Property spending to see slowdown
Spending for new property is expected to grow more slowly in the next three to six months as people invest in refurbishing their homes after the severe floods rather than building new houses.
Sitiporn Suwannasut, president of PD House, Thailand’s leading home-builder, said it expected that people would delay large outlays for new houses or cars for about six months.
“Property developers and house builders will have a bright future after the economy recovers in the second half of next year. In the meantime, the company will carefully manage its business to ensure growth,” he said.
Before the flooding, PD House expected at least Bt1 billion revenue this year. However, the firm has had to cut its revenue target to only Bt700 million because of the inundation in the final quarter of the year.
As three PD House offices were flooded in Greater Bangkok, the firm tried to keep its business running smoothly by opening new offices in other provinces safe from the flooding.
Sitiporn said the company planned to open three new branches this month and 10 next year to capture more customers. Most of the new branches will be set up in areas that were not affected by the floods, as customers will look for safe areas to build in the future.
For instance, new outlets will be in Phetchaburi, Surin, Sakon Nakhon, and provinces in the Northeast.
Currently, PD House has 23 outlets in Thailand. Of these, 17 are franchise businesses. The firm has also opened up opportunities for new franchisees, which would need to invest about Bt3 million to start up the business.
Sitiporn urged the government to relax its regulations on approving soft loans for flood-affected enterprises.
