Land prices falter as housing demand falls
Developers expected to postpone many new developments in 2009
Land prices in Bangkok are expected to either remain unchanged or fall by as much as 5 or 10 per cent, depend
¬ing on the location, following a slide in the property market that may reach significant proportions next year, prop¬erty experts say.Property Perfect
's chief operating officer Teerachon Manomaiphibul said now was a good time to buy land to develop new residential projects next year, when some property developers are expected to back away from new projects. The situation has created an opportunity for property firms with cash to step in and gather land."We believe that land prices will be maintained in some locations, but will drop in others because market demand is now lower than it was last year," he said.
With the market trend, residential prices in 2009 may stay as they are or fall, thanks to both lower costs for construction raw materials and land prices, which are expected to remain steady or fall, but not to increase, Teerachon said.
Property firm Chewathai's executive director Boon Choon Kiat said land prices in the central business district had remained unchanged because there had been only slight growth in demand for residential projects since the third quarter of this year.
"We can bargain with landowners better than we could before," he said. "At some locations the price of land price has fallen significantly, by 5 to 10 per cent," he said.
Real Estate Information Centre directorgeneral Samma Kitsin said the price of land in the central business district, including Silom, Sukhumvit and Sathorn, had remained unchanged since earlier this year. However, at some locations further away from the central business district, prices are expected to slide next year when prop
¬erty firms begin postponing new residential projects because of dwindling demand."Property developers must be more cautious about their investments in new residential projects in 2009 because there has already been a significant drop in demand since the third quarter," he said.
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