Condo Inquiry

[charles]

Visited the sales office for the new (rather large) condo project by LPN development on Suttisarn not far from Saphan Kwai BTS today. Looks pretty good value at about 35,000 baht per square meter in a relatively handy location.

Firstly, does anyone have any advice on what LPN are like as developers or any views on this particular project?

Also just one technical question. As it is not built yet you have to put down about 10 per cent it seems in a few stages before paying the lot when it is completed next year. I've read up on the procedures for having to transfer money in/TT3 form etc, but I'm wondering how the above 10% relates to this. Can I just pay these fairly small amounts out of my own Thai bank account and then just wire in the main amount when the time comes and land dept. will accept the transfer of the unit? No probs said the sales staff but I'm not too sure I should take their word for it.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Cheers!

[atiga]

hi

my advice would be to wait and see, major property builders have already admitted that there will be a surplus of properties soon. just look in the bkk post and see the number of new condo's on the market." you belive they are already 80- 90% full before completion???" how many expats and thai are buying new condo's, what about all the old ones are they full ?

Just walk around any soi and see the numerous condo built or being built!

What happens when all the expats buy then the goverment changes face again and refuses deeds.

how far will they go to stop farang investment .

Think about last week workers killed on condo project almost complete when the building colapsed" and not thai built"

buying a condo is like using a farang lawyer here" you over pay and still get stung in the end"

[Nam Kao]

Do you have a trustworty Thai friend, I know its a longshot having one but

send him/her alone to get a quote on a similar condo and see how much

they are fleecing you.

You'll be very surpized.

Nam

[Darlek]

Visited the sales office for the new (rather large) condo project by LPN development on Suttisarn not far from Saphan Kwai BTS today. Looks pretty good value at about 35,000 baht per square meter in a relatively handy location.

***********************************

might be prudent to hold off a while before laying down deposits on unbuilt condos.

they will probly be still there when its finished as so many are coming on stream all over BK

Property shares drop from the best performers

Published on Jun 29, 2004

Property stocks are dropping from the list of best performers on the stock exchange one by one as developers face tougher times and difficulties matching their awesome results last year.

A rise in domestic interest rates is likely to put pressure on homebuyers' purchasing power, which translates into a slower stream of income for property firms, making them a less attractive target for investors, several property analysts said. Competition has also been fierce, plus tax breaks for developers expired last year and the single family home and condominium markets are showing signs of saturation.

Stockbrokers' recommendations on many property stocks have been either downgraded from "buy" to "neutral", or from "neutral" to "reduce". The majority of these stocks still have "neutral" recommendations, meaning they are performing as well as the stock market as a whole.

Of 10 property stocks evaluated by Capital Nomura Securities (CNS)' research unit, half are rated "neutral". The brokerage recommends that investors "buy" just three stocks: Asia Property, Lalin Property and Sansiri.

CNS revised downward selected property firms' fair values based on slowing sales growth. Still, combined revenues for the 10 firms are expected to increase 25 per cent to Bt62.7 billion this year from 2003, and up to Bt76 billion next year.

Combined net profits are expected to drop 9 per cent to Bt12.7 billion this year, and then inch up to Bt12.8 billion next year. CNS research said property stocks are not an interesting investment due to their expected poor performance in relation to the rest of the market.

The property sector is being hampered by a slowing stream of realised gains from new projects as a result of an increased supply of homes, delays in projects, and lower net margins due to higher expenses like sales and material costs and the expiration last year of corporate tax breaks.

Additionally, domestic interests are likely to increase this year. Every 1-percentage-point increase in interest rates means an 8 per cent higher mortgage payment for homeowners.

Phatra Securities and Merrill Lynch Singapore jointly maintain "neutral" recommendations on Quality Houses' stock, but they recently downgraded Noble Development stock to "neutral". Based on their joint research, they said they were concerned about the dilution of Quality Houses' stock after an expected stock sale this year. Also Noble Development will likely be affected by an oversupply in condominiums.

Researchers working for Phatra and Merrill Lynch said Quality Houses' operating profits would grow 28 per cent in 2004. But, its net profit growth is not attractive enough to justify the effects of the expected dilution. As a result, after Quality Houses' stock is fully diluted earnings per share will fall 4 per cent this year.

CNS researchers went even further, recommending that investors reduce their holdings of Quality Houses, reflecting its under-performance compared to the rest of the market.

As for Noble Development, it is working on seven projects carried forward from last year with a remaining value of Bt4.2 billion. It plans to start another six worth Bt7.8 billion this year. Of these, 44 per cent are condominiums, according to Phatra Securities and Merrill Lynch Singapore. Most new projects coming on line are high-end single-home sales and condos, leading their research team to take a less sanguine view of companies heavily weighted in these segments.

Sasithorn Ongdee

THE NATION