• 
• 

Field data have been collected by AREA from each project location in greater Bangkok every month since 1994.

"From the survey, it can be seen that the other types of projects, especially for commercial buildings, have less of a chance to be developed, as Thailand is not a rising star like Indonesia," said Sopon Pornchokchai, president of the independent property consultanty.

He said AREA expected this year's newly launched Thai projects to total Bt194.61 billion, with 90 per cent - or Bt174.74 billion - being residential projects.

The value of new projects launched in the first nine months has slipped 6 per cent from the same period last year.

Over the nine months, condominiums accounted for Bt61.35 billion or 47 per cent of the overall value of new launches. City condos have gained in popularity as they enable buyers to save on transportation costs.

Moreover, they can be invested in with a view to earning rental income.

Detached houses and townhouses were the second favourite choice among buyers, with combined project values of Bt35.19 billion and Bt26.29 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, projects for duplexes, shophouses and developed housing estates had far fewer launches than other residential projects.

In terms of volume, newly launched projects comprised 50,087 units in the nine-month period.

For the full year, AREA expects new property projects to comprise 66,783 units, marking an 18-per-cent drop from last year. This would be the lowest level since AREA's field surveys began.

Thirty-three per cent - or 16,625 units - of this year's new launches to date offered prices ranging from Bt1 million to Bt2 million.

Sopon added that each new project sold an average of 34 per cent of its units within the first month of being launched.

The average was 50 per cent, however, for condominiums.