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Above:Officials attend a ceremony to open a depot for the Purple Line in Bang Yai district in Nonthaburi province. (Bangkok Post Photo)

A train depot for the Purple Line opened at November but the mass-transit line is far over budget because of a decision to bypass communities.

But the recent decision by authorities not to seize residential areas for the new underground railway has increased the project’s budget by five billion baht, according to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA).

The route design now has to bypass communities by at least five kilometres, with the changes incurring additional expenses, the MRTA governor Peerayudh Singpatanakul said this month.

Construction of the storage, repair and training centre in Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai district is 80% complete and officials said it will be ready by the time a test run begins.

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said after the opening ceremony that test runs were planned for May and June. During the trial, free rides will be offered to passengers.

The official launch for the line between Bang Yai and Tao Pun is scheduled for Aug 12 to honour Her Majesty the Queen on her birthday.

Above: The electric trains manufactured by Marubeni Corp and Toshiba Corp of Japan.

Fares on the new route will start at 16 baht and increase by two baht for every stop with the maximum capped at 40 baht. It has 16 stations along the 23-kilometre line run by electric trains manufactured by Marubeni Corp and Toshiba Corp of Japan.

The first three trains arrived on Sept 7 and 18 more will be delivered by January. The Purple Line falls under the responsibility of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), which sold a concession to Bangkok Metro Public Co (BMCL) to operate it. BMCL also operates the Blue Line, better known as the MRT subway.

One potential obstacle to success of the new line is the missing link between the Blue Line’s Bang Sue station and the Purple Line’s Tao Pun station. They are located a kilometre apart.

The MRTA is in talks with the BMCL to speed up construction to extend the Blue Line service for that extra kilometre to allow passengers to interchange. Mr Arkhom said free shuttle buses will be provided for riders between the two stations in case extension of the MRT Blue Line is not finished by the time the Purple Line opens.

Source: Bangkok Post

New land appraisal prices in Bangkok for 2016-19 are estimated to rise by 15.8% on average compared with the previous rates in 2012-15, with the highest increases for plots along new mass transit lines, where prices will surge by 75% on average.

The new appraisal prices, however, will still be 30% lower than actual market prices.

Recent transactions in the Chidlom area averaged 1.91 million baht a square wah, while new land appraisal prices will be 1 million baht, Ekawat Manakeaw, deputy director-general of the Treasury Department, said yesterday at a seminar on the Greater Bangkok property market.

Land appraisals are 80% complete and should be finished by year-end, he said.

Nationwide, Mae Sot in Tak, a district earmarked for a special economic zone (SEZ), will have the highest increase in land appraisal price, which will be used starting on Jan 1, 2016.

The new appraisal price on Intarakhiri Road in Mae Sot will rise by 95% from the previous price for 2012-15.

“Mae Sot is one of the high-potential special economic zones, as it has industrial networks with intensive labour forces,” Mr Ekawat said. “It will also become an international logistics centre when Asean integration becomes effective next year.”

He said the average increase in land appraisal price for SEZ areas would be 40-50%, while the average increase nationwide would be 25%.

Mukdahan with its SEZ will have the second-highest increase, followed by Tak.

Nong Khai province is tipped to become an international transport centre and tourism magnet. Sa Kaeo province and Sadao in Songkhla also have potential for industry and logistics, Mr Ekawat said.

Warotai Kosolpisitkul, deputy director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office, said the new land appraisal prices would contribute to the government’s fiscal policies in 2016.

An inheritance tax will also take effect in February 2016 if nothing changes, he said.

The office is also studying reverse mortgage loans for the elderly, who could mortgage their existing home.

“The property market situation is in a good condition, as the existing supply will take 17 months to drain,” Mr Warotai told the seminar.

According to the Real Estate Information Center, there were 76,963 units of low-rise housing remaining for sale from a total of 197,710 units from 1,016 projects in Greater Bangkok at the end of June.

The five districts with the most low-rise housing remaining for sale were Bang Phli in Samut Prakan (5,490 units), Bang Bua Thong in Nonthaburi (5,379), Lam Luk Ka in Pathum Thani (5,011), Muang district in Samut Sakhon (4,171) and Bang Kruai in Nonthaburi (3,774).

The greatest share were townhouses priced between 2 million and 3 million baht (16,334 units), followed by single houses priced between 3 million and 5 million baht (13,012) and townhouses priced between 1 million and 2 million baht (11,759).

In the condo sector, 57,364 units remained for sale from a total of 204,287 units at 395 projects.

The five districts with the most condos remaining for sale were Muang district in Nonthaburi (8,339 units), Thanyaburi in Pathum Thani (6,419), Muang district in Samut Prakan (5,722), and Bang Sue (3,763) and Chatuchak (2,872) in Bangkok.

Source: Bangkok Post

Following from the first two sold out exhibitions of THE LINE Jatujak and THE LINE Sukhumvit 71, Golden Emperor launched the third series of the Sansiri-BTS joint venture development – THE LINE Ratchathewi, in Hong Kong last weekend.

Over 1,000 investors attended the weekend event and the project was completely sold out on the first day. We invited Roger Wu, Hong Kong’s expert on Thailand, and founder of Thailandfans.com, to share his thoughts on the project and its prime location.

Above: The building model shows the elegant facade of THE LINE Ratchathewi

Above: Terence Chan, Director of Golden Emperor Properties, provided a presentation on Thailand property investments

Above: Over 1,000 investors attended the seminar and exhibition

Above: Roger Wu of Thailandfans.com provided his thoughts on the location and highlights of the project

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Sansiri, Thailand’s leading property developer, hosted a dinner event for its esteemed clients in Singapore. They invited celebrity chef, Peter ‘Sintana Pitakwong’, a Bangkok born Chef with more than 18 years of culinary experience both in Thailand and abroad, to custom-make a menu of modern Thai dishes.

Over 50 clients attended the event at the Tippling Club; other activities of the evening included a lucky draw, photo booth, and a private preview of Sansiri’s latest project, The LINE Ratchathewi.

Above (from right): Mr. Chandra Raj Sinnathuray, Chief Operating Officer of Broad Peak Investment Advisers, Ms. Lee Po Yee, and their guest

Above: Sansiri provided customized photo frames with polaroids for guests to take home as souvenirs

Above: Celebrity chef Peter ‘Sintana Pitakwong’ of Hyde and Seek and Issaya Siamese Club doled out bespoke canapes for our guests

Above (from left): Mr. Leow Tze Kang and Ms Jess Tang were among the attendees at the event

Above: Bangkok is a very affordable location in terms of costs of living and currently has a very low unemployment rate of 1.1 percent.

Hong Kong has retained its place as the most expensive residential living location in the world with average prices of US$ 1,416 per sq ft being paid.

This accolade comes from CBRE’s Global Living Report: A City by City Guide, which lists London and New York in second and third position, with an average property price of US$ 1,025 per sq ft and US$ 842 per sq ft respectively.

Dr. Henry Chin, Head of Research for CBRE in Asia-Pacific, said, “While Hong Kong has cemented its place as the world’s most expensive location according to average price per sq. ft., we have seen the majority of cities across the region with a strong bounce-back in the residential sector following the global financial crisis.

“As the world’s population expands and the overall international economy continues to grow, we believe both factors underpin the fundamental demand for our region’s residential market. In Asia-Pacific, residential property markets are becoming more integrated due to globalization and migration–people are now sharing culture and ways of living with new audiences.”

The Global Living Report provides a snapshot of 31 cities around the world and provides a comparative study of house prices, rental growth and living costs.

In terms of what CBRE described in the report as the colorful city of Bangkok, it is a very affordable location in terms of costs of living and currently has a very low unemployment rate of 1.1 percent.

The luxury market is performing well, with a 30 percent increase in prices for off-plan condominiums. Prices for older developments are stable as the majority of Thai buyers prefer new stock to existing building projects.

After massive growth in the 1960s and 1980s, Bangkok is now a major regional force in business, health care as well as an international hub for transport and an emerging regional centre for fashion and entertainment.

CBRE reported Bangkok is now home to an estimated 12 million of the nation’s 67 million people, with the average age of its residents being 37.5-years-old. Known for its cultural landmarks, temples and culinary experience it is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, second only to London in terms of international visitors according to the 2015 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index with arrivals up 24 percent over the last year alone.

In terms of cost of living, Bangkok is very affordable; it will cost you the equivalent of £1.29 for a cappuccino, £1.23 for a beer, £13 for a meal for two and £27 for a monthly transport pass.

Overall, CBRE noted that Bangkok is a city that offers not only beauty, but vast opportunity, its relatively low prices and good standard of living making it very attractive and affordable by international standards.

The luxury market is performing particularly well with off-plan condominium prices up 30 percent over the year and resales of existing stock up 6 percent. Following these rises the average price of a property is now £139,850 (THB 7.63 million)

CBRE reported that one feature of the Bangkok condominium market is that the prices of older units do not rise at the same rate as newly-launched projects; in some cases they do not move at all. This is because most Thai purchasers prefer the better quality new stock.

Above:Building licenses were up by 11.9 percent during 2014.

It said condominiums were first built en-masse in 1989. Between then and the Asian financial crisis in 1997, more than 29,000 units were completed in downtown Bangkok. Many were built by inexperienced developers and the buildings were not well designed, both in terms of layout and specification. Some had poor entrance lobbies, sometimes located in the centre of the ground floor car park, common corridors were badly decorated, and unit layout designs were inefficient. Improving these buildings has been difficult and so they remain unpopular.

Underpinned by a return to economic stability, CBRE says the Bangkok residential property market offers good prospects for capital gains with new quality high-end and luxury projects in exclusive locations ensuring maximum capital appreciation over the long term.

This is supported by the city’s robust residential construction activity; building licenses were up by 11.9 percent during 2014.

The rental market is stable, it reported, with current downtown expatriate standard rents of £1,300 per month (THB 71,000 per month) after 3 percent growth over the last year and average yields of 4 percent

Bangkok is expected to witness population growth over next decade of 6.2 percent, adding to the almost 3 million current households in the Bangkok metropolitan area.

Source: Thailand-property.com