Thailand Business News –
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This year’s floods have had a vast impact on the property market, with sectors affected across the board. But the impact varies from sector to sector,from residential to industrial. |
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Floods Won’t Affect Thai Property Market in the Long Term
Thailand’s property sector is showing signs of an early recovery, as selective investors return to purchasing real estate stocks and actual property.
Some of the credit goes to a one-year government stimulus package that reduces the Special Business Tax from 3.3% to 0.11%, extends the reduction on transfer taxes from 2% to 0.01% and mortgage registration fees and provides a tax deduction on mortgage principal and interest.
Thailand’s property indicators show:
1.The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index began rebounding in April 2009, and property stocks – while the first to fall in H2/08 – were amongst the first to recover
2. The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has lowered its policy interest rate four times since December 2008, prompting banks to reduce the minimum lending rate (MLR) from 7.25% to 6.25%
3. A continued drop in sales of durable goods due to uncertainty surrounding the economy is highlighted consumer confidence index (CCI) to a historic low of 72.8 in Q1/09 and New housing registrations in Bangkok and surrounding areas fell 43.8% in Q1/09
Recognising that sales would slow, forward-thinking companies took the opportunity to focus on their fundamentals and improve their balance sheets. This was the strategy of Hubert Viriot, CEO of the luxury developer Raimon Land, who was appointed in the midst of the crisis.
Second, Thailand’s banking system is much healthier than its Western counterparts. There are no toxic assets on local banks’ balance sheets. This benefits both the supply and demand side.
But a stable political environment in Thailand would likely see interest rates rise by half a percentage point. And oil prices will float at about US$85 to $95 a barrel. Construction costs will rise when oil prices and interest rates are in an upward trend. Overall housing supply has dropped over the past two years with a decrease in the number of construction permits. Many small-sized developers went bust after failing to access loans from local financial institutions.
