Thai Developers adjust to decline in transfers

The number of land allocation permits nationwide dropped by 19.7% in the first quarter of 2024, the largest decline in nine quarters, as developers adjusted after seeing a consecutive dip in low-rise house transfers.

Vichai Viratkapan, acting director-general of the Real Estate Information Center, said the number of low-rise house transfers in the first quarter of 2024 declined year-on-year by 18.9% to 49,423 units.

"After developers saw the decline for several quarters, they halted new plans," he said. "Key factors for the drop in low-rise house transfers were the economic slowdown, lower purchasing power and stricter mortgage rules."

The largest decline was in new units, which decreased 24.5% to 13,819, while second-hand homes plunged 16.5% to 35,604 units.

The drop was evident across all price ranges, led by a 30.2% decline in the 1.5-2 million baht range, followed by a 26.5% fall in the 2-3 million baht range, a 20.2% decline in the 3-5 million baht range, and a 14.9% fall in the 5-7.5 million baht range.

The drop in the number of low-rise house transfers has continued consecutively since the first quarter of 2023, with declines of 6.8%, 7.7%, 9.3% and 13.5%, respectively.

It was also the largest drop since the pandemic, even plunging lower than during 2020. The largest drop during this period was 13.4% in the third quarter of 2021.

In the first quarter of 2024, the number of land allocation permits nationwide tallied 16,362 units, representing a 19.7% decrease from the same period last year.

This decline was observed across all housing types, except for single detached houses, which grew by 10.1% to 6,642 units.

Excluding allocated land plots, which fell by 55.5%, the largest drop was for townhouses, which decreased by 36.5% to 5,766 units, followed by duplexes, dipping 22.2% to 3,419 units, and shophouses declining by 17.6% to 310 units.

"Townhouses experienced the most significant decline as the majority of the supply was concentrated in the middle- to low-priced segments where demand was notably weak," said Mr Vichai.

Source: Bangkok Post