Developers rejig to meet new demands
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Buyers shift focus to completed houses away from flood-hit areas
Property firms have revised their business models in terms of both location and project launch this year, as many home-buyers are shifting their purchasing behaviour in favour of ready-to-move-into housing in locations not susceptible to flooding.
Vittakarn Chandavimol, Asian Property Development deputy chief marketing officer, strategic marketing, yesterday said the severe flooding that hit greater Bangkok late last year meant many customers now wanted to buy homes in areas outside of those that were inundated.
Some customers have now also decided against buying detached housing located in the suburbs, favouring townhouses or condominiums located close to the central business district instead.
Popular locations with strong demand include Srinakarin Road, the On Nuj Ring Road and Sukhumvit, he said.
“They are also interested in buying ready-to-move-into residences in projects under construction,” he added.
To support the strong demand, Asian Property Development has launched its first marketing campaign of the year, “AP Ready to Move In”, offering a special promotion for 20 projects in Bangkok worth Bt1.5 billion combined.
The projects comprise condominiums under the Address 11 brand, worth Bt116 million; townhouses under the Baan Klang Muang, Biztown and The Pleno brands, worth Bt959 million; and detached housing projects under The Palazzo, The City and The Centro brands, worth Bt470 million.
The campaign runs until the end of next month. “We target sales of Bt1 billion from this campaign,” said Vittakarn.
Meanwhile, Normboon has introduced a town-home project on Srinakarin Road.
The Bt540-million Le Nextra is being been brought onto the market because the company sees strong residential demand in the area, which is located far from last year’s flood-hit parts of outer Bangkok.
Normboon managing director Mana Jiranapakul said the property market had declined last year, due to rising interest rates and the severe flooding.
The floods also persuaded many customers to switch strategy and opt for locations that were not submerged by flood water.
He said Srinakarin Road had seen strong demand for this reason. As a result, the company decided to launch two projects, with the first, Le Nextra, set to hit the market in May.
The second project, worth Bt460 million and set for the same location on Srinakarin, will be for detached housing. The launch is scheduled for the second half of the year.
“We believe our [Le Nextra] project will get positive feedback from customers seeking a home [in an area] that was not hit by floods,” he added.
Le Nextra is the company’s third residential project, the others being Le Nakarin and Le Neo Srinakarin, both launched in 2010.
Normboon recorded revenue Bt320 million last year and targets growth of 10 per cent this year.
Meanwhile, Ananda Develop-ment next month will launch four condominium projects worth Bt10 billion combined and located close to the Skytrain and underground rail routes.
The company is focusing on housing demand in areas located close to mass transit and far from zones susceptible to flooding.
