Mr. Nattha Kahapana, Executive Director, Head of Knight Frank Phuket, said “The Phuket high-end property market in 2019 was quite soft, and lower project development expansion in both the Condominium and Villa Markets due to developers had taken a wait-and-see approach to observe the market. As the result of a strong baht, the number of foreign homeowners of upper market properties that wanted to sell their properties adapted to the changing market direction by being more cautious and waiting for favorable currency rates, regardless of longer time to sell. Some converted their second holiday homes into an investment in the high-end and the middle-end villa segments too.”
“Despite a slower pace market, the most active segments in the Villa Market are the entry and the middle levels, with the price range between 10 to 19 million for 2 to 3 bedroom pool villas, of the investment property which offers guaranteed rental returns or rental schemes. Mostly, the property buyers are dominated by Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, Singaporean, and Europeans based in Asia Pacific.”
“As for the condominium market, it turns out that the mid-end of the investment products operated by well-known hotel chains was very robust and progressive. The entry level segment of the income-generating condominiums, priced at 3 to 7 million baht per unit or 90,000 to 120,000 baht per sq.m., showed an upward movement during the year. This segment isn’t affected that much because of its affordable selling prices. Many new condotel projects are gradually launching in a couple of years as a consequence of the year-over-year increasing number of tourists, which reassures potential investors that Phuket is still one of the best destinations as well as a safe haven for an investment.”
“However, many joint venture condominium projects between Thai and Chinese investors launched in the last couple of years encourage and influence the Chinese buyers’ purchase decisions, accounting for 30-50% of gross sales.”
He added, “In 2020, we expect the entry to middle villa market and the entry-level condominiums to grow approximately by 10 to 15% year-on-year and 15 to 20% year-on-year, respectively. The next year will be challenging for developers to understand the market and what the buyers want concerning locations, selling prices, products and operators; the world and domestic economies still remain key drivers.”
