New city plan may drag down land prices in CBDs next year, seminar told
Land prices in Bangkok's central business districts will drop if the new city plan becomes effective next year, Real Estate Information Centre director-general Samma Kitsin told a seminar yesterday.
He said the draft plan would change the zones for development of high-rise residential buildings following population density and the city's expansion.
The draft also limits construction of high-rises, including commercial buildings and condominiums, to wider roads. Some locations will change from low-density to high-density.
Some locations on Ratchadaphisek, Silom, Sathorn and Sukhumvit where the road is wider than 16 metres would be open to high-rise buildings, but their permissible space utilisation would differ from the current city plan.
And if developers want to build a condo complex of more than 10,000 square metres space utilisation, it must be situated on a road wider than 30 metres.
All this would affect land prices, as developer would be unable to construct buildings in certain areas that would generate high returns, Samma said.
The draft of the new city plan is in the public-hearing process until September 25. After that the city planning committee will revise the plan according to recommendations from the public hearing. After final approval, the city plan may go into effect next year or the year after.
The Thai Condominium Association has expressed disagreement with the draft and requested changes.
