Thailand property report provides an overview of the property industry in the Asia-Pacific and Thailand, covering the five core sectors – residential, industrial, office, retail and hotel. The Thai property market has seen a recovery from the impact of the flooding crisis in Q4/2011, which delayed residential property project launches and shut flooded retail and industrial areas for renovation. The improving perception of Thailand’s political and economic situation, together with low market prices has strengthened buyers’ confidence in property investment in Thailand. In 2011, the market saw a fall in the number of property transactions and registered housing units due to the flood impacts. The housing stocks in Thailand grew 2.6% year-on-year to a total of 22.2mn units in 2011.

The report highlights the market trends and outlook of the property industry in Thailand. It examines the property regulations for foreign firms, real estate loans and housing loans, impact of political instability and floods, as well as other factors affecting Thailand’s property market, such as fiscal and monetary policy changes and volatility of the Thai baht. Rising interest rates, higher construction costs, massive floods in Bangkok and its vicinity and uncertain political environment have added pressure on the Thai real estate market.

The report also includes the major players in the property industry and their financial highlights and SWOT analysis. Most property developers, such as Quality Houses PCL (QH) and Asian Property Development PCL (AP), saw a slight decline in their operating margins due to the flooding crisis and lower property tax incentives as compared to 2010 which reduced consumer spending sentiment in Bangkok and its vicinity.

Key Points:

• In 2011, the number of property transactions declined 3.7% year on year, mainly due to the flood impacts, to 969,340 cases with a value of THB 34.6bn. The number of completed housing units also fell by 23.5% year on year to 81,735 units.

• The housing stocks in Thailand have increased continuously over the years to a total of 22.2mn units in 2011, up 2.6% year on year.

• The demand for industrial land reached a record-high in 2011 with sales of 5,757 rai, largely because manufacturers bought land to expand their production base or relocate from the flood affected areas.