Sopon Pornchokchai, managing director of Agency for Real Estate Affairs, said consumers were suffering from the economic downturn that had come of the heels of high oil prices.

He said it was expected that 52,706 homes worth Bt161.2 billion would be sold this year, compared to 68,052 homes worth Bt254.4 billion last year.

In the first half of this year, he said, there were 26,353 homes sold with a total market value of Bt80.6 billion.

Sopon said rising oil prices and interest rates had resulted in people delaying their decision to buy a new home.

“Many [potential] homebuyers are concerned about future earnings, resulting in a delay in their investment plans, especially buying a new house,” he said.

Due to the economic slowdown, he added, many land developers had decided to put off launching new projects.

A survey found the construction and marketing campaigns of 90 new housing projects had been postponed, he said.

“The speed of launching new projects in the second quarter was slower than the first quarter because many developers abandoned plans to launch new projects,” he said, adding that developers have found it difficult to sell homes.

Sopon added that demand for homes priced under Bt5 million continued to grow slightly in some locations, including projects on Yannawa-Silom Road, Rangsit Klong 1-7 and Pathum Wan Road.

He said demand for luxury homes dropped in the second quarter and continued to nosedive this month because real demand dried up last year.

He said Asian Property Development Plc sold 1,277 homes – the most in the market – in the first half of the year, generating Bt6.25 billion in sales revenue.

Coming in second was LPN Development Plc, which offloaded 2,390 homes worth Bt4.8 billion, followed by Quality Houses' 390 homes worth Bt4 billion.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation