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Just a few years ago, there were hardly any billion Ringgit Gross Development Value (GDV) projects in Penang. These 2 years however, more and more of these billion Ringgit GDV projects. And theone major reason is also because many Kuala Lumpur developers are now moving into Penang. It does not make sense for them to move into Penang and develop only projects worth a few hundred millions.

Above: Penang is a charming city.

Above: In these two years more and more of these billion Ringgit GDV projects at Penang.

Latest news is that Titijaya Land Bhd has obtained shareholders’ approval to acquire about 23 acres of leasehold land in Batu Maung, Penang. It will be building a mixed-use development with a GDV of RM2.6 billion! Price to be paid for the land is RM126 million ONLY. This indicated a land cost versus GDV of only 5 percent. So those who love to buy property stocks may want to take a closer look when Titijaya has successfully launched the first phase of this project and earnings start to show.

Above: Titijaya Land Bhd has obtained shareholders’ approval to acquire about 23 acres of leasehold land in Batu Maung, Penang.

This is a SOHO project. The development would offer about 1,700 units of these SOHO units over four blocks. There would also be retail components and four office towers. Actually, some experts say they not find Penang attractive for these office units but perhaps it should be popular in future. Phase 1 would be launched either year-end or early next year and first phase would have a GDV of RM600 million. This is considered above average in terms of GDV for projects within the island.

 
Above: This project also have retail components.

Penang does not have that many SOHO projects when compared to the popularity of such units in Klang Valley. One major reason it is so popular in Klang Valley is also because of affordability; total price. Price per sf is considered high but many of these SOHO units offer an easy entry point since the price is likely to be sub RM400,000 anyway. It’s still way too early for Titijaya to announce the estimated selling price but it has to be very attractively priced in order to be successful. As at now, one bridge away,  RM400,000 can get a landed property in mainland. Many Penangites are definitely not used to these SOHO units yet.

Source: Penang Property Talk

The reputation of the property developer is the most important but also the most overlooked factor when investing in a condo unit.

Above:The Ace Condominium was to be erected opposite Patong Hospital.

Above：About 30 buyers who have paid deposits and installments to purchase units at a condominium development in Patong protested to Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong few months ago.

According to the Phuket Wan Property News, about 30 buyers who have paid deposits and installments to purchase units at a condominium development in Patong protested to Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong few months ago.

The Ace Condominium was to be erected opposite Patong Hospital between February 2014 and April 2015 but work had yet to begin, the governor was told.

One woman told the governor at the Damrongtam complaints office at Phuket Provincial Hall that she had invested 2,297,000 baht in four units, valued at about 10 million baht. Others said they had paid upwards of 300,000 baht, some in monthly installments as part of an off-the-plan purchase. Efforts to have the owner explain what the problems were had failed, the condo buyers said.

So property buyers should choose some reputable property developers, because they have the ability to complete even the largest and most ambitious plans. One such example is listed property developer, Sansiri. They were recently awarded the prestigious Best Developer Thailand 2013 award, and their project Baan Mai Khao won the best condo development (Phuket) at the Thailand Property Awards 2014.

Above：Sansiri were recently awarded the prestigious Best Developer Thailand 2013 award.

Above：Baan Mai Khao won the best condo development (Phuket) at the Thailand Property Awards 2014.

And according to the Pattaya Mail, Sansiri ended 2014 on a strong note with revenue ranking among the industry’s top three performers – while at the same time leading the sales to expats and foreign investors. Sansiri is notably prominent for its varied inventory of quality property appealing to expat buyers looking to invest in Thailand.

Chinese investors led the year’s sales figures, accounting for 25%, with 21% sold in Singapore, 6% in Malaysia and 3% in Hong Kong. The same ranking applied to the top 10 international buyers by value, headed by sales to Russia worth THB 346 million (US$10,280 million), followed by China worth THB 321 million (US$9.537 million), and Singapore at THB 211 million (US$6.463 million). Among the foreign buyers, 80% (253) of the units sold were for renting and 18% (57) for personal use.

As an integrated property company, Sansiri says its aim is to provide one-stop solutions from property development to property services such as brokerage, holiday home rentals, property management and first-class concierge services.

“Sansiri has created new forms of seamless, high-quality, value-added properties and services of the highest standards, whilst also helping to improve overall quality of life. We construct a life, not just a building.” said Sansiri CEO and Co-founder Apichart Chutrakul. The company also remains committed to its philanthropic endeavours, in order to establish sustainable relationship in a socially and environmentally responsible way, for business partners, communities and customers.

Source：Phuket Wan Property News、Class Act Media and Pattaya Mail

Source from: CBRE

Leading residential developers, confident the property market will recover during the second half of the year, plan to launch projects worth more than Bt215 billion in Bangkok and its suburbs in the period, after witnessing growth of less than 5 per cent during the first five months.

According to a survey by The Nation early this week, 13 listed property firms plan to launch a total of 162 projects worth Bt202.55 billion in greater Bangkok during the period, while three leading non-listed developers intend launching seven projects worth a combined Bt14 billion between July and December.

Graphic from: CBRE

Most of them are confident the property market will witness a recovery in the second half, with the government’s spending on infrastructure projects starting to pick up steam and drive the economy.

The market is also beginning to benefit from interest-rate cuts following the Monetary Policy Committee’s combined reduction of 50 basis points in the benchmark interest rate so far this year.

The property market to date has grown relatively slowly, by less than 5 per cent, year on year.

Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin said that although the overall property market in the first five months had only grown by this amount, his company had experienced sales success at its new residential projects – both those developed on its own and those developed via a joint venture with BTS Holding Group.

Above:Over 1,500 investors attended the event in Hong Kong at the end of May and all the units in The LINE were completely sold out.

“We will therefore revise our presales in the second quarter from Bt10 billion to Bt13 billion, which will drive our presales target for the first half to Bt19 billion, which is better than the early estimate we made,” he said.

Above:THE LINE is a joint venture project between Sansiri and BTS Holding Group.

Sansiri also plans to launch 12 residential projects worth over Bt20 billion in the second half, which should boost full-year presales to Bt35 billion.

“We have seen a recovery in demand in the market this month, thanks to lower interest rates and the government’s investment spending entering the economy. This government expenditure will also be the engine boosting the economy during the second half,” Srettha explained.

Above: Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin said Sansiri plans to launch 12 residential projects worth over Bt20 billion in the second half.

Quality Houses president and CEO Chadchart Sittipunt said he expected the property market to recover in the latter half of the year, given that the cost of buying a home had fallen following the round of interest-rate cuts, while the cost of developing housing had dropped by between 2 per cent and 3 per cent as a result of lower oil prices and the cost of some construction materials having fallen.

“This is a good time to purchase for home-buyers, while it is also a good time for property developers to launch housing that matches what customers demand,” he said.

Quality Houses plans to 14 residential projects together worth about Bt10 billion over the course of the second half, down from the company’s early business plan to launch 18 projects in the period.

“We had to revise down our new project launches when we saw only slight demand growth early year. However, if the market shows a strong recovery in the second half, we are ready to revise our plan because we have four projects, whose launches we delayed, but which have the land and design ready for development as quickly as possible,” said the company chief.

Meanwhile, Golden Land Property Development president Thanapol Sirithanachai said his company intended launching eight residential projects worth Bt7.8 billion in the second half of the year, after recording presales worth Bt4.1 billion in the first half.

“We are confident the property market will recover in the second half of this year, given the interest-rate cuts and purchasing power starting to recover following the government’s speeding up of its spending, which will drive the economy. The economy will also be boosted by improving exports due to the baht’s baht weakness,” he said.

Above: Kessara Thanyalakpark, executive director of Sena Development, said in the second half of this year will focus on the middle- to upper-income segment.

Kessara Thanyalakpark, executive director of Sena Development, said that although the company had delayed the planned launch of two condominium projects worth Bt800 million combined in the second half, it was pressing ahead with 11 other new projects worth Bt10 billion on the back of an expected demand recovery in the period.

“Although high household debt is still the main factor impacting on residential demand, it has a negative effect on the middle- to lower-income market, but none at all on the upper-income market. As a result, our new projects launched in the second half of this year will focus on the middle- to upper-income segment, where there is still solid purchasing power,” she said.

When investing in properties, investors are typically concerned about basic factors such as the design, floor plan, layout, facilities, and similar matters. However, external factors such as the neighborhood, transport networks, shopping facilities, and neighboring schools are also taken into consideration in determining the property price and rental yield of the project. This has always been the case in countries such as Hong Kong, UK, Australia, and Canada. Recently, Bangkok property investors have also started to take such matters into consideration.

Above:Two, three, and four-bedroom units for rent in the most popular expatriate locations such as Sukhumvit.

According to the Asia Life Magazine, Bangkok International Preparatory and Secondary School (Bangkok Prep), a leading private international school is opening a secondary campus on Sukhumvit 77. The land will be approximately 3 kilometres away from the existing campus on Sukhumvit 53, and conveniently accessible from BTS Onnut, Sukhumvit 71 and Ram Inthra, Narong Expressway. The campus will be surrounded by a private residential neighborhood and is scheduled to open in August 2017.

Above:Bangkok International Preparatory and Secondary School (Bangkok Prep), a leading private international school is opening a secondary campus on Sukhumvit 77.

Catering for students aged 12-18 years, Bangkok Prep’s secondary campus will offer classes from Year 7 – Year 13. The school’s current campus on Sukhumvit 53 will be turned into a primary school, offering classes from Nursery to Year 6 for students aged 3 – 11 years.

Bangkok Prep’s programme of study is based on the National Curriculum of England, offering high quality education to students from Nursery up to Year 13. A rigorous IGCSE programme (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) is offered to Year 10 and Year 11 students as a precursor to the Cambridge-approved A-levels available to study in Year 12 and Year 13, preparing students towards university education.

“We took the time to locate the most appropriate land for the school, and we are convinced that this site provides the perfect location for the new secondary campus,” said Valerie Thomas-Peter, Bangkok Prep’s Head of School.

Above:The school’s current student body is now 774, comprising of more than 39 nationalities with 57% non-Thai students.

Founded in 2002, Bangkok Prep has grown steadily in recent years in response to demand from expatriate and local families looking for high quality British education in a diverse and international community. The school’s current student body is now 774, comprising of more than 39 nationalities with 57% non-Thai students and the remaining 43% Thai students. Tuition fees start at Baht 390,000 per academic year. Approximately 500 students are expected to transfer to the new secondary campus.

According the CBRE, there are a growing number of expatriates working in Thailand and most want to rent rather than buy residential accommodation. A significant amount of the demand is for large two- to three-bedroom units, which outstrips supply.

Most of the new condominiums (multi-ownership buildings) are of the one-bedroom type. There are few new single ownership apartments being built, limiting the stock of two-, three-, and four-bedroom units for rent in the most popular expatriate locations such as Silom, Sathorn, and Sukhumvit.

Above: Sansiri’s residental project located at Sukhumvit.

In 2015, only two new apartment buildings targeting expats are expected to open in the central business distruct; The Philo Residence on Sukhumvit Soi 24 and The Willows on Sathorn-Narathiwas Soi 7. CBRE’s big forecast for 2015 is a likely increase in lump sum rents for two-, three- and four-bedroom units. This would be the first such rise in 25 years and would greatly benefit buy-to-rent condominium investors.

Part of the source from Asia Life Magazine

 Source: Bangkok Post

Mr Hayano says Tokyu’s new department store at Paradise Park will draw customers from fast-growing eastern Bangkok.

After 30 years in Thailand, Japan’s Tokyu Department Store will today open its 400-million-baht second local branch on Srinakarin Road in Bangkok.The new store is part of the parent company’s plan to expand in Asean and take advantage of opportunities in the region.

Located at Paradise Park shopping mall, the department store was developed by PT Retail Corporation, the 50:50 joint venture between Paradise Retail Co, operator of Paradise Park, and Bangkok Tokyu Department Store Co.Paradise Retail is a subsidiary of SET-listed MBK Plc, the operator of MBK shopping centre.

New Tokyu Department Store is located at Paradise Park shopping mall.

With modern design and minimal Japanese elements, the two-storey branch features 13,000 square metres of retail space with women and men’s clothing, children’s toys, cosmetics, sportswear, travel gear, accessories and stationery.

“Tokyu Department Store Paradise Park will be our new challenge,” said Takashi Hayano, chief executive of PT Retail Corporation. “We want our new department store to be a new destination for a truly remarkable shopping experience in eastern Bangkok.”

The company brought Tokyu to the Srinakarin area because the eastern part of Bangkok has been growing in population.The Prawet, Suan Luang and Phatthanakan areas are home to high-income families with strong purchasing power.The construction of new mass transit routes, meanwhile, will create potential for residential and retail development.There are 80 property projects and 5 million residents within a five-kilometre radius of the new Tokyu store.

Apart from Tokyu, new retail projects opening soon in the area include the 20-billion-baht Bangkok Mall opposite Bitec. The area also features existing retail projects such as Seacon Square, Megabangna, CentralPlaza Bangna and Index Living Mall.

Tokyu was conservative and limited investment to its one department store at MBK in the past.

In the past, Tokyu was conservative and limited investment to its one department store at MBK after some Japanese retailers threw in the towel in the highly competitive Thai retail market.This time, Tokyu saw a strong opportunity. Other Japanese retailers expanding in Thailand include Tsuruha drugstore, Lawson 108 convenience store and MaxValu supermarket.

Takashimaya, the latest Japanese retail player, will open its first department store at IconSiam on the Chao Phraya River next year.Mr Hayano said Tokyu at Paradise Park would cater to a broad array of lifestyle selections for everyone in the family.”The store will be home to major Japanese labels, directly imported from Japan,” he said.The company expects the new store to break even after two years and generate sales of 700-900 million baht this year.