The Real Estate Information Center of the Government Housing Bank (REIC) reports on the overall housing market situation still for sale in the second half of 2023 for four southern provinces: Phuket, Songkhla, Surat Thani, and Nakhon Si Thammarat. It was found that the number of unsold units in the second half of 2023 increased by 25.1%, resulting in an overall market absorption rate of 4.6%. REIC forecasts that in 2024, there will be 10,586 housing units entering the market, valued at 69.253 billion baht, with 9,187 new units sold, valued at 47.865 billion baht, and 18,092 unsold units, valued at 107.906 billion baht.

Dr. Wichai Wiratthakhan, Inspector of the Government Housing Bank and Acting Director of the Real Estate Information Center revealed that the survey of housing projects in the four southern provinces in the second half of 2023 found that the supply ready for sale was approximately 23,026 units, valued at 134.016 billion baht. This includes 11,136 condominium units valued at 79.648 billion baht and 11,890 housing development units valued at 54.368 billion baht. There were 7,086 new projects entering the market, valued at 56.155 billion baht, and 6,332 new units sold, valued at 36.004 billion baht, resulting in 16,694 unsold units, valued at 98.012 billion baht.

“When comparing the housing market for sale in these four provinces, Phuket and Songkhla are the provinces with the largest market size in all aspects. Phuket has 12,869 units for sale, valued at 91.519 billion baht, while Songkhla has 5,156 units, valued at 21.107 billion baht. Phuket also launched the most new projects, with 5,913 units, valued at 48.554 billion baht, which is more than any other province. This includes 342 housing development units valued at 1.780 billion baht and 5,571 condominium units valued at 46.774 billion baht.

In Phuket, the total number of new units sold was the highest at 4,364 units, valued at 28.336 billion baht, with an absorption rate of 5.7% per month. Following is Songkhla with 1,018 units, valued at 3.755 billion baht, and an absorption rate of 3.3% per month. Surat Thani had 652 new units sold, valued at 2.723 billion baht, with an absorption rate of 3.2% per month, while Nakhon Si Thammarat had 298 new units sold, valued at 1.189 billion baht, also with an absorption rate of 3.2% per month.

Overall Supply in the Southern Region of 4 Provinces in the second half of 2023 shows a total of 23,026 units for sale, valued at 134.016 billion baht, an increase of 38.7% year-on-year (YoY) and a value increase of 83.0%. Among these, only 7,086 new projects entered the market, valued at 56.155 billion baht, representing an increase of 269.3% and 571.6% YoY, respectively. Meanwhile, the unsold housing units in the second half of 2023 totaled 16,694 units, valued at 98.012 billion baht, with an increase of 25.1% in units and 61.8% in value compared to the same period last year (YoY).

The top five locations with the highest number of unsold units in the four southern provinces are: 1) Bang Tao Beach - Surin Beach with 2,567 units, valued at 27.999 billion baht; 2) Thepkrasattri - Srisunthorn with 1,560 units, valued at 9.633 billion baht; 3) Pradu - Bang Chum Tho with 952 units, valued at 3.487 billion baht; 4) Tha Kham - Kuan Hin with 911 units, valued at 3.919 billion baht; and 5) Koh Kaew - Rassada with 813 units, valued at 6.583 billion baht. The price range with the most unsold units is 3.01-5.00 million baht, totaling 5,338 units, valued at 22.627 billion baht.

Overall Demand in the Southern Region of 4 Provinces shows that in the second half of 2023, there were 6,332 new units sold, valued at 36.004 billion baht, divided into 2,150 housing development units valued at 9.585 billion baht and 4,182 condominium units valued at 26.418 billion baht. The top five locations with the highest sales are: 1) Bang Tao Beach - Surin Beach with 1,544 units, valued at 14.843 billion baht; 2) Thepkrasattri - Srisunthorn with 608 units, valued at 3.238 billion baht; 3) Talad Yai - Talad Nuea with 573 units, valued at 1.625 billion baht; 4) In Muang Kathu with 506 units, valued at 1.404 billion baht; and 5) Kamala Beach with 207 units, valued at 1.088 billion baht.

Overview of Phuket Province

In the second half of 2023, the surveyed area of Phuket had a total of 12,869 units for sale, valued at 91.519 billion baht, an increase of 77.5% and 146.9%. This includes 3,020 housing development units valued at 15.817 billion baht and 9,849 condominium units valued at 75.701 billion baht. In the second half of 2023, there were 5,913 new housing units entering the market, an increase of 1,087.3%, valued at 48.554 billion baht, an increase of 1,361.3%. The number of new units sold was 4,364, an increase of 186.9%, valued at 28.336 billion baht, an increase of 342.0%, and the number of unsold units was 8,505, an increase of 48.5%, valued at 63.183 billion baht, an increase of 106.1% compared to the same period in 2022 (YoY). REIC forecasts that in 2024, there will be 7,071 housing units entering the market, valued at 53.293 billion baht, with 6,037 new units sold, valued at 35.651 billion baht, and 9,539 unsold units, valued at 71.857 billion baht.

Overview of Songkhla Province

In the second half of 2023, the surveyed area of Songkhla had a total of 5,156 units for sale, valued at 21.107 billion baht, an increase of 24.1% and 24.7%. This includes 4,418 housing development units valued at 19.415 billion baht and 738 condominium units valued at 1.693 billion baht. In the second half of 2023, there were 352 new housing units entering the market, a decrease of 32.7%, valued at 2.138 billion baht, a decrease of 4.3%. The number of new units sold was 1,018, an increase of 52.2%, valued at 3.755 billion baht, an increase of 50.6%, and the number of unsold units was 4,138, an increase of 18.7%, valued at 17.352 billion baht, an increase of 20.2% compared to the same period in 2022 (YoY). REIC forecasts that in 2024, there will be 2,163 housing units entering the market, valued at 8.439 billion baht, with 1,702 new units sold, valued at 6.672 billion baht, and 4,599 unsold units, valued at 19.200 billion baht.

Overview of Surat Thani Province

In the second half of 2023, the surveyed area of Surat Thani had a total of 3,432 units for sale, valued at 13.257 billion baht, an increase of 3.6% and 13.9%. This includes 2,895 housing development units valued at 11.026 billion baht and 537 condominium units valued at 2.231 billion baht. In the second half of 2023, there were 627 new housing units entering the market, a decrease of 26.6%, valued at 2.835 billion baht, an increase of 6.6%. The number of new units sold was 652, a decrease of 3.1%, valued at 2.723 billion baht, an increase of 27.0%, and the number of unsold units was 2,780, an increase of 5.3%, valued at 10.533 billion baht, an increase of 11.0% compared to the same period in 2022 (YoY). REIC forecasts that in 2024, there will be 1,069 housing units entering the market, valued at 4.451 billion baht, with 1,020 new units sold, valued at 3.874 billion baht, and 2,829 unsold units, valued at 10.703 billion baht.

Overview of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

In the second half of 2023, the surveyed area of Nakhon Si Thammarat had a total of 1,569 units for sale, valued at 8.133 billion baht, a decrease of 16.5% and an increase of 6.8%. This includes only housing development projects. In the second half of 2023, there were 194 new housing units entering the market, an increase of 340.9%, valued at 2.628 billion baht, an increase of 1,729.9%. The number of new units sold was 298, a decrease of 24.2%, valued at 1.189 billion baht, a decrease of 27.0%, and the number of unsold units was 1,271, a decrease of 14.5%, valued at 6.944 billion baht, an increase of 16.0% compared to the same period in 2022 (YoY). REIC forecasts that in 2024, there will be 282 housing units entering the market, valued at 3.071 billion baht, with 428 new units sold, valued at 1.668 billion baht, and 1,125 unsold units, valued at 6.145 billion baht.

"Overall, the housing market in the four southern provinces shows improvement, clearly benefiting from the tourism sector. Phuket is the area that has recovered the fastest and strongest in terms of demand and supply of all types of housing, and this recovery is expected to continue into 2024."

In Songkhla, the overall situation shows a good recovery in the Hat Yai district, following the tourism business, which has helped revitalize the local economy and increase purchasing power for all types of housing.

In Surat Thani, there is also a clear recovery, especially in Koh Samui, where there is a noticeable recovery in the sales of condominiums and villas, while in key areas like Mueang District, there is a recovery in horizontal projects such as housing developments.

Nakhon Si Thammarat is the only area among the four southern provinces surveyed by REIC that shows the lowest recovery rate; however, there is still a trend of recovery compared to the previous year.

Dr. Wichai concluded that “the overall recovery in the four southern provinces is directly driven by the tourism business. However, operators still need to consider the specifics of each area before adding new project supplies to the market to avoid oversupply in certain areas.”