Property experts believe that
property in Thailand will see good price growth in 2012 despite the sector
being ââ¬Ëhampered by regulationsââ¬â¢.
While the property market in the Asian country is healthy, many Thai
property specialists believe that growth would be higher were it not for new
city plans.
Keep reading to learn about the
prospects for the Thailand property market in 2012.
Thai property market set to grow by over 5 per cent in 2012
According to predictions from the
Thailand Finance Ministry, the property market in the country will grow 5.2 per
cent in 2012. This is broadly in
line with the general economy, with overall GDP growth expected to be 5.5 per
cent.
However, regulations in the
sector may hamper growth in the property market. According to the Bangkok Post Thongchai Busrapan,
president of Noble Development Plc, has expressed concerns that regulations,
down payments, and price supports will hamper growth in an otherwise healthy
market.
Many of Thailandââ¬â¢s top developers believe
a new US style city plan will reduce urban density. The newspaper reported that Thailandââ¬â¢s floor-area ratio
(FAR) determines the size of a building compared to the land on which it is
built. That means a 1:15 ratio means one square metre of land can have 15
square metres of building on it.
Mr Thongchai recently told a property
seminar: ââ¬ÅThailand should have superblocks or more flexible FAR zoning, with
higher FAR near public transportation to attract property development.ââ¬Â
Thongchai suggested that FAR rights
should be transferable in order that a high-rise project developer could buy
FAR from a nearby development with additional FAR.
Another area that concerns
developers is the proposal to prevent buildings higher than 23m being
constructed on roads less than 16m wide.
As many of Bangkok’s roads are narrower than this, the restriction would
prevent high-rise development and affect land prices in the city.