Property developer Sansiri PCL says its continued focus on expanding its foreign customer base is paying healthy dividends, with total sales of over 8,500 million baht (US$266 million) having been generated to date from this segment alone, 585 million baht of that figure coming in the first eight months of this year, which represents a 460% increase from 2013.
The company says the top foreign buyers of its real estate projects are from Hong Kong, Singapore and Russia. One and two bedrooms are found to be the most popular unit types for the buyers of condominium properties in Bangkok while demand in other provinces, particularly in key resort areas, extends to all unit sizes due to various preferences. A range of stimulating marketing activities and offers are set to be launched in Q4 this year as Sansiri strives to expand its foreign customer base even further.
Srettha Thavisin, President of Sansiri PCL.
Srettha Thavisin, President of Sansiri, disclosed: “Although Thailand has experienced economic uncertainty as a result of political unrest starting from the end of last year to the middle of this year, foreign investors still show strong confidence in property investment in the Kingdom. These investors are accustomed to our political situations and are well aware that such negative economic factors were only temporary. Overseas buyers have selected Thailand as their property investment destination because of the high rates of return on investment and the highly competitive prices of properties in comparison to Singapore and Hong Kong, among other places. Other factors are attractive characteristics known to foreigners of Thailand along with the fact that the property value here goes up every year.”
The president noted that the purchasing purposes of foreign buyers vary according to their chosen locations. The developments located in Bangkok and surrounding provinces were generally purchased for investment while those upcountry serve as a second home and a residence for a long-term stay, either as a workplace or a post-retirement retreat.
In terms of unit types, fully-furnished one and two bedrooms with close proximity to the Skytrain are the most desirable types in Bangkok. In resort cities, however, all room types, ranging from studios to penthouses, have received an upbeat response due to various customer demands, which differ both in location, budget and investment purposes.
Sansiri says that one of its main attractions to foreign investors is that it is a fully-integrated property developer that offers a comprehensive range of professional services, including buying, re-selling, renting, as well as managing quality residential developments. Buyers can therefore be more confident that their property investment will increase in value and gain an impressive ROI continuously in the long term, the company states.
“During the off-season, we organised roadshows to promote our developments abroad, such as in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and other markets,” added Mr. Thavisin. “Also, since last year, we have shifted our focus to capture new markets, such as mainland China and Russia, where strong purchasing power coupled with high, incoming tourist traffic is prevalent. These roadshows successfully reached targets both in terms of sales figures and the number of participants. Each roadshow event accommodated around 80 – 100 participants and generated approximately 100 – 200 million baht in sales per event. We are confident that a sales target of 1,100 million baht from the foreign buyer market this year will definitely be achieved,” he concluded.
