Resale condos offer much better bargains than new ones, says developer

Anukul Ratpitaksanti, managing director of Plus Property, said the average selling price of units in new condominium projects had risen sharply. High-rise condo projects in the vicinity of the train services and those located in prime areas such as waterfronts had an average launch price of Bt235,000 per square metre during 2014-16. Price growth exceeded 10 per cent per year. The Chao Phraya River waterfront zone that stretches from Phra Pinklao Bridge to Rama 3 Bridge had the highest launch price, at an average of Bt366,000 per square metre. This represented a growth of 44 per cent over the past three years. The CBD zone came second in average launch price, which is currently in excess of Bt200,000 per square metre. Within this group, the Phrom Phong-Thong Lor zone boasts an average launch price of Bt325,000 per square metre, and a price growth of roughly 25 per cent per year; the Phloenchit-Chitlom-Asok zone has an average launch price of Bt278,000 per square metre, and an average price growth of 14 per cent per year; The Ratchathewi-Phya Thai zone has an average launch price of Bt255,000 per square metre, and an average price growth of 15 per cent per year.
The Thai economy is showing signs of improving. The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board has announced an economic growth figure of 3.3 per cent for the first quarter of 2017. Public sector investment in infrastructure, such as investment in the various electric train lines, remains the driver for growth. Private sector investment is expected to improve from last year due to windfall from public sector investment in infrastructure projects, which are seeing commencement of construction and budget disbursement. There has been greater consumer confidence since the beginning of the year, resulting in consumer spending starting to pick up. This is beneficial for both new and resale projects within the real estate market. 
Currently, developers are increasingly focusing on projects penetrating the higher-end market, as this group of customers still has purchasing power and has not been significantly affected by the increased stringency in loan issuance by financial institutions. At the same time, the prices of land in Bangkok have risen sharply, resulting in new projects having higher launch prices. The resale market, therefore, becomes an option that is gaining more interest at present.