House and Condo Show launches sales season

This weekend’s 25th House and Condo Show is widely expected to mark the beginning of several months of aggressive residential marketing as property firms attempt to end 2011 on a buoyant note after a lacklustre third quarter.
The show, which opens today at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, will feature special promotional campaigns including interest-free mortgage conditions for the first six months or one year of repayments, special discounts of between Bt20,000 and Bt1 million on new-house prices, free furniture and so on.
Three dominant property-development organisations – the Thai Real Estate Association, the Housing Business Association and the Thai Condominium Association – target sales totalling as much as Bt3 billion at the event.
However, the promotions are not expected to end when the show closes its doors on Sunday. Property firms need to boost their sales in the final quarter of the year following only slight growth in presales and revenue in the third quarter.
More than 600 residential projects and related products will be showcased at the House and Condo Show, and all will be vying for sales.
The head of the 25th House and Condo Show Organising Committee Sukit Traiwanapong said that the event had the promising catchphrase: “Everything you need, everywhere, every site, every price”.
He said a number of participants had indicated that developers were confident of a housing-market recovery in what is left of 2011. Although the market has seemed flat over the past seven months, it now seems to have improved since the new government took office and “unconventional measures to boost the market” will soon be a thing of the past.
Projects of all sizes, from plots of land to detached houses, townhouses, condominiums, commercial buildings, semi-detached houses and resort properties will be offered at the show.
Moreover, financial institutions, the Credit Bureau and the Real Estate Information Centre will be on hand to offer advice to visitors.
"We expect at least 100,000 visitors and sales worth Bt3 million. More than Bt20 million has been invested on advertising and public relations and various media channels are being used to reach out to our target group," Sukit said.
After the show, it will be every developer for himself, with home-buyers enjoying a range of enticements.
For example, Prinsiri has launched a special campaign called Nue kwa sale (beyond a special sale), which offers special privileges to customers at 11 projects, including condominiums, townhouses and single detached houses, with prices ranging from Bt949,000 to Bt6 million. The rewards include mortgages with the first year free of interest, free alginate treatment, free public utility fee, free full set of water and electrical appliances and free furniture (depending on conditions at each project). The campaign runs until the end of October.
Build Land, a subsidiary of Pre-Built, is offering price discounts of up to Bt400,000, a free 40-inch Sumsung Smart TV and iPads for two people to customers who buy from The Tempo condominium project on Phaholyothin Road from now until the end of this year.
In an effort to stimulate its sales, BTS Assets is offering 10 years of unlimited Skytrain travel, a price discount of Bt150,000, 10 months of mortgage instalments free of interest, 8 per cent cash back when paying by Central or Robinson credit cards and one of three selected packages, each worth Bt20,000. As well, it is offering a Central gift voucher worth up to Bt40,000 for the first 10 bookings and contracted units. The campaign will run until the end of October.