Its online poll, conducted from May 16-31 at www.reic.or.th, received 468 responses to the question of how much people could pay from their monthly income for home loans.

This year, 16 per cent said they could finance instalments of Bt8,000-Bt10,000, while 14 per cent could shoulder from Bt6,000-Bt8,000. That was followed by 20 per cent for Bt4,000-Bt6,000; 18 per cent for Bt2,000-Bt4,000 and 7 per cent for Bt2,000.

According to the REIC, its poll results reflect National Statistical Office data that show for last year 64.4 per cent of households were burdened with average debt of Bt116,585, of which 33.7 per cent was for land and home purchases.

The household-debt figures are in line with per-capita income, which in 2005 was Bt109,400 a year or Bt9,100 a month.

The REIC estimates that if a person can carry Bt10,000 in instalments a month and obtains a 20-year loan with an interest rate of 7 per cent, the person can borrow up to Bt1.3 million. That means the person can buy a home with a price tag of Bt1.6 million.

The government's recent decision to raise the annual tax deduction for home-loan interest from Bt50,000 to Bt100,000 will boost the purchasing power of those who can pay more than Bt6,000 a month, but would not help those whose instalments are less than Bt5,000, the REIC noted.

Lower income in light of lower economic growth has caused great difficulties for developers in unloading new housing units.

Experts anticipate that the property market will slip 20 per cent this year from Bt200 billion last year.

Due to weak consumer purchasing power and confidence, homes priced above Bt2 million have a harder time finding buyers. Data from developers show that residences costing Bt1-Bt2 million are the most popular.

Financial institutions, in a bid to expand their mortgage portfolios, have also come up with attractive rates.

Many have offered rates under 5 per cent for the first year, with the minimum lending rate applied to following years.