Elite Card members to rescue Bangkok’s sluggish luxury condo market

[webfact]

Elite Card members to rescue Bangkok’s sluggish luxury condo market

 

Thai caption: Luxury condo stock being sold along with Elite Flexible One card

 

Thai media Bangkok Business News repeated earlier claims that foreigners are hoping to come to the rescue in the capital's sluggish luxury condo market. 

 

Incentives connected to the Elite Flexible One card would enable developers to shift their stock.

 

They quoted figures from Colliers International that suggested that in 2020 there were 16,083 10 million baht and up units available for purchase.

 

Of these 11,355 had been bought and 4,678 remained for sale. 

 

That was 70.8% sold and 29.2 % unsold.

 

Most were in the Sukhumvit, Sathorn, Silom, Ploenchit and Chitlom areas of the capital. 

 

Now it is hoped that incentives like offering long term residency will enable developers to shift the condos that have not been sold. 

 

The media reported that local purchasing was slow. 

 

Source: Bangkok Business News

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-02-01

 

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[GeorgeCross]

i thought this horse had been well and truly flogged already?

 

it aint gonna happen. no-ones gonna buy a 10M baht condo for 600K off (likely on!) in this environment.

 

make it PR and 5M and these guys may have a chance.

 

personally i'd like the choice on resale units but we know THAT aint going to happen either

 

at 10M i can get passports in certain carribean countries lol!

 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by GeorgeCross

[Pravda]

Someone I know rented a 35sqm condo on Sukhumvit 40 about 1km from Gateway Ekkamai. Purchase price was about 5.5 million fully furnished, rented for 13,000 baht. This place is from a well known developer that makes cookie cutter condos, but this one is actually quite nice low rise and it really feels like hotel quality.

 

Verbatim from rental agent who manages these condos for Taiwanese investors is that a lot of them are refusing to transfer money due to fall in rental prices. These agents are struggling to get paid and also struggling to find tenants. These condos can now be had for 4 million as is the case with majority of projects who will simply offer discount on the amount they are owed. Basically investors paid 30% down and this is the amount that will get you a discount. I have visited a bunch of these projects myself in the past 3 months amazingly (or not) they are still for sale even at these prices. 

 

So I am kinda surprised that 70% of units priced over 10 million were sold in 2020. Maybe the discounts were much better than 30%.

 

 

[richard_smith237]

The persistent dreaming is relentless.

 

Does no one in the meetings that these guys have speak up and suggest they hold back on the next ‘we’ve saved Thailand’ announcement because they’ll make themselves look like complete monkeys ??!!!!!  

[Airalee]

9 minutes ago, Pravda said:

Someone I know rented a 35sqm condo on Sukhumvit 40 about 1km from Gateway Ekkamai. Purchase price was about 5.5 million fully furnished, rented for 13,000 baht. This place is from a well known developer that makes cookie cutter condos, but this one is actually quite nice low rise and it really feels like hotel quality.

 

Verbatim from rental agent who manages these condos for Taiwanese investors is that a lot of them are refusing to transfer money due to fall in rental prices. These agents are struggling to get paid and also struggling to find tenants. These condos can now be had for 4 million as is the case with majority of projects who will simply offer discount on the amount they are owed. Basically investors paid 30% down and this is the amount that will get you a discount. I have visited a bunch of these projects myself in the past 3 months amazingly (or not) they are still for sale even at these prices. 

 

So I am kinda surprised that 70% of units priced over 10 million were sold in 2020. Maybe the discounts were much better than 30%.

 

 

13k for a 5.5 million baht condo is a terrible P/E ratio.  Even at the discounted 4 million baht price I wouldn’t want to be a landlord.

 

I was also curious about that 70% figure in the 10 million plus range.  I wonder if that is just signed contracts or people who actually closed on their unit.  And of that figure, I wonder how many are speculators looking to either rent out (good luck with that) or flip for a profit (even less likely).

 

It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out.  Wasn’t there an article not too long ago stating that there was something like 100k+ condos for sale by developers in Bangkok?  Gonna be tough clearing that backlog.

[mr mr]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Elite Card members to rescue Bangkok’s sluggish luxury condo market

 

nope.

[PatOngo]

Yeah Right! Sign me up for four condos! Come on guys, let's rescue them!????

[chinasimon]

I used to be interested in a TE card, but no longer. I also considered buying a condo, the P/E ratio is terrible as stated, but the main reason for me was the hassle of owning a place I have to take care of or communicate with the PM office. 

 

So many attractive rental properties, I don't see myself buying anything even with prices dropping. 

[SoilSpoil]

If 70% of all available 10M up units were sold, it's been quite a good year. Find these numbers hard to belief.

[Venom]

We've got a lovely view from our condo of the putrid pink/ brown smog rolling in over city this morning. It's getting close to peak burning season and we are loving it. With views like this it's no wonder condos in BKK are selling like hot cakes! ????

[hotchilli]

16 hours ago, Pravda said:

So I am kinda surprised that 70% of units priced over 10 million were sold in 2020. Maybe the discounts were much better than 30%.

Or it's just BS

[whiteman]

Does no one in the meetings that these guys have speak up and suggest they hold back on the next ‘we’ve saved Thailand’ announcement because they’ll make themselves look like complete monkeys ??!!!!!  

 

Even the Monkeys are smarter than theses guys

[Magenta408]

Sure! This is a real crock. A real stinker. Elite member card holders remember how shoddily treated they were when they wanted to re-enter the country. They were treated very shoddily and I doubt many will do anything to save the "condo" market. Laughing out loud!

[cjinchiangrai]

10 Million gets you a lot more than a condo in Bangkok. That is a really nice villa setup in someplace nice to live.

 

[Benmart]

3 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

10 Million gets you a lot more than a condo in Bangkok. That is a really nice villa setup in someplace nice to live.

 

Who actually is on the Chanot for such a property? Illusion.

[bangon04]

The Elite Card holders found out they were nothing special when they tried to get into Thailand last year. The price was increased to 600k. Logically the price is increased when there are fewer takers?

 

So many incentives...... difficult to say no....

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, bangon04 said:

The Elite Card holders found out they were nothing special when they tried to get into Thailand last year. The price was increased to 600k. Logically the price is increased when there are fewer takers?

 

So many incentives...... difficult to say no....

 

Very much so...  That said, I don’t think any Thai Elite Members think or thought they are ‘special’... the name just seems to give ‘non members’ that impression.  ‘Elite’ is a downright stupid name... They could have / should have just called it something such as ‘Thai Visitors Card’ or something similar and it would have received far less negative press.

 

That said: When Members have paid 1 million baht or even 500,000 baht for the government sanctioned right to a visa their exclusion from entry between April and August of 2020 highlights an atrocious degree of disregard by the very same government that approved the scheme. 

 

Unfortunately, this is a damning testament to Thailand’s hunger for money without providing true value. 

 

I am a member of Thai Elite, I had no issues returning in July under a Non-Imm O visa (marriage), but was wholly disappointed that this was even necessary. It must have been very annoying for Thai Elite members to sit by and witness this disregard, the same for those on retirement visas.