Chansak Fuangfu, senior executive vice president of Bangkok Bank, said last week that several condo projects located near mass-transit routes, particularly the Skytrain and subway, had sold out in just a few days, though each property had hundreds or thousands of units. Even subscription forms are in high demand.

However, the bank is not overly concerned as it has raised the criteria for both real-estate loans to developers and mortgage loans to home-buyers. Banks learned a hard lesson when the property bubble burst during the financial crisis of 1997.

The country's largest bank still provides property loans, but it is quite selective, keying in on the developer's experience and the project's location.

Chansak said developers were also nervous about the risk issue and were requiring higher down payments as a means to screen their customers.

Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, senior vice president of Kasikornbank, said his bank would consider loans for third homes on an individual basis but completely ruled out loans for a fourth home. Condo-buyers are classified into three categories.

There are those with real demand. Some want a place in the city centre to save on commuting although they have a have a home in the suburbs; others want to hold units for investment.

The last group is speculators. They may purchase condos now aim to sell in a few years' time when their assets appreciate up to 30 per cent.

Chatchai believes the mix of real demand, investment and speculation is 60 per cent, 20-30 per cent and 10-20 per cent.

Somruedi Banchongduang

The Nation