While the entire Thai economy has seen better days, at least in terms of the real estate market it appears that 2015 will be a better year. Land & Houses PCL, considered the largest home builder in the country has officially announced its 2015 budget which is considerably higher than the one for 2014. It is made of 12 billion baht or around $366 million, which represents a whopping 70 percent increase.
Land & Houses PCL, which is partially (16 percent) owned by the Singapore based GIC Private Ltd expects the entire property market in Thailand to rise this year, betting on an 8 percent increase in home sales alone.
Thailand’s economy has registered numerous hits and a general sense of instability due to the political situation. Most property developers in the country have either cancelled or mostly delayed their projects, waiting for an end to the unrest and it appears that 2015 is the year those project will come back into play. The military junta, which is currently running the country, has announced a series of major infrastructure projects, which aim to get the economy, and in turn the housing sector back on a growing trend.
The significant increase in Land & Houses’ budget is simply another indicator that the private sector is responding to the new found confidence in the market. In fact, most analysts said they expect the Thai real estate market, which makes up close to 6 percent of the country’s GDP, to grow at a faster rate than the economy.
Experts lauded the big investments in infrastructure, saying that it was just the thing needed to create a feeling of stability and confidence for the private sector. The new wave of construction should be felt throughout the country. Regions like the capital city or the tourist rich area of Koh Samui, might see higher growth due to both local and foreign investors and demand, even though the condominium market is still highly speculative according to real estate specialists.
Growth would be a welcomed change as the entire housing and condo sector registered a significant decrease of 3.2 percent in 2014.
Out of Land & Houses’ budget for 2015, 8 million baht are expected to go into land acquisition, while 4 million baht will be spent on properties for rent according to Adisom Thananan-narapool, the company’s Managing Director. She also added that the company will rely on single detached housing for 2015 and less on the very popular condominiums which where a major part of the real estate market a few years back.