Floods to dampen housing demand

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 01, 2011
Floods to dampen housing demand

Kasikornbank expects mortgage loan demand to drop by Bt20 billion in the last quarter of this year, as floods kill the appetite for new home.


 Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, first senior vice president of the bank, based his forecast from the expectation that buyers of 50,000 residential units in the Greater Bangkok, with average price of Bt2 million, would cancel their booking or delay their purchases.
 Bangkok Commercial Asset Management President Sumeth Maneewattana also foresees a decline in demand for second-hand homes.
 "Demand for first and second-hand homes could remain sluggish next year," he said.
 To Sumeth, the floods affected a large number of individuals. Many are losing their jobs following the closure of indsutrial factories, which could take 4-5 months to resume operations.