Stimulus good for property

Part of the package includes stimulus measures for the property sector.

The government plans to double the tax deduction on home mortgages from Bt100,000 to Bt200,000 and encourage more lending to low-income home-buyers.

"The property stimulus measures raise the affordability of residential purchases and accelerate the decision-making process. However, we do not expect to see much impact from these measures, as they are unlikely to help restore the consumer confidence hurt by the ongoing political uncertainty and softening economic outlook. As long as consumers feel insecure about their employment and future income, they are unlikely to commit themselves to any loan burden," Suphin said.

The government should focus on improving the overall economy, by looking for ways to minimise impact from the global economic slowdown and initiatives that will help create jobs and boost purchasing power in all sectors. Measures to boost the export and tourism industries are also required, said Suphin. More incentives to attract foreign investments may be needed in order to make Thailand competitive. Investment in infrastructure should also move forward.

"Improvement in the overall economy will help boost demand in both the commercial and residential property sectors," Suphin added.

Asian Property Development CEO Anuphong Asvabhokhin also believes the new property-stimulus measures will drive the market to maintain growth this year, having faced a negative impact from the domestic political uncertainty.

"[The daily number of] our customer visits has increased from an average of 100 visitors to between 300 and 400 early this year. This is a good sign for the property market this year, after a significant drop in the final quarter of last year," he said.