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Monday, 02 February 2009 00:00 |
Developers, airlines and holidaymakers are all increasing their focus on the south-east Asian country of Thailand, and should ensure that conditions remain favourable in the kingdom for property investors.
That is the claim recently expressed by overseas property portal Homesgofast.com, which highlighted the large reserve of unsold condos in the country that are currently being offered at "very low prices".
Official statistics from Thailand's Office of Tourism revealed that 2.08 million international visitors arrived at Bangkok's Suvarnbhumi International Airport during the fourth quarter of 2008.
Although this was 28 per cent less than the 2.89 million visitors who arrived during the same period in 2007, it is believed that the causes of the decline were the credit crunch and the political protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that led to the closure of two of the country's airports.
With the PAD's protests leading to the removal of Somchai Wongsawat and the People's Power Party from government, some semblance of political equilibrium has now been restored by 27th prime minister and leader of the Democrats Party, Abhisit Vejjajiva.
In fact, the Bangkok Post reported that the Thai government has already backed a new bill to bolster security at airports in order to prevent any such future disruption to international and domestic flight services.
Les Calvert, director of overseas property website Property-abroad.com, suggested Prime Minister Vejjajiva's recent claims that he will "bring Thailand's governance back to normality" would be good news for the emerging property market.
In a flurry of activity over recent weeks, leaders of the country have also unveiled a new financial aid package which included a tax allowance of up to 300,000 Thai baht (£5,950) for all purchasers of new property in 2009, according to Reuters.
As far as the effects of the global economic downturn go, Homesgofast.com chief executive Neil Marr claimed that most of the world has been affected, suggesting that Thailand is faring better than most.
"Thailand, like the rest of the world, has seen a slowdown and it seems this will be the case for 2009, however the groundwork for recovery is being laid for a healthy property market and I predict it will recover in 2010," he said.
Mr Marr also highlighted the impact of new flights by Etihad Airways and Bangkok Airways to Phuket and Koh Samui, maintaining that they were launched "as a result of consumer demand".
"These destinations offer luxury hotels at a fraction of the cost of traditional locations and some of the world's most luxurious properties."
Commenting on the state of Thailand's property market, Mr Calvert said that property prices on the mainland are reaching mature levels, but that phenomenal growth is still being witnessed on the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, driven primarily by tourism.
"When the global recovery is in full swing, it is highly likely that Koh Samui and Koh Phangan property prices will rise rapidly, and that their growth will likely reach at least 50 per cent per annum," he predicted. |
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