Mr. Chai Rat Thamapeera, Vice President of the Thai Condominium Association, as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 42nd Housing and Condominium Fair, stated that three real estate associations, including the Housing Business Association, the Thai Condominium Association, and the Thai Real Estate Association, are preparing to hold the “42nd Housing and Condominium Fair” from March 4-7, 2021, at Paragon Hall, 5th Floor, Siam Paragon. The event will feature housing and condominium projects from various leading companies, banks, and partners, with over 285 booths and exclusive promotional highlights.

 

        The “42nd Housing and Condominium Fair” is expected to stimulate purchasing power in the real estate sector among consumers following the COVID-19 period. The promotional prices and special interest loans from participating banks will encourage customers to make quicker purchasing decisions.

        Regarding the overall real estate market in 2021, it is believed that the horizontal market will continue to grow due to the demand for housing from real demand groups, while the condominium market may have opportunities for gradual recovery, with absorption rates improving slowly. Condominiums along the subway lines remain among the top interests for customers.

        Meanwhile, for the foreign customer segment, it is believed that once the COVID-19 situation improves, Thailand will be one of the first countries that foreign nationals will be interested in for purchasing real estate for personal residence and investment, due to factors such as lower prices, low-interest rates, and a lower cost of living, along with Thailand's effective control of the COVID-19 outbreak.

 

        On December 15, 2020, the three real estate associations submitted a letter to Mr. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, the Minister of Finance, proposing recommendations for stimulating the economy through the real estate business as follows:

          Due to the ongoing slowdown in the real estate market since the beginning of 2019, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, the real estate sector has been continuously declining to a critical point, leading many operators to shut down, which will severely impact the country's economy.

          The three associations, comprising the Housing Business Association, the Thai Condominium Association, and the Thai Real Estate Association, would like to inform that the purchasing power in the market currently remains in three main groups: buyers for actual residence, investors, and foreign buyers. Therefore, we would like to propose urgent measures to address the issues and stimulate these three buyer groups to expedite their purchasing decisions to stabilize the situation as follows:

1. Reduce the transfer and mortgage registration fees to the lowest rate to alleviate the financial burden on buyers of all types of housing, both new and second-hand, until December 31, 2021.

2. Request the government to temporarily suspend the enforcement of the LTV measures to allow buyers with purchasing power to invest in housing more easily, as all financial institutions providing housing loans (Post Finance) already have strict assessment systems in place.

3. Request an extension of the 90% reduction in land and building taxes for another 2 years, effective from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022, to help alleviate the burden on citizens and operators nationwide.

4. Request foreign condominium buyers to receive visas based on the value of the condominium:
– For units valued at 3-5 million, a 5-year visa.
– For units valued at 5-10 million, a 10-year visa.
– For units exceeding 10 million, the right to reside in Thailand.

5. Request the reintroduction of the Good Home with Down Payment project, a measure to reduce the burden of purchasing housing supported by the government in the form of Cash Back for buyers, and to increase the limit from 50,000 baht per person to 100,000 baht per person to stimulate buyers to decide to purchase their own homes more effectively for a period of 1 year, effective from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021.