Have you noticed the number of condominium projects under construction around Sukhumvit, Sathorn and Ratchadaphisek roads? Bangkok is witnessing not only a new trend in city living, but also the creation of a new community of condo dwellers clustered around the routes of the Skytrain and the subway.

This is how the high cost of oil - hence fuel and transport, is changing our capital. The condo buyers seek, first and foremost, to reduce their transport costs. But they haven't forgotten comfort and they're eager to join a new city-bound lifestyle.

Alan Lin, CEO of property agent Harrison, says demand for condominium units in the Sukhumvit, Sathorn and Ratchadaphisek areas has enjoyed strong growth, and most property developers have followed demand by turning away from detached housing and town houses to build condominiums in those areas.

One Harrison survey showed as many as 10 condominium projects worth up to Bt10 billion were launched in the first four months of the year, offering units priced from Bt1.5 million to Bt5 million and representing 60 per cent of all condominium projects in Bangkok.

Most of the new projects are focused on the middle- and upper-income markets.

Asian Property Development has launched The Life condominium projects on Sathorn, Ratchadaphisek and Phaholyothin roads. Preuksa Real Estate will build its first city condominium project, The Ivy, on Ratchadaphisek Road. Woraluk Property is building the Le Lux condominium on Sukhumvit Road. And Sansiri has launched its latest project, called Siri, on Sukhumvit Road. The list goes on.

Lin says that although the projects launched in the first four months of the year will target the middle- and upper-income markets, their main selling point remains their proximity to mass transit systems and the consequent savings in energy costs.

Asian Property Development CEO Anuphong Assavabhokhin, whose company's expertise is building city detached-house and town-house projects, says the firm changed to condominiums because of consumer demand. Home-buyers are opting to buy city condominiums because of the transport convenience, plus they are concerned about their quality of life.

In the first quarter, growth in total housing sales was less than 5 per cent year on year. However, when the condominium market is considered on its own, growth in the first quarter was up 20 per cent, because of the big shift in spending away from detached houses, double houses and town houses.

Anuphong says Asian Property Development had to follow customer demand in order to achieve its sales target of Bt7 billion this year, an increase of 16 per cent over last year's total sales of Bt6 million.

Preuksa Real Estate, another property firm with a reputation for building town houses and detached houses, has also diversified into the city condominium market with The Ivy, which will focus on middle-income earners.

Preuksa president Thongma Vijitpongpun says the move was made to chase demand. However, the key to success for city condominiums is a location close to mass transit, so Preuksa's first city project is on Ratchadaphisek Road, close to the subway.

For many property developers, the pursuit of consumer demand has entailed abrupt changes in normal practice. No more abrupt, however, than the changes emerging in and around Sukhumvit, Sathorn, and Ratchadaphisek roads, where many Bangkokians will settle over the next two years to create a new condominium-based community around the city's mass-transit routes.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation