We are halfway through 2017, and TerraBKK Research observes that this has been a lively half-year for condominium sales. The sight of people queuing to book condos, leading to sell-outs within just a few days, continues to be seen. Some projects have even reached peak booking levels before their official pre-sale launches. Many developers are continuously releasing projects to entice investors, employing strategies like online booking, making it easy to secure a desired unit with just a high-speed internet connection. From the data collected by the TerraBKK Research team, we can see a noticeable shift in the condominium market this year (2017) compared to last year (2016). There is an increase in locations within the city and a greater focus on the Mid to High price segments.

“More city locations are opening, focusing on new subway lines.”

It can be said that the condominium style is closely tied to the emergence of new subway lines. For instance, last year, the extension of the Green Line from Mo Chit to Ku Kot led to a focus on the Chaeng Watthana-Laksi area in early 2016. This year, we cannot overlook the recently opened Blue Line extension and the Samrong station, which has prompted condominiums to expand into the Charan Sanitwong area. This area rarely sees new condominium projects, not to mention those planned for later this year, along with the increased activity in the Bearing area.

Furthermore, comparing the map of condominium launches from the first and second quarters of 2016 and 2017, last year's condominiums were quite scattered outside the city, such as in Salaya and Rangsit. In contrast, this year, they appear to be clustering more closely together, indicating a trend of following each other closely without much deviation.

“Focusing more on the Mid to High segments.”

Last year could be called the year of High-End to Luxury condominiums, with prices that left many in awe. This year, it seems developers are shifting their focus to the mid-range segment, which is accessible for both personal use and investment. This has resulted in a higher proportion of condominiums in the first half of the year falling within the 60,000-100,000 THB per square meter range compared to last year.

“Overall prices are lower due to smaller unit sizes.”

If you see lower starting prices, don’t be too excited just yet, as the starting unit sizes are getting smaller. This year, we found that most starting units are now 20-25 square meters, which gives the impression of lower overall prices. Meanwhile, the price per square meter remains consistent with other projects, such as the 80,000-100,000 THB per square meter segment. The average starting price in 2016 was 2,620,000 THB, but in 2017 it has dropped to just 2,245,000 THB. This is because developers are reducing unit sizes, leading to lower prices. However, it still remains within the 80,000-100,000 THB segment. When TerraBKK Research surveyed some areas selling at 80,000-100,000 THB but with smaller units, they found that these were indeed selling well. It is possible that some consumers prioritize the overall price and may also consider “designing smaller units to be livable.”

This is an overview of the first half of the year. All the information presented has been collected periodically by the TerraBKK Research team, and of course, at the beginning of next year, we will summarize the condominium market again with the “Overall Condominium Market for the Entire Year of 2017.”