Published on August 08, 2006 - Semi-furnished units start from Bt27 million

Probably the most elaborate housing project currently available in the market, Magnolias offers very handsome classical southern Californian homes that have been transplanted to Bangkok.

Half of the 25 detached houses on the 19-rai estate have been booked, while most of the condominium units are sold.

Three detached units have been completed but only two are available for viewing.

Visitors will not be allowed to view the largest villa or the clubhouse and swimming pool areas as they are being used by the "Academy Fantasia 3" TV show for three months.

These areas will only be available after September. This is probably why there is no rush to erect a billboard at the entrance of the soi leading into the estate at Bang Na-Trat Highway at Kilometre 7.

For people who are unfamiliar with the TV show, it assembles a group of teenagers, some of whom cannot sing or are tone deaf, for a talent contest.

During the competition, members are eliminated one by one, by using the number of votes they receive from mobile-phone callers.

The irony of the setting is that it cradles a rather lowbrow show in one of the most expensive and sophisticated housing estates in the country.

Still, visitors to Magnolias will not fail to be impressed by the replication of classic homes, usually seen in films set in Hollywood during the Forties and Fifties.

The smallest house, called Susana, covers 356 square metres of space while the largest, named Leonardo, offers 506 square metres.

Prices for the remaining units start from Bt31 million for a Susana sitting on a 190-square-wah plot.

Prices include fittings, air-conditioners and kitchen, but not free-standing furniture, curtains, electric ovens and additional items like a fountain and guest bungalows at the back of the house. The condominiums set at the back of the estate are selling well even though the price of the floor area - about Bt65,000 per square metre - is equivalent to that being charged in inner-city areas like Sukhumvit, Sathorn and Rama III.

The condominium maintenance fee of Bt40 a square metre and sinking-fund fee of Bt550 a square metre are also similar to charges at high-end projects.

Still the popularity of the television show is driving crowds to the site at the weekends. Obviously there is pressure from teens to get parents to splurge on the units, thinking it is a Mecca for stage idols, though the project won't be completed for another 18 months.

By then, in mid-2008, the talent show may have fizzled out. By then, it would be interesting to see if people remember what the show was about.

Itthi C Tan
The Nation