Pruksa vying for upcountry market
Leading property firm Pruksa Real Estate is aiming for revenue of Bt5 billion from upcountry by 2017 after launching new housing projects worth Bt3.5 billion in Phuket, Ayutthaya, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Pathom and Chon Buri provinces this year.
Company director and chief business officer Piya Prayong told a news conference yesterday after the grand opening of the Bt1-billion Baan Pruksa Nara in Ayutthaya that Pruksa planned to launch an average of three to five upcountry projects per year. This is meant to boost growth in its revenue from outside Greater Bangkok by 5-10 per cent annually.
"We target gaining about a 10-per-cent share of the total Bt50-billion upcountry market, or Bt5 billion worth, by 2017," he said.
Piya added that this was part of its business strategy to build its revenue to Bt100 billion by 2017, Bt60 billion from the domestic market and the rest from overseas.
Currently, the company has five projects upcountry worth a total of Bt3.5 billion. These are the Bt1-billion Baan Pruksa Nara in Ayutthaya province, Bt800-million Baan Pruksa Nara in Chon Buri, Bt810-million Baan Pruksa Nara in Khon Kaen, Bt400-million Baan Pruksa in Nakhon Pathom, and the Bt500-million Baan Pruksa Ville project in Phuket.
The company expects presales of Bt2 billion from upcountry this year.
"We believe that our presales and total revenue will achieve target this year because our [upcountry] customers are not waiting for the government to launch its financial package for first homes," Piya said.
He added that about 10 per cent its customers in Bangkok and its suburbs had delayed their decisions to take possession of their homes as they waited to see the government's zero-interest policy, but its upcountry customers were not as interested in this and were ready to transfer.
The company also expects presales of Bt3 billion next year, generating revenue of Bt2 billion. It will launch about three or four residential projects upcountry worth between Bt2 billion and Bt3 billion in 2012, he said.
The company also is looking into launching projects in new locations. They include Nakhon Ratchasima, Ratchaburi, Chiang Mai, Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan provinces.
"We set aside an average of 5 per cent of our annual investment budget of between Bt7 billion and Bt8 billion to buy undeveloped land upcountry," he said.
Piya added that demand upcountry was growing strongly, especially for detached houses and townhouses priced between Bt1 million and Bt5 million. That matched with its product designs under two brands, Baan Pruksa Nara, which is single-family houses, and townhouses under the Baan Pruksa Ville brand.
