Real Estate Property

"Due to the sluggish economy, developers have shifted to townhouses as they expect more real demand than from condominiums. One-third of condo purchases are for investment or speculation," he said.

Developers also believe the condominium market has almost reached maturity, with a glut of units recently completed.

Mr Samma said low-rise development (townhouses or single houses) was still the first choice for the general public, but condominiums had played a larger role the past few years due to rocketing oil prices, as people sought to live closer to their workplaces.

Townhouses are also favoured in a weak economy over single houses.

After freezing townhouse development since the 1997 financial crisis, MK Real Estate Plc plans to resume building them by the third quarter.

"I am pleased to see the continued growth of our brand across Asia which gives us access to new markets and new customers while providing additional alternatives to our global customers," said Steve Selcer, President and COO of Oakwood Worldwide.

Metro Park Sathorn Building 2-O Room 708 and 709 42 Sqm

Tired of battling Bangkok's traffic every day, the 44-year-old engineer decided to spend three million baht (88,750 US dollars) on a unit in a development that hasn't even broken ground yet.

His was among the 16,000 apartments sold in the first 10 months of the year, driving a trend that pushed sales up 20 percent over the same period last year, according to Siam City Securities.

'I almost wasn't able to get this unit, because so many people wanted to buy it,' Apinun said.

'The condo is just next to the BTS station and very easy to commute,' he said, referring to the capital's elevated rail lines.

'In two years, when the condo is finished, I will give up driving to work and use the SkyTrain instead,' he said.

The enormous demand for apartments in Bangkok is powered by frustration with the city's notorious traffic and the much easier commutes offered by the city's three light rail lines.

New lines are already in the works, and developers are changing the city's skyline by throwing up new apartment blocks along all the routes.

Construction on 24,000 apartments was launched between January and August, accounting for more than half of new property projects, according to property consultant Agency for Real Estate Affairs.

But apartments are the only bright spot in a market that has stagnated for the second year in a row.

Overall, construction of new homes is down 8 percent over last year, and down 22 percent in terms of value, the agency's managing director Sopon Pornchokchai said.

'Condominiums are the only segment posting an annualised growth this year to date, reflecting changes in as consumer's lifestyles,' Sopon said.

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When a potential investor is considering a property investment in Thailand, aside from the commercial or residential attractiveness of the unit, that investor will be seeking assurances from the developer and also its own advisers that the purchase is `secure' and `safe'. A buyer's legal advisers will not have been through the process of advising the seller or developer on its particular sales structure although may be familiar with that structure and may have seen it before on a previous transaction. A buyer's legal advisers must conduct due diligence into the contracts for sale, but will not be privy to the tax, legal and accounting advice received by the seller or developer and to what extent the developer or seller is following advice or stepping outside the scope of advice and taking additional risk.

How can a buyer, in addition to the contracts, when confronted with a complex system of offshore entities, leases, construction agreements and share and purchase agreements, be assured that the structure will not attract liability for it in the future? Especially if the sale is structured in a way that eventually a collective of owners have an interest in a company which indirectly controls land on which a development is built.

Bangkok, Thailand (PRWEB) June 19, 2006 -- The inner-city Bangkok condominium market still looks promising and seems unaffected by negative sentiment, according to James Pitchon, the executive director of the property firm CB Richard Ellis. He points to healthy demand in both the mid-market and high-end Bangkok Condo segments as underscored by two recent launches.

On the mid-market Bangkok condo side, Noble Remix on Sukhumvit Soi 36 last month drew a very good response with more than 200 units booked in the one-day pre-launch sale. At the luxury Bangkok condo end, CB Richard Ellis has sold around 200 units at Emporio Place on Sukhumvit 24, which is being developed by TCC Capital Land.

"From these two projects I think you can say that from mid-market upwards there is still demand for projects in the right location. And I think proximity to the skytrain is a critical factor."

Mr. Pitchon added that other key issues buyers tend to focus on are project quality and design.

Singapore _ With Thailand's foreign reserves close to $50 billion, the government can afford to be more liberal about allowing people to invest offshore, says Torphong Charungchareonvejj, the manager of Bangkok Bank's Singapore branch.

This is an area the government should consider because even the Board of Investment (BoI) is now encouraging Thai businesses to set up operations overseas, he said in a recent interview.

"Instead of bringing everything into Thailand, we are now encouraging Thai people to go across the border and it's good to hedge the risk and also expand your market," he said.

It should come as no surprise that a Singapore-based banker holds liberal views considering that his bank recently made waves by being the first Thai bank to offer loans to foreigners to purchase Thai real estate. The loans cover up 70% of the property's value.

Pol Maj Sompong Krutsuwan, Inspector of Samui Police Station, told the Gazette that Mr Pearmain, a British national, was shot in the left hand and chest, and K. Sirinya was hit in the right leg and the left ankle. Both escaped serious injury.