This year, wherever you look, condos are expensive, making you want to ask developers, "Is there anything left for a salaryman like me?" Of course, for salarymen at the Officer level with incomes below 35,000 baht, finding affordable condos is becoming increasingly difficult. TERRABKK tried crunching the numbers to see how much a salary of around 30,000-35,000 baht could buy. The result? Condos priced under 2 million baht. If we conservatively assume that 40% of the salary goes towards mortgage payments, that would mean monthly payments of about 12,000-15,000 baht (depending on how lenient the bank's interest rates are). And this doesn't even include other debts like credit cards or car loans... Oh, just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Will there still be affordable condos within our reach?

                I can assure you that there are affordable options, but if you hope to find one in the city or near the BTS, that might be a bit challenging unless you consider areas along the extended BTS lines. When the TERRABKK team gathered data on newly launched condos from the beginning of the year until July 2017, we found that there are still condos priced under 2 million baht available, mostly scattered around the city. If you look at projects near the current BTS lines, like in the Sutthisan area, there are still some options, but you’ll need to venture into side streets. You’ll have to act quickly, as there are only about 100 units available, such as the Asher Ratchada and Asher Sutthisan projects, which have starting prices of just 1.49 million baht.

                Next, we can't overlook the BTS extension, which is an area that everyone hopes will help alleviate the congestion of the current BTS lines (we won’t even mention the exorbitant fares that make you want to cry). The hottest lines right now are the Blue Line extension (Bang Sue-Bang Khae-Tha Phra-Hua Lamphong) and the Green Line extension (Mo Chit-Saphan Mai-Khukhot). This year, we’ve seen many new launches around the Charan-Sathorn area, with prices per square meter rising accordingly. This area has become quite competitive among major developers, such as The Tree Charan 30 from Pruksa, which launched at nearly 2 million baht, and The Parkland Charan-Pinklao from Narai Property, which has just launched Building C at a starting price of 1.94 million baht. Additionally, the return of The Base brand from Sansiri is now located right in front of the Phetkasem 48 station, starting at 1.99 million baht, resulting in a fairly high average price per square meter in this area, nearing 100,000 baht (even though the selling price of condos under 2 million baht is still available).

               

on the Green Line (Mo Chit-Saphan Mai-Khukhot) segment under 2 million seems to be dominated by Pruksa with the Plum Chaeng Watthana project, which now has 4 phases (and is selling well). The latest phase of Plum Chaeng Watthana launched at just 1.19 million baht. Origin has also set up at least 4 projects along this line, with the latest being Knightsbridge Phaholyothin Interchange, which launched at 1.9 million baht. The overall price per square meter along the Green Line (Mo Chit-Saphan Mai-Khukhot) varies significantly, ranging from 52,000 baht to 90,000 baht per square meter. Anyone interested in this area will need to do their homework to see how each project differs in detail.

                Finally, let’s wrap up with the new area of Samrong-Bearing, where the Samrong station just opened a few months ago. There are condos that were launched before and after the BTS line opened, as this area is located between Bangna and Samut Prakan. However, in the map that TERRABKK provided, there are only projects in Bangkok. So, let’s generalize and say there are about 4 projects available. Origin has already sent 2 projects, namely Notting Hill Sukhumvit 105, which launched at 1.69 million baht, and Kensington Sukhumvit-Theparak at 1.09 million baht. Additionally, there’s the Niche ID Sukhumvit 113 starting at 1.29 million baht and the Aspen Lasalle (Phase B) starting at 1.39 million baht. If we look at the price per square meter, it can be said that this area is still relatively affordable, with prices ranging from 50,000 to 60,000 baht.

                But condos under 2 million baht are not limited to just these options, as we have gathered over 30 projects in total, as follows: