and we are starting to create initiatives around strategic client accounts,” Mr. Cuccurullo said.

“Going forward one of our primary targets in Asia Pacific is regional clients and premier buildings in major CBD locations.”

During what some fear may only be a lull in sporadic civil unrest, a Bangkok commercial property services adviser gives tips that could ward off potential calamity.

Strong fears of more violence breaking out on Bangkok streets have led to many foreign companies identifying buildings farther away from the central business district to use in future emergencies, according to Nithipat Tongpun,executive director of CB Richard Ellis.

Although those working within the country realise that the situation is probably manageable, top executives at the overseas head offices of multinational and other foreign companies in Thailand are still disturbed by the images they saw of the violence in Bangkok in April and May.

“Many companies have asked us to prepare information on what is available in the northern part of the city and to the east,” said Mr Nithipat. He added that Thai companies generally are not on the hunt for backup space, partly because many local businesses own their own buildings, while smaller operations might work out of homes.

“For those who have called and those we’ve held discussions with, our advice is that they should quickly work this out now because if something happens they could then proceed swiftly.”

He said companies were mainly looking at office buildings along Chaeng Watthana Road in the northern zone and the Bang Na area in the east. They are not focusing on areas such as Ratchadaphisek Road that are seen to be a bit too close to the central area that was hit by violence in May.

“For example, if you had moved to Sukhumvit when the unrest broke out in Ratchaprasong, you might have had to move a second time,” said Mr Nithipat.

“I have seen equal demand for Bang Na and Chaeng Watthana,” said Mr Nithipat,and in fact some companies are looking to rent backup offices at both Chaeng Watthana and Bang Na as this would make it easy for staff who live in either of the two zones to get to work.

Buildings where companies are looking to rent backup offices do not necessarily have to be Grade A, but they do need to have full facilities and be convenient to reach close to train lines or the expressway.

Bang Na is near Suvarnabhumi Airport,but that doesn’t give it an edge over Chaeng Watthana because the focus is more on access for the ordinary worker.

Noting that computer file servers are the very heart of a business, Mr Nithipat said it was important for companies to make sure that the servers at their current office are able to function no matter what happens.

“The backup generators that most buildings have are for the common areas and not for tenants. Only some buildings have prepared generators specially for tenants, and this is good for those buildings. From now on tenants will be looking to see whether the building has a spare generator for them to rent in an emergency,” he said.

“Here at CB Richard Ellis [at All Seasons Place], when the troubles erupted our server was in this building but we couldn’t get in.So we moved to Bitec, and were able to reach our server from there. We were lucky power to this building wasn’t cut so we were able to use our server normally, but even if power had been cut, All Seasons Place has a separate backup generator for tenants.”

He said that only five or six buildings in the city have a spare generator for tenants,but some buildings are able to share extra power from the generators they have installed for their common areas with their tenants. In addition, big companies such as banks, financial firms and stock traders usually already own their own generators.

Mr Nithipat warned that companies that have two offices should make sure that the electricity supply to both doesn’t come from the same grid. There are several power grids in Bangkok and some overlap in the inner city.

“Careful thought has to be given to the main location. Some companies have rented space in two to three buildings within the same district or neighbouring ones and when something happens such as the recent unrest,they can’t do anything at all.”

Mr Nithipat said that landlords should ensure that there is a contact person on each floor to help companies and their staff get out of the building in case of dire trouble.Landlords should also make sure that there is a secure fence around the perimeter of the building to slow down protesters who might want to break in.

It is also imperative to have a single point of access, with guards in place to exchange cards with all visitors.

“Right nowmany buildings are installing turnstiles – that’s where you press the card to get in. I think this is very important and tenants are also seeing it to be important.”

Buildings that have three to four access points, some of which allow tenants and visitors to get to the lifts without passing guards, are clearly compromising security.

“Tenants and landlords have to know where the visitor is going. Tenants usually have a card, but we don’t know anything about visitors and we have to find out,” said Mr Nithipat.

“It is essential for tenants to look into this,because when it comes to terrorism, there will be ups and downs continuously from now on.”

He also advised landlords that in addition to ensuring that tenants have adequate power backup, they themselves also must have sufficient emergency support because they hold vital information about tenants which could be needed in certain situations.

Following the political crisis in May, the Bangkok market seems to be back on track in project sales. However, what is happening in the southern resort markets such as Phuket is not as clear to the market,

At present, the majority of transactions in Phuket are concentrated in the lower-end, for example, inland condominiums with easy access to the beach. This affordable market segment continues to generate consistent demand from locals and foreigners with limited budget.

On the other hand, there is a market gap for mid-range products. With a combination of the fragile global recovery and Thai politics, there is a need to re-assess market trends. Buyers’ profile and demand for resort properties have evolved in terms of product requirements and budget. There is a gap for mid-priced quality properties with smaller unit sizes.

In the high-end villa market, there will always be ongoing demand for prime ocean-front properties, but there is also a supply limitation due to lack of prime sites. Prime ocaean-front land prices have held up firmly during the past two years. A recent transaction of a 40-rai ocean-front site near Amanpuri reportedly sold at Bt18 million per rai (a price not far off form peak prices in 2007) clearly demonstrates this.

Product in the new cycle will evolve based on these changing market factors.

In terms of buyers’ profile, Hong Kong and Singapore remain the key markets. Buyers from UK and Europe formed a significat portion of the market, but the pool of buyers from these markets has reduced with weaker European currencies and the global crisis.

The group of active foreign buyers in Phuket are those well acquainted with Thailand. Foreigners new to the market tend to hold off investments for now due tho the uncertain political climate.

On the development side, Thai developers are playing a more active role in Phuket, Many already have strategic land holdings in Phuket and they will be the driving force for resort-market development in the next few years.

With the right fundamentals, Phuket has continued to hold firm on prices driven by limited supply and maintained its leading resort market position backed by its enduring appeal amongst investors. But although the market has shown resilience to politics and gradual improvement in residential sales as global markets recover, we should also look at what regional neighbours are doing.

Bali is one of Phuket’s growing competitors with a direct foreign tourist arrival of 2.2 million in 2009. However, Phuket remains the bigger value market as supply of residential projects in bali is mord limited and there are fewer large-scal projects and choices for purchasers.

Vietnam also has an emerging coastal market in Da Nang and Nha Trang. Development in Da Nang began in early 2000 and currently has an active second home market mainly driven by local buyers. Prices in Da Nang are not for off from Phuket, but with a product quality that is still not comparable.

Lastly, Cambodia’s coastline offers significant potential with superior beach quality and natural resources compared to Thailand on private islands such as Koh Rong. Pioneering investors entering the market now will enjoy entry prices and significant long-term capital gain.

While these resort markets have a hill to climb before reaching Phuket’s status, Thailand should not underestimate their potential. One area Thailand lags behind is in foreign investment policies and ownership structrue. Vietnam offers 50-to 70-year lease terms, Malaysia newly emerging market like Cambodia is offering 99 years. Phuket undoubtedly has an enduring appeal, but it should continually develop to keep in line with the competition.

สัมมนาฟรี  กรุณาลงทะเบียนสำรองที่นั่งล่วงหน้า  ที่นั่งจำนวนจำกัด

ดาวน์โหลดแบบฟอร์มลงทะเบียนงานสัมมนา

ติดต่อสอบถามข้อมูลเพิ่มเติมที่ คุณ จิติมา โทร 02 654-1111 ต่อ 608 หรือ อีเมล์  jitima.sindhusaard@cbre.co.th

The first target markets are Vietnam and Cambodia because of their proximity, level of development and the local competition is not as well developed as the more mature markets such as Malaysia.

There are a wide range of opportunities in the Vietnamese and Cambodian markets from city centre office, retail, residential and hotel developments through to the growing resort markets in these countries as well as industrial estate opportunities.

Entering new markets is always a challenge.  Rules and regulations governing property development and ownership are different.  The dynamics of each of the property sectors in these countries is also different to Thailand.

Accurate information on regulations, supply, demand, pricing, competitors and prospects for each property sector is essential for a Thai developer to succeed in a new market.

CBRE is well placed to advise Thai clients on how to enter these markets.

CBRE established offices in Vietnam in 2003 and now has over 200 real estate professionals operating out of offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Danang.

The research, consulting and marketing teams have already worked with a large number of overseas developers who have successfully built projects in both the main cities and resort areas.

CBRE established and office in Phnom Penh in 2009 and have been advising clients on the Cambodian market for many years before the office opened.  Mr. David Simister, Chairman of CBRE Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam advised the Australian Government on the acquisition of a new site for their Phnom Penh Embassy in 2005.

“There is very little publicly available information on the Vietnamese or Cambodian markets.  CBRE sells and leases properties in these countries everyday which is why we have the best market data on actual transactions and future supply.  This enables us to provide our clients with the best market data giving them the best knowledge to enable them to succeed,” said Mr. James Pitchon, head of research and consulting for CBRE Thailand.

There are opportunities for Thai developers to acquire or build properties in both Cambodia and Vietnam but accurate market research will be critical in order to succeed.

1. The whole of Thailand (All airports managed by AOT)
2. Bangkok international airports Suvarnabhumi and Dong Muang
3. Phuket International airport

We have analysed the impact of

1. The December 2004 Tsunami
2. The 2008 Lehman Bankruptcy
3. The November 2008 Bangkok airports closures
4. The 2009 Bangkok April Riots
5. The 2010 Bangkok Turmoil

Some of these events were spread close together and others more spread out.

All events apart from the Lehman bankruptcy were local.

International arrivals in Bangkok appeared to take only 6 months to recover from the multiple events of the global financial crisis, the Bangkok airport closures and April 2009 Bangkok riots.

The impact of the 2004 Tsunami was far more severe partly because of the physical caused to many hotel properties and the overall death toll of tourists. Even so the recovery took only 14 months.

The graphs below show the impact of these events on overall numbers and Phuket.

Despite the ongoing political instability prices for condominiums in Bangkok have not dropped – and in some cases they’ve been rising as demand from local buyers continues to drive the sector.

Research from CB Richard Ellis (Thailand) showed the majority of condominium sales during the first quarter of 2010 came from Thai nationals – not only as end users but also as buy-to-rent investors.

The Market Focus report noted that property developers are almost all focusing on new launches of one bedroom units. The amount of unsold developer inventory in recently completed projects and projects to be completed in 2010, together with resales prior to completion, will slow the launch of new real estate projects for 2- and 3-bedroom units downtown.

“Developers are going to focus on smaller units to keep the total price down, but there appears to be having been a move away from studios to one-bedroom units,” the report concluded. “There was a significant increase in numbers of new projects launched in peripheral areas, and in many cases there were strong sales.”

The report found the average achieved resale price of units in completed upscale and above units increased by 18.4 per cent year-on-year. The majority of new supply in Q1 consisted of one-bedroom units, followed by two-bedroom types.

Other key findings of the report were:

• During Q1 2010, the total supply of downtown Bangkok condominiums reached 67,176 units (up 3.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 15.8 per cent year-on-year) an increase of 2,109 units (six projects).
• During Q1 2010, the average asking price for an off-plan condominium unit (high-end and above) in downtown Bangkok was THB156,460 per sqm (US$4,835), an increase of 19.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter or 3 per cent year-on-year.
• A total of 1,759 units in four projects in the downtown area were launched during Q1 2010, with the majority of new units targeting the high-end market.
• The average achieved re-sale price of units in completed upscale and above buildings increased by 18.4 per cent year-on-year to THB121,805 (US$3,760) per sqm. Central Lumpini was the area with the highest average achieved resales price level (THB143,338 per sqm).

From the recent events last month, our property management team has learned invaluable lessons from direct experience in managing 12 buildings in the red zone, seven of which were at the centre of the riot areas.

Every company is concerned about staff safety, but one profession that has to continue its duty to provide security for the buildings and occupants is property management, regardless of the situation.

Only a few staff were voluntarily on duty to man the buildings amid the clamour of bombs and gunfire and smoke from fires in nearby buildings and the uncertainties of what would happen next.

The recent events have raised security concerns for both commercial and residential buildings. Many residential buildings do not have proper gates to the compound to prevent intruders. For commercial buildings, an open gate design is often adopted, but the problem lies at the building entrances, which are mostly glass doors without shuters.

A measure most commercial buildings have implemented is to control elevators not to open on ground floors.

However, it is clear that most properties are not well prepared for such riots, as no one imagined it would happen in the heart of Bangkok.

Following the events, there are lessons to be learnt. Whilst buildings comply with fire-safety regulations, there are now other risks to consider.

In other parts of the world, sophisticated security measures and technology are implemented to prevent or minimise the impact from natural disasters, riots or even terrorist attacks. However, the fact is these security systems are expensive and ineffective without the right people using them.

Therefore it must be a combination between the right system and the people. Landlords must balance the security measures against investment and the standard of safety they need to provide to occupants.

From our perspective, there are three broad aspects that should be reviewed.

First, the physical control of ingress and egress. Buildings should have one main entrance that can be security-protected from outside.

An access-card control system should be effectively implemented at all access points including the main lift lobby and all car park floors.

Visitor cars should also be checked with a car park allocated separately from the occupants’ car parking area.

The building exits should also be carefully planned to allow evacuation in case of fire, explosions, natural disasters or terrorist acts. Multiple emergency exits should be available and effectively activated when necessary.

Other routine measures that are often overlooked include updating the layout and M&E plans of the building and the list of occupants/tenants and their contact details, and make this available on-and off-site.

Fire staircases and exits, CCTVs, and security and safety equipment should also be inspected on a regular basis.

The second aspect is people. Security guards and property management staff should be proactive and professionally trained to use the system and equipment and handle emergency situations beyond fire evacuation.

Occupants must also realise the importance of the measures and comply with the procedures.

The last issue is design. New security systems may not be implemented in existing buildings with design limitations, but architects, developers and all design professionals should be aware of these requirements.

The systems are best incorporated right from the start of the planning for the site, layout and structure to M&E.

All too often many buildings do not implement proper security measures for the wrong reasons such as disturbance to visitors or privacy of occupants, budget constraints or simply because of the lack of staff discipline to control or implement.

Residential building owners must assess what is more important – convenience and privacy or security.

Commercial building owners must also find a balance between allowing uncontrolled public access to building facilities and implementing measures to reduce security risks.

It remains a question of how long people will continue to be alert and aware.

But as Thais tend to forget easily, we do hope that these lessons can be learnt and remembered, as prevention is always better than a cure.

Not too long ago, property developers in Phuket were extremely optimistic about the future of the resort island and began talking in terms of a “Greater Phuket” market that included the neighbouring provinces of Phangnga and Krabi.

Sadly, the global economic crisis and local political problems have stalled this ambitious push.

David Simister, chairman of the property agency CB Richard Ellis, said recently that the still weak global economic recovery had held back the development cycle on the southern resort island with several projects on the drawing board for the west coast of Phangnga now all on hold.

“Developers haven’t dumped them, they are still waiting for the right opportunity,” he said.

However, he added that the value of end-user units and good land plots  is not so much in question with the key issue being that the number of prospective buyers has declined. “There are buyers and the sales that do take place are at good prices. It’s just that it’s not hte same volume of buyers.”

Although demand has decreased and this has led to a consolidation of the Phuket property market.

Mr Simister believes properties on the island are still a good investment, with no examples of distressed sales during the height of the global economic shakeup.

“Phuket isn’t about short-term speculation, it’s about long-term holding and a combination of use and capital appreciation.”

Rather than expanding into neighbouring provinces, the move now is toward Mai Khao beach on the northerwestern side of the island. Although some major projects were launched on the island’s easterm coast in recent years, the majority of the stock has been completed and there does not seem to be a wave of new developers undertaking projects on that side of the island.

“If I were to draw a value map. I would say the most valuable areas are probably in Surin,” says Mr Simister. “But again, you have to compare like with like. If you are comparing uninterrupted ocean view, hilltop view, promixity to the beach, all thest things will differ project to project but generally you are looking at Kamala, Surn and Bangtao as the prime strip, and values reduce as you go either farther north, east or south.”

Mr Simister says that people who want to buy property in Phuket should do so today because new developments will inevitably be more expensive. It is still a market of limited volume, because all that has happened over the past two years is absorption of property.

While certain that foreign developers will come back to the island once economic and political conditions improve, Mr Simister does not think a foreign developer is an essential ingredient to get a new project going. That has been amply illustrated by the success of Thai developers on the island.

In fact, the entry of well-heeled local developers has been a healthy counterbalance to the tendency earlier of some developers who were selling off-plan and working with minimal capital.

Mr Simister said the reason companies such as Supalai Plc, which recently launched the well-received Supalai Park@ Downtown Phuket condominium, are constructing residential buildings inland is because land for smaller bungalow developments is getting scare. As well. people who work on the island are as keen to snap up these units as those in Bangkok eager to get a condominium near a mass-transit station.

They can certainly afford to buy them because Phuket remains under any circumstances a very wealthy province.

The full consequences of the May political unrest have yet to be felt, but the demand for residences, offices and industrial properties in Bangkok just refuses to go away

It is still too early to assess the impact of the two months of civil disturbance on all types of property because the market moves far more slowly than the stock market, said James Pitchon, executive director of CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

Changes are slow even in the rental market because office tenants usually have three-year lease commitments and residential tenants are tied to year-long agreements, while retail tenants tend to hold three- to 25-year leases.

“Frankly it is too early to say what the impact will be on prices, rentals and the level of transaction activity,” he said.

However, it seems that no matter how bad the situation may look, the market does continue to move. Although the company had to move to a temporary office at the Bitec centre on the Bang Na-Trat Highway to continue functioning, CBRE concluded some transactions even in mid-May when the numbers of deaths and injuries were mounting in Bangkok. The transactions were in Bangkok and Hua Hin, and were a mixture of new sales and resales.

“So life goes on, and people are still going to need somewhere to live. They are going to need offices, they are going to need factories and they are going to continue to shop,” said Mr Pitchon.

He said that as far as the residential market is concerned, his earlier concern had been that it seemed to be approaching a level of overheating because a number of projects were sold out in the first quarter.

“Our concern now is over the [lower] demand volume, but we still believe that some of the momentum factors remain the same. For example, the desire to live next to a mass transit station.”

Although some people think projects farther into a soi will gain favour with buyers who see them as safer in light of the arson of buildings on major roads after the red shirt protest was suppressed, Mr Pitchon does not believe the market will turn this way.

“In that case, how are they going to get to work? How many buildings were burned? Come on, it has been exaggerated.

“It’s a bit like saying Londoners would never use mass transit again after the [2007 terrorist] bombings – that didn’t happen.

“I’m convinced people still want to live close to the mass transit system because of the convenience.”

It is expected that the level of speculative buying will decrease but will not die out completely. People will still be looking at property as an income-producing investment as long as interest rates on bank deposits remain low.

Turning to the office market, Mr Pitchon said that the demand has been low since 2006, both because of the domestic political situation and the global financial crisis.

“We were starting to see an economic recovery in the first quarter of 2010, but that has not yet resulted in increased demand. However, there are still people leasing new office premises.”

An emerging bright spot for this market may be when companies start reviewing their business contingency plans in the aftermath of the violence in Bangkok.

“We may see companies that have multiple locations in Bangkok choosing to locate at least one office at a greater distance from the others,” he said. “So who knows what will happen? We may see people putting a greater distance between their facilities. This could benefit locations along the BTS skytrain extension to Soi La Salle, which is expected to be operating in 2011.”

The mass transit system is the key to setting up an office a little further away from the central business district, because from the user’s point of view the physical distance covered by the train is not important. This means business facilities don’t have to be crowded into one area.

The broad picture shows that there is very little new supply coming into the office market. Only one “grade A” office, Sathon Square, will be completed this year and another, Park Venture, next year.

“There are two grade A office buildings under construction, so we will have to wait and see what will happen to demand, but we do not expect to see a significant number of companies closing.”

In the industrial land market, Mr Pitchon said the overall numbers were looking better in the first quarter following a recovery in global demand for manufactured products, but again, this has been influenced by the unrest.

“Manufacturing areas and ports were not affected by the protests, but obviously Thailand’s image has been badly damaged as a destination for investment in manufacturing.”

The hotel market suffered the most immediate impact of the unrest in Bangkok. “Hotels have to sell their rooms every night and obviously we saw the closure of a number of hotels, along with multiple travel advisories from foreign governments.”

Both Bangkok and Phuket saw arrivals improve in the first quarter of the year, with the April figures for Bangkok being similar to 2009, and the figures for Phuket better than in 2009 and 2008.

“I believe that there are many repeat visitors to Thailand who despite the turmoil and bloodshed in May have a loyalty to Thailand as a destination,” said Mr Pitchon.

“The May figures are obviously going to be very poor, but we are also now entering the low season. The big test will be how Thailand performs in the peak season at the end of the year.”

Mr Pitchon added that one of the biggest challenges in the hotel industry continues to be the amount of new room inventory, which was a problem even before the events in April and May. Should the number of tourist and business arrivals drop, this will be a tougher issue to resolve.

However, he added, even in the period immediately after the unrest there were some significant capital transactions. A major example was AIA being selected by the Stock Exchange of Thailand to buy its 9.6-rai site on Ratchadaphisek Road for 1.6 billion baht.

Two other examples were the Seacon Group’s acquisition of the 500,000 square metre Future Park Bang Khae shopping centre for 2.5 billion baht, and the sale of the Ban Taling Ngam Hotel on Koh Samui for 750 million baht.

However, it will take months to see what the effect will be on sales and letting volumes, prices and rents. We do not believe there will be a sudden a dramatic downward movement in prices or rents.

The total supply of expatriate standard apartments in downtown Bangkok increased 2.3% year on year. Occupancy was 88.2%. Rents rose in some locations such as Central Lumpini but fell in other locations.

Despite the increase in the Bangkok hotel supply, Bangkok occupancy rates and REVPAR increased but the Average daily rate decreased in quarter 1.

International Tourist Arrivals increased by 27.1% on Q1 2010. Obviously Q2 numbers will be very poor and it remains to be seen how long it will take for business and tourist arrivals to recover.

The majority of new condominium launches in the first quarter were mainly small one bedroom units.

The office market remained weak. There was no increase in supply. Take up grew by 17,481 square metres. Grade A CBD rents fell by 3.8% year on year.

Retail Occupancy increased to 93.4%. Rents remained at similar levels. A number of shopping centres were closed in Central Bangkok for much of April and May.

882 Rai (349 acres) of SILPs were sold on industrial parks and estates in Q1 2010. This was an increase 891% y-o-y.

There was 175% increase in townhouse completions on quarter on quarter but developer built single detatched house completions fell by 74% quarter on quarter.

Housing

In Q1 2010 we saw a decrease of 20.5% Y-o-Y in SDH land allocation permits from the Land Department a drop from 760 to 604 for the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. In Bangkok the majority of land allocation permits were located in the northern and eastern zones due to the completion of the Airport Rail Link (ALR) which is scheduled to be fully operational by July 2010. In Q1 2010 there were 26 projects in Bangkok Metropolitan Area (BMR) that received land allocation permits.

23 % of the construction of the SRT Light Red Line (Bangsue – Taling Chan) has been completed. Furthermore, there has also been visible progress on the MRT Purple Line (Bangyai – Bangsue) progressive. This will increase the demand for the projects around western area but the main impact will be on completion of these lines.

Overall sales performance of TH projects also improved. All segments for townhouses and SDH have sold over half of their units, while most of newly launched projects have an average of 20%-40% sold of total units.

This is an extract from Bangkok Overall MarketView Q1 2010, click to download the full report.