Anti-govt protests takes toll on housing construction industry

[webfact]

Protest takes toll on housing construction industry



BANGKOK: -- The long and ongoing anti-government protests has taken toll on the housing construction industry with clients holding off house repairs, extensions and building new homes to keep themselves liquid in these unstable times.

The first quarter of the Thai housing construction industry is usually a busy time for contractors. This productive industry usually experiences a healthy 5% – 7% annual growth alongside the real estate and land development industry.

However things have slowed down significantly due to the protests which have now lasted three months with no foreseeable end in sight. In these uncertain times, clients are holding off building new homes, extensions and making housing repairs to hold on to their savings instead.

Thai Housing Construction Association (THCA) president Mr Sitthiporn Suwannasutthi stated that housing construction industry growth for 2014 has been revised to 4% – 5%.

This is a drop from the earlier predicted 10% growth due to the long drawn out political rallies by protestors.

According to the THCA, the first quarter’s figures revealed a more than a 50% drop compared to last year’s.

The housing construction business in Bangkok has been really competitive these past five years, especially for housing estates and town houses, which have pushed the industry to initiate developments upcountry.

He said that as compared to the same period last year the business has shrunk by half.

But he said the purchasing power and demand is still there but people are delaying their purchasing decisions to wait the situation out as well as look at the key economic markers.

Overall, the protests have affected the construction business in a large way, especially within the central and northeastern regions. The situation in other regions is however almost at a standstill mainly due to the fact that certain areas that were reserved for development have now postponed their projects.

The main investment cost for residential property development is the cost of land whereas investment for constructing private homes is the labourcosts and constructions materials.

The construction business today has turned to utilising machinery to replace manual labour due to shortages in skilled workers which helped to cut labour requirements by a third. In comparison, Thailand was experiencing a construction boom just last year where building materials in the local market could not supplied quickly enough resulting in costs spiking to all time high and projects being delayed due to shortages.

He said most project completions and handover dates were delayed last year. There were issues with cost and quality control as companies struggled to meet deadlines. There was shortage in skilled labor as well because we were busy. The construction company has been badly affected by this current protest and we are still facing labour shortages.

An unstable political situation, government projects that have been postponed combined by the shortage in skilled labour as well as the resulting slowdown in the economy are now threatening existing projects with no new projects in sight.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/protest-takes-toll-housing-construction-industry/


-- Thai PBS 2014-02-08

[Why ask]

What the heck, in anything this man has said, is a result of the protests?

The title has nothing to do with the content. Bizarre!

Nothing to do with the protests whatsoever!

[Melyn]

Complete nonsense

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ratcatcher]

BANGKOK: -- The long and ongoing anti-PTP government protests maladministration has taken toll on the housing construction industry with clients holding off house repairs, extensions and building new homes to keep themselves liquid in these unstable times.

[Barney R]

Maybe just maybe the housing bubble is about to burst like it does in every country around the world from time to time when the is a correction in the market . Easy to look around and blame the protests everyone else is for the problems that are probably self inflicted instead at looking in their own backyards and maybe finding a problem or two there .

[rickirs]

What the heck, in anything this man has said, is a result of the protests?

The title has nothing to do with the content. Bizarre! width=18 alt=w00t.gif>

Nothing to do with the protests whatsoever!

He stated it quite clearly. When you interject uncertainty into the economy such as the business disruptions caused by the long drawn out political rallies by protestors who are promoting insurrection, physical removal of the government, and installation of an unelected cadre, investors get worried. Businesses start to liquidate, shutdown businesses, and withhold investments. Combine these factors with a government that cannot provide services to support businesses such as visas for foreigner workers and tourists and customs clearances, and slowdown of commercial transportation services, you start to see an economic slowdown, aka depression.

[Robby nz]

According to the THCA, the first quarter’s figures revealed a more than a 50% drop compared to last year’s.

But the first quarter hasn't finished yet.

Or is he talking about the first quarter of 2013 ?

[hawker9000]

Time to start pinning the tail on the donkey. Thaksin & the PTP are the real cause of all this, not the protesters just trying to put an END to it!

[Muhendis]

What the heck, in anything this man has said, is a result of the protests?

The title has nothing to do with the content. Bizarre!

Nothing to do with the protests whatsoever!

Yes I'm inclined to agree. There is nothing in the article that correlates the protests with the labour shortages or the increased cost of materials. Certainly new government projects will not get approval but that is for future planning. Current ongoing projects will not be affected. So. If these companies are now turning to projects in the north, can someone please enlighten me as to how the protests are having any affect on them?

[kuiburi]

After the flooding in 2011 there was a massive shortage of (skilled) constructionworkers .

Prices went skyhigh for materials and labour .

Building and constructioncosts are about 30 to 40 % increased since then .

It's a bit like commodities ( suplly and demand) only the demand now is less and the constructionworkers and the retailmarket of materials got used to the wages and high prices .

With the raised prices , less people are able to build or renovate .

[trogers]

But he said the purchasing power and demand is still there but people are delaying their purchasing decisions to wait the situation out as well as look at the key economic markers.

I am more incline to the view that speculative demand has fallen off, and not real demand. There is a large oversupply as shown by high vacancy rates of recently completed projects.

A correction in the property market is welcome to avoid ghost buildings like the ghost cities of China...

[Why ask]

What the heck, in anything this man has said, is a result of the protests?

The title has nothing to do with the content. Bizarre! width=18 alt=w00t.gif>

Nothing to do with the protests whatsoever!

He stated it quite clearly. When you interject uncertainty into the economy such as the business disruptions caused by the long drawn out political rallies by protestors who are promoting insurrection, physical removal of the government, and installation of an unelected cadre, investors get worried. Businesses start to liquidate, shutdown businesses, and withhold investments. Combine these factors with a government that cannot provide services to support businesses such as visas for foreigner workers and tourists and customs clearances, and slowdown of commercial transportation services, you start to see an economic slowdown, aka depression.

He stated quite clearly:

"The main investment cost for residential property development is the cost of land whereas investment for constructing private homes is the labourcosts and constructions materials.

The construction business today has turned to utilising machinery to replace manual labour due to shortages in skilled workers which helped to cut labour requirements by a third. In comparison, Thailand was experiencing a construction boom just last year where building materials in the local market could not supplied quickly enough resulting in costs spiking to all time high and projects being delayed due to shortages.

He said most project completions and handover dates were delayed last year. There were issues with cost and quality control as companies struggled to meet deadlines. There was shortage in skilled labor as well because we were busy. The construction company has been badly affected by this current protest and we are still facing labour shortages."

Then you go on to say "LONG DRAWN OUT POLITICAL RALLIES" ... Huum... How long, exactly?

Then you bring in Visas and foreigners and tourists, and customs.

The interjection, as you put it, was way before any breakaway by Suthep from his original party. Is that clear enough, to interpret from the words??

How about combine the factors of this government (passively) being raped by a narcissist in Dubai, and his daughter sister running a so called democratic government, and then you have a combination leading to the BS stated regarding protest interference.

[fish fingers]

the Bangkok condo market is very bizarre. House of cards, and/or condo's made of card (sansiri)

Edited February 8, 2014 by fish fingers

[bobmac10]

Something that amazes me about the many people who post about how bad Yingluck is and Thaksin and the redshirts etc etc is their suggestion that once these influences are gone from Thai politics, everything will be ok again.I assume they believe support for Peu Thai would evaporate and a "clean" Democratic perty would gain power.

All I can say is that they are extremely naive.

Anyone who has lived here a long time would understand that all Thai politicians are to some extent corrupt.

To our minds, any money for influence in politics is corruption, whereas, prior to the recent birth of a democratic political system here, it was the accepted way to get things done.

Suddenly, (now) it's corruption.

The other point I would make is that these posters seem to believe the other side (yellows) somehow represent a broader national opposition against the PeuThai party.

This is once again naive. The yellow shirts are a Bangkok phenomenon, funded by the financial supporters of the Democratic party. The majority of them are public servants, given time off work by their supervisiors to demonstrate.

One only has to look at the last three elections to see the overwhelming support for the Thaksin / redshirt aligned parties which comes from outside Bangkok.

If one supposed that the Thaksin family were to suddenly disappear from Thai politics and another leader emerge from the Peu Thai party, would the Democrats / Suthep also cease their constant protesting and accept the results of an election which returned another Peu Thai government?

Of course not.

They understand that the only way they are going to get a quick return to power is through non-democratic means.

And of course, anti-corruption is their mantra. The irony in that being Democrat politicians are just as corrupt as the others.

So this is just what it appears to be, a power play by an unpopular political party to gain power outside of the democratic process.

[trogers]

Something that amazes me about the many people who post about how bad Yingluck is and Thaksin and the redshirts etc etc is their suggestion that once these influences are gone from Thai politics, everything will be ok again.I assume they believe support for Peu Thai would evaporate and a "clean" Democratic perty would gain power.

All I can say is that they are extremely naive.

Anyone who has lived here a long time would understand that all Thai politicians are to some extent corrupt.

To our minds, any money for influence in politics is corruption, whereas, prior to the recent birth of a democratic political system here, it was the accepted way to get things done.

Suddenly, (now) it's corruption.

The other point I would make is that these posters seem to believe the other side (yellows) somehow represent a broader national opposition against the PeuThai party.

This is once again naive. The yellow shirts are a Bangkok phenomenon, funded by the financial supporters of the Democratic party. The majority of them are public servants, given time off work by their supervisiors to demonstrate.

One only has to look at the last three elections to see the overwhelming support for the Thaksin / redshirt aligned parties which comes from outside Bangkok.

If one supposed that the Thaksin family were to suddenly disappear from Thai politics and another leader emerge from the Peu Thai party, would the Democrats / Suthep also cease their constant protesting and accept the results of an election which returned another Peu Thai government?

Of course not.

They understand that the only way they are going to get a quick return to power is through non-democratic means.

And of course, anti-corruption is their mantra. The irony in that being Democrat politicians are just as corrupt as the others.

So this is just what it appears to be, a power play by an unpopular political party to gain power outside of the democratic process.

???

A long rabbling and not a sentence regarding the housing industry...

[tomross46]

This has adversely affected the operation of SC Assets. If SCA is affected than they everything must stop to protect SCA. When will people understand where the priorities are? Shin Corp, is the only property firm that matters.