When the Covid-19 crisis subsides and the ‘new normal’ has been adopted by many, real estate enterprises will have to shift progressively towards a different approach as far as the buyers-sellers are concerned.
One of the new trends as well as an important element in business operation that will occur in the near future is telepresence, a technology similar to videoconferencing but in a wider scope. Business meetings, marketing and purchasing, or even consultations with your developer can all be done through telepresence without leaving your home or meeting in person.
In the past, prices of Bangkok properties that have easier access to public transport such as the BTS Skytrain were often higher than in other locations. But during the Covid-19 outbreak, large numbers of people started to work from home instead of commuting to work. Thus, prices of properties in these locations need not be higher than other places.
On the other hand, Thailand’s property market in the second half of 2020 will see dumping of existing properties, especially those priced at over 3 million baht, which currently represent 75 percent of the total market supply. This will lead to a decline of real estate developers as well as price depreciation in properties.
As a result, this will be a complex year for real estate entrepreneurs and especially for small businesses, and as this sector continues to suffer from the present crisis, it will see small developers close down and taken over by larger developers.
According to the DDproperty Thailand Property Market Index report, in the first quarter of this year markets dropped in terms of price and supply. The housing price index in Bangkok plunged 9 percent whilst the supply index fell 3 percent compared to the same period last year. It is expected that in the third quarter, small and medium property developers will continue to postpone the launch of new projects.
Subsequently, the reduced supply will have to change its course under the ‘new normal’ circumstances. In the near future, consumers will certainly be spending more time working from home; this could be a possibility for developers to redesign residences to suit the consumer’s new lifestyle.
In the face of the Covid-19 situation, the overall picture of property trading has not decreased, but the needs and behaviour of consumers are likely to change under the ‘new normal’.
Meanwhile, one Hua Hin property developer hasn’t seen any serious drop in sales during the crisis. “Although many foreign clients have gone back to their countries, more Thais are turning to investing in property at this moment,” says Mr Chuchat Kongpraphat, developer of iBreeze View Hua Hin, a housing project on Soi 112.
“Just in the past two months, we have already sold four units of quality single house, and all of the clients were influential Thai buyers,” he added.
By Hua Hin Today
