Dubai developer on The World Thailand island offers full refund

Posted March 15, 2012 by Real Estate Thailand in Thailand Real Estate News | Comments Off

Investors of Jasmine Garden project on the Thailand island on The World development have been offered a full refund by the developer through promissory notes, maturing in 2015.

Imtiaz Khoda, project representative, Jasmine Garden Ltd, told this website that the project had had not been cancelled, but is “on hold.”

“Jasmine Garden located on the Thailand island of the World is not a cancelled project and is currently on hold.

“During these challenging times in residential real estate, it is important to adopt a flexible approach to the issues at hand in order to present viable solutions to the current purchasers in the project.

“In close co-operation with Rera, we have offered a number of attractive solutions to current purchasers, inclusive of a full refund in the form of a promissory bond, maturing in 2015,” he added.

Media reports earlier said the Jasmine Garden project was on the verge of being cancelled by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), the regulatory arm of Dubai Land Department.

The company has invested over $12.5 million in the project and does intend to develop the project in the future.

Khoda clarified further it was Jasmine Garden Ltd that had bought the island for $20 million.

He added that although there were some current issues relating to overall infrastructure and logistical challenges, they had the confidence in the master developer in the longer term and have maintained an ongoing dialogue with them.

Jasmine Garden is a 5-star residential island resort, with nine beach villas, 10 water villas, 56 studio and 56 one-bedroom loft units. The World development consists of 300 islands reclaimed from the sea in the shape of the world map. It will cover approximately 931 hectares and add an additional 232km of beachfront to Dubai’s coastline.

The islands were sold by invitation only and range in price from $20 million (Dh73.4m) to $50m.

Of late, a number of island owners are struggling to meet their payment obligations and have put their islands for sale.

Nakheel, the master developer, previously disallowed flipping, but later said owners can sell the islands if their contract allowed so.

The development comprises five types of island communities: Estate Islands, Mid Density, High Density, Commercial and Transportation, and Resort Islands.

The World will host a collection of villas, apartments, resorts, restaurants and retail outlets set amid a range of beaches, boating and other leisure opportunities.

Source: emirates247

Pattaya reforms foreign ownership

Posted March 15, 2012 by Real Estate Thailand in Thailand Real Estate News | Comments Off

With Asean Economic (AEC) forming in 2015, Pattaya officials are buckling down on foreign ownership in condominium projects from 70 per cent to 49 per cent.

Deputy mayor, Ronakit Ekasingh said, “Pattaya needs to get ready for the AEC. If we wait until 2015, it may be too late as other countries in Asean are now preparing for the single regional common market.”

As Pattaya is a special administrative area, Ekasingh’s hope is for Pattaya to lead the way in promoting investment in Thailand.

Additionally to Pattaya being a tourist destination, Phuket is as well which is why a pilot programme should be instilled as both cities have their own administrative authorities. The Interior Ministry currently regulates the foreign quota on condominium at 49 per cent of sellable space. By creating a higher limit would assist developers in upping their foreign ownership quota via the sale of more units.

In the case of a lacking in Thai buyers, foreigners will be allowed to purchase units if the limits are increased. With the large amount of Russian tourists heading to Pattaya for holiday via the U-Tapao Airport has created an influx in the Pattaya property market. As the tourist population remains afloat, the city has realised that improvement of their infrastructure and the developing of a mass transit system are intrinsic.

Additionally, Pattaya is expanding the width of their scenic beaches to roughly two meters.

Source: property-report

Wealthy Chinese buy foreign homes

Posted December 19, 2010 by Real Estate Thailand in Thailand Real Estate News | Comments Off

Strict policies introduced by the government to cool the rocketing real estate market in the capital have led many of the city’s richest residents to look overseas for their real estate investments.

At the 3 day 2010 Beijing Luxury Properties Showcase that ended on Sunday at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, more than 4,000 wealthy people attended who were capable of each investing at least 10 million yuan (S$2 million) on foreign assets, according to the organiser.

Ashley Woo, the sales and marketing manager of the showcase, said the exhibition organisers invited 51 domestic and international real estate agencies that had businesses in more than 30 countries.

Projects being promoted during the event included ancient castles, modern apartments and ecologically important land in Canada as well as luxury villas in Thailand and real estate in large cities in the US and Japan.

The average visitor to the show was a 50-something who wanted to diversify their economic strength from domestic to overseas markets. Some wanted to purchase homes for their children studying abroad.

Joan Brothers, president and co-partner of Manhattan Global Properties, which was promoting four high-end apartment projects, said the Beijing market is very ‘exciting’. She said two clients she met at the exhibition plan to fly with her to the United State to see the properties.

Source: CHINA DAILY

Asian Property Development to focus on low rise housing on second half of 2010

Posted June 23, 2010 by Real Estate Thailand in Thailand Real Estate News | Comments Off

Thai listed real estate developer Asian Property Development (AP) plans to place more focus on low rise housing projects during the second half of 2010, kicking off with Baan Klang Krung Sathorn – a THB900 million (US$27.8 million) townhouse project near Sathorn Road in Bangkok.

AP’s Deputy Chief Marketing Officer – Strategic Marketing, Vittakarn Chandavimol, said the company will launch 15 projects by the end of 2010 with a combined value of more than THB24.3 billion (US$751 million).

Baan Klang Krung Sathorn is the first project to be launched. It consists of 90 units of three- and four-storey townhouses with usable area ranging from 152 sqm to 243 sqm. Prices start from THB9 million (US$278,120). A total of 83 units have been sold during the presales for existing customers.

Vittakarn said: “We have learned that each market has its own demand. Supplies for one market don’t, therefore, belong to another. From our research we’ve found that demand for low-rise houses in Bangkok remains high, which is opposite to supplies in the market where most developers tend to focus more on high-rise projects, especially those located in the heart of the city.”

In addition to Baan Klang Krung Sathorn, new projects will include another six townhouse projects under the Baan Klang Krung and Baan Klang Muang brands with a combined value of THB7.4 billion (US$229 million), five single detached house projects under the City brand (THB7.4 billion – US$229 million), and three condominium projects in the Sukhumvit, Sathorn and Aree areas of the Thai capital (THB9.6 billion – US$297 million).

Source: AP

Sansiri deal sets land price record 1.5 million baht per square wah on Wireless Road

Posted June 9, 2010 by Real Estate Thailand in Thailand Real Estate News | Comments Off

The developer Sansiri Plc has paid a record price of 1.5 million baht per square wah (four square metres) for a land plot on Wireless Road, said Patima Jeerapaet, managing director of the property consultant Colliers International Thailand.

Sansiri acquired the 823-square-wah plot, which used to house the Spanish embassy, in March.

The price surpassed the one million baht per square wah paid by Raimon Land Plc for a plot on Phloen Chit Road which it bought from Oishi Group founder Tan Passakornnatee.

Raimon surveyed and paid a deposit for the Wireless Road plot two years ago. The price then was 1.2 million baht a square wah, but the developer decided not to go through with the deal.

Mr Patima said that Suthat Na Ayudhya sold the plot to Sansiri for 1.23 billion baht. Condominiums developed on land this expensive could command 300,000 baht per square metre, he said.

Raimon has sold part of its nine-rai plot on Phloen Chit to Thai Summit Grand Estate Co, a property firm owned by Somporn Juangroongruangkit, the owner of the country’s leading auto parts manufacturer Thai Summit Group.

Mr Patima said Thai Summit bought two rai for 1.32 billion baht, or 1.2 million baht per square wah, which was transferred on March 26 just before the expiry of property tax incentives.

Many land transactions took place during the political turbulence, reflecting the strong confidence of Thai investors he said. During the first five months of the year, there were 23 land transactions with a combined sales value of about 10.58 billion baht.

The largest deal was a 9.66-rai plot on Ratchadaphisek Road owned by the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The insurer AIA purchased the land for 1.6 billion baht at an auction last month. Mr Patima said the deal set a new benchmark of 480,000 baht a square wah for land on Ratchadapisek, up from 300,000 baht.

The second largest deal was the acquisition of Sermmitr Tower on Asok Road by an individual investor from a fund. The 34,000-sq-m office and condominium sold for 1.5 billion baht.

Source: Bkk Post

Thailand Property Market Rebound

Posted June 9, 2010 by Real Estate Thailand in Thailand Real Estate News | Comments Off

The Bangkok hotel market had a good Q1 2010 on the back of a return of robust tourism figures highlighting the enduring appeal of Thailand and its capital city. Occupancy rates for the Luxury/Upper scale segments came just shy of the 70% mark.

The Bangkok hotel market had a good Q1 2010 on the back of a return of robust tourism figures highlighting the enduring appeal of Thailand and its capital city. Occupancy rates for the Luxury/Upper scale segments came just shy of the 70% mark. Of the four areas in the city centre, The Riverside recorded the lowest rates and the Southern CBD (Sathorn/Silom) the highest.

The future of the market remains unclear due to the considerable new supply of rooms being brought to the market in 2010 and 2011. This year will witness the greatest addition of new supply of Luxury and Upper scale hotels to Bangkok in its history. This is likely to squeeze occupancy levels which in turn will lead to pricing pressures even in a stable political climate. The current situation is a grim time for the industry and we must wait for Q4 until we have a better idea of how much tourism has been affected.

Hotels will still have to cope with increasing competition from serviced apartments for the short stay market. The Bangkok serviced apartment market is facing a difficult 2010 with a significant increase in supply while demand has fallen and is likely to remain down until confidence returns.  Conversely the serviced apartments may benefit at the expense of apartments for lease due to uncertainty from foreign residents leading to a requirement for shorter term leasing contracts provided by serviced apartments. However such benefits will be short lived.

From 2009 to 2011 it is expected that overall supply of serviced apartment units will have risen by 40%. This will be difficult for the market to absorb. Average occupancy has continued to fall in Q1 2010 to the 65-70% mark for long term stays. This pattern is likely to continue until supply stabilizes and demand picks up again.

The retail market remained stable for Q1 2010 due to growing consumer confidence but was adversely affected by protracted political uncertainty.  Only one new retail outlet was added to supply in Q1 2010 in the form of a community mall located in Sukhumvit. Rentals remain stable while only the city centre recorded a small increase in take up of 3% in Q1 q/q.

The current closure of Centralworld and Centre One are unlikely to lead to an increase in rentals due to the limited time they will be inoperable before rebuilding and renovation are completed and lower consumer confidence expected in the wake of the violence. The short term prospects of the retail market in the centre hinge on incentives and special events that can lure shoppers to the main shopping streets again. The severely reduced tourism numbers will also negatively affect the retail sector in the centre.

No new office supply came onto the market in Q1 2010 and only a very limited supply is expected until Q4 2010 with the scheduled opening of Sathorn Square. Occupancy rates fell by 1% in the CBD and Outer CBD while the Northern Fringe recorded a nearly 1% increase in Q1. Rental rates remained more or less the same in the CBD for Q1, although a fall in rates was more pronounced in the Northern Fringe. This was likely to be a correction to the steep rise in 2009.

Companies are still assessing the impact of the recent events and whether further instability will ensue for the rest of the year before making relocation plans. In the shorter term there could be an uptick in demand coming from firms occupying space as back up for reoccurring violence disrupting operations. However any positive effect will be temporary as protracted unrest will cause investment and employment to fall thus negatively impacting the market.

The bright spot in property remains the condominium market.  New launches in Q1 2010 continue the breakneck pace set in the last quarter of 2009. Many developers are targeting affordability and selling out in a matter of hours in some cases. Tax incentives remain an impetus to temporarily boosting existing supply and the future expiration of incentives at the end of May are likely to cool the market, allowing for some consolidation. Demonstrations in Bangkok have had only a limited affect on condominium launches as end-user buyers maintain interest in purchasing their first property.

2010 is likely to see the largest influx of new supply since 1997 with an estimated increase of just over 30,230 units compared with approximately 27,430 units in 2009. About 6,940 units were supplied in Q1 2010. Smaller developers are entering the market again but with projects with fewer units than the large listed players.

Overall the property market will enter a period of stasis while the country faces up to its deep divisions. Foreign investment will begin to flow into the market only when these have been addressed and a more liberal business climate is established.

Source: Colliers International Thailand

Country Group Development plans to launch two or three residential projects per year

Posted June 9, 2010 by Real Estate Thailand in Thailand Real Estate News | Comments Off

MAI-listed Country Group Development Plc (CGD) plans to launch two or three residential projects per year with a projection to double its revenue next year.

Formerly Dragon One, the company was renamed after Ben Taechaubol, the incumbent managing director, stepped in to acquire 21% of the company’s shares and replaced Jrarat Pingclasai.

Since the Taechaubol group has 20 years of experience in property development, CGD will diversify from software to property development.

However, the main income for this year will come from subsidiary A-Host Co, its core IT business that generates constant revenue of around 300-400 million baht a year. As the holding company, CGD will look for investment opportunities in profitable projects.

CGD’s first property project is the Element Condominium located on 13-rai plot on Srinakarin Road opposite Seacon Square shopping centre. It comprises eight buildings housing 1,200 units priced from 1.7 million baht each.

The project will open sales in the next few months while construction will be completed within two years.

The company will start realising revenue next year with a net margin on investment of around 15-20%.

Mr Ben, who managed property developments in Australia for several years, is also interested in expanding the property business overseas such as China and Vietnam.

“I dream of building CGD to match the glory of Country Group, which had collapsed during the 1997 financial crisis,” said Mr Ben.

To succeed, CGD is determined to create products that fit customers’ needs and pay attention to details. It also plans to wipe out its retained losses of around 400 million baht soon, he added.

CGD reported losses of 8.61 million baht in the first quarter this year and 224 million baht in 2009.

The Taechaubol family now has a private investment in a mixed-use project on a 36-rai plot on Charoen Krung Road. Comprising residential units and a five-star-plus hotel, the 14-billion-baht project will be finished in 2014.

CGD shares closed yesterday at 0.41 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 1.93 million baht.