Cha–Am villas set price record

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Cha–Am villas set price record



CHA-AM: -- 1606 Co is planning a 440-million-baht project at Cha-Am with the heaviest price tag for residential units that the town has ever seen.

The property developer, owned by the Sophonpanich family, aims to launch Veyla Cha-Am Residences in January next year. Four pool villas with a unit price of between 54 million and 59 million baht will be the most expensive houses ever sold in Cha-am, said the company. On a plot of nearly four rai near Hotel De La Paix in Cha-Am, the villas will each provide a usable area of 420-455 square metres.

In addition, two four-storey buildings will offer 14 condo units, each sized 148-210 sq m and priced at 12-17 million baht, or 78,000-98,000 baht per sq m.

Rooftop solar panels across 500 sq m will generate 75 kW for lighting in common areas and a solar pump for the swimming pool.

Prime plots with a sea view or beach locations are in short supply, unlike land in mountain destinations such as Khao Yai, said Managing Director Prapavadee Sophonpanich.

"The Hua Hin and Cha-am property market has shown signs of oversupply with sluggish sales since early in the year due to a large number of mass product units entering the market," she said. "These units are small with no sea view or beachfront area."

Veyla Cha-am Residences is Ideas 1606's second project, following the 360-million-baht Veyla Khao Tao Residences, which sold out in three months afte their launch in 2009.

"We've learned from the first project that we should join Bangkok Bank [one of the family's businesses] to offer home loan packages to customers," she said. One-third of buyers at the previous project used BBL loans, while the rest paid cash. For the new project, Ideas 1606 and BBL will offer an 80% mortgage, at 0.5% interest in the first year and minimum lending rate (MLR) minus 5.5% in a second and third year, or an average interest of 4.1-4.3% throughout the first three years.

Ideas 1606 has also bought a four-rai plot near Khao Tao Reservoir, where it plans to develop houses suited to outdoor activities.

Established in 2008 with a registered capital of 20 million baht, Ideas 1606 is wholly owned by Mrs Prapavadee and her husband, Chone, president of SET-listed Bangkok Life Assurance Plc. Mrs Prapavadee, 39, is also an executive director of the Sophonpanich family's Palang Sophon Limited, an exploration firm with a turnover of 4 billion baht.

"Energy and property are similar for investment as both are project-based businesses," she said. "Return on investment is quite similar but the property business has high competition and more variables. Energy is a long-term business with higher risks."

Mrs Prapavadee was a founder of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store Bangkok (The Met Store), a museum gift and reproductions shop. She graduated in 1996 from Columbia University, USA, with a master's degree in international finance and banking.


-- Hua Hin Today 2013-12-27