Residential market could grow 5-10%

Meanwhile, the trend in residential construction and design will change, especially in regard to the use of prefabrication.
The proportion of prefabricated elements used in the construction process is expected to rise to more than 80 per cent in new residential launches this year, as developers seek to reduce the number of on-site labourers and save time.
There is expected to be a labour shortage in the property sector this year as the government’s infrastructure development programme gets under way, absorbing a large number of people from the labour pool.
Residential design will largely focus on the functional and simple, to serve demand from young buyers.
Pruksa Real Estate president and chief executive officer Thongma Vijitpongpun is confident that the residential market will expand 5-10 per cent from last year’s level, when the market slumped 10 per cent.
This is because many people who delayed their decision to purchase last year can be expected to take the plunge during 2015, while low interest rates seem set to be maintained, or even drop, he said. The nationwide residential market recorded sales of Bt650 billion in 2013, but fell to about Bt585 billion last year, split equally between Greater Bangkok and the provinces, according to research by the Government Housing Bank’s Real Estate Information Centre.
Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin said that while he believed the market this year would be better than last year’s, he could not estimate by how much, as it was dependent on the country’s economic growth.
“If the economy expands 4 per cent, the property market will grow by about 8 per cent,” he suggested.
Given the improving market trend, the top 10 listed property developers plan to launch residential projects worth more than Bt200 billion around the country this year. To speed up construction and minimise the use of workers amid a tightening labour market, companies will be making increased use of the prefabrication system.
Quality Houses president and CEO Rutt Phanijphand said that up to half of the company’s residential projects would use prefabrication in the construction process.
Other leading property firms, such as Pruksa Real Estate, Sansiri, Property Perfect, LPN Development and SC Asset Corp, have also developed their construction process to use more prefabricated elements.
Meanwhile, AP (Thailand) is developing its construction process based on what it has learned from its strategic partner, Japan’s Mitsubishi Real Estate Group, said chief marketing officer Vitakarn Jantavimol.
“We have learned the construction process used by our partner, which will help us to develop our own construction process not only to save costs, but also as part of our effort to develop our quality products further,” he said.

Functional design
The trend in the architecture and interior design of residential projects this year is one of functionality and simplicity, with elegance – a combination aimed to serve both older customers and young buyers alike.