The property market in Thailand is, like real estate in much of the world, experiencing a slowdown. According to real estate company CB Richard Ellis, the slowdown in Thailand will continue at least through 2009 and probably into 2010. Recently released research from the firm indicates that transactions were down in the final quarter of 2008 and estimates that the market could drop as much as 10-20 percent during 2009.
Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, managing director of CB Richard Ellis in Thailand, indicated that this slowdown should see a faster recovery than the one that occurred in 1997. “We believe that this recovery cycle will be faster than that after the 1997 financial crisis because global leaders such as the US, UK, Europe, Japan and China have launched measures to solve the problem. Meanwhile, Thailand’s property developers and finance firms are healthier, financially, than they were in 1997,” she said.
One major market sector that has been hit hard by the slowdown has been Bangkok’s downtown condominiums. At the end of 2008, there were between 6,000 and 7,000 unsold condos in the city, and it will take some time for that backlog to clear. For those looking for a bargain, it provides an excellent opportunity, though.
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