BANGKOK, Feb 17 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand’s housing market improved last year, as the country’s economic recovery continued apace, boosted by the influx of foreign arrivals, data showed.
The annual residential real estate market index soared 21.1 percent in 2022, to 91.7 from 75.7 registered in the previous year, the highest reading since 2019, or the pre-pandemic levels, according to the Real Estate Information Centre (REIC).
The recovery was mainly on the supply side, as a small number of new units were launched for sale, between 2020 and 2021, reflecting fewer units sold in the market during the period, REIC acting director-general, Vichai Viratkapan, said in a statement.
As the economy began to recover, the first and second quarters of last year saw a very high number of housing launches and sales, driven by low interest rates and relaxed loan-to-value (LTV) regulations, Vichai said.
According to REIC, a total of 100,269 new residential units were launched in the Bangkok metropolitan area last year, a 94.6 percent increase from 2021, of which 51,635 were condominiums and the rest were low-rise.
The REIC expects supply-side demand to remain stable or slightly slow this year, after reaching its bottom in 2021. It also forecast the annual index this year to fall 1.6 percent from a year earlier, to 90.2.
In the written statement, issued by the REIC, total housing launches in the Bangkok metropolitan area this year are expected to be 98,132 units, a 2.1 percent decrease, year on year. Housing demand is projected to fall 10.2 percent year on year, to 352,761 units, while demand value is estimated at one trillion baht (29.1 billion U.S. dollars), a 4.5 percent decrease, year on year.– NNN-TNA
