Nantawan Suan Luang Rama 9, one of Land & Houses' posh estates built near Suvarnabhumi Airport, is reaping the rewards of recent inflows of realty speculation into the eastern suburbs.

But with high petrol prices and inflation, the merits of staying far from the city centre and worsening traffic jams in this part of town, home-buyers are thinking twice before relocating to Prawes district, which includes sections of Srinakarin, Onnuj and Udomsuk.

The estate lies about four kilometres from Srinakarin Road, and about one kilometre from Rama 9 Park. It targets wealthier buyers as its smallest house, covering 225 square metres and built on a 80-square-wah plot, sells for Bt8.99 million - not a small sum even for well-paid corporate managers.

For Land & Houses, which traditionally charges a 30-per-cent premium above market prices, this practice now seems a bit out of place.

The company, which is celebrating 30 years of home-building this month, has in recent years basked in formers glories without achieving the kind of groundbreaking feats that had made it a celebrated name a decade ago.

It maintains a rather conservative stance and its new designs, while offering some improvements, lack the bravado the market has come to expect from it.

A recent visit to Nantawan Suan Luang estate shows that while it has maintained high standards for its infrastructure work on the estate grounds, it has fallen short of delivering a brilliant project.

Also, the firm has a remarkable knack for making economy-class buyers feel small. Its sole three-bedroom house appears less worthy than the larger ones, though the price differential is not so wide. Indeed, a Bt9-million unit is anything but cheap, even when you factor in inflation.

Nantawan will provide just one air-conditioning unit for the master bedroom in the "small" units. But it fits air conditioners in all bedrooms for the bigger homes.

Also, the smallest units do not have bathtubs, while all the bigger homes do.

Why such prejudices are adopted remains hard to fathom, even for snobs.

Thankfully, the developer will provide kitchens, but no built-ins, for all the homes - regardless of price and size.

Never known to be a "bean-counter", the company has surprisingly proven to be exceptionally frugal in its packages since the 1997 financial crash.

Still, the Nantawan site will attract buyers who dislike nasty surprises that often come with buying homes off-plan, that is unbuilt units based on paper drawings.

For all its faults, Land & Houses will be remembered for its "build first before selling" motto, one which has endeared many buyers as well as observers at home and abroad.

The biggest advantage for its buyers is they know exactly what they are getting.

There are a number of completed designs, Its largest house covers 324 square metres of usable space and sells for about Bt15 million.

The interior finishing is the standard granite flooring on the ground floor and hardwood for upstairs bedrooms.

Being close to the international airport has its hiccups. Some housing estates in eastern Bangkok will suffer noise problems if they are situated under the flight paths, which is also where most aviation malfunctions occur. But Nantawan's site appears safe from such woes. It is tucked away in an isolated area, but the traffic flow in front of the entrance is exceptionally fast. Visitors should exercise some care while venturing there.

Itthi C Tan

The Nation