During the Covid pandemic, the Thai Government imposed strict lockdown measures on Bangkok in an attempt to curb soaring COVID-19 infections. This dampened consumer sentiment and the Bank of Thailand has even revised the country’s GDP growth forecasts.

For Bangkok’s real estate market and its weary property professionals, the round of lockdowns last year  felt like a repeat of 2020. With many coming to the realisation that the recovery forecasted for 2021 and 2022 will not happen so quickly.

But life must go on.

Bangkok’s real estate market has been experiencing ups-and-downs and property professionals need to manage the situation.

Bangkok’s real estate report

This report has aggregated and compiled inquiries received by Fresh Property from a variety of marketing channels most notably:

Property Portals
Dotproperty.co.th/ Thailand-Property.com
Hipflat.co.th
Others (Prakard, Living Insider, etc.)

Organic Channels
Company Website (Freshbangkok.com)
Inbound Company Calls
Referrals & Client Database

Social Media Channels
FB/ IG/ LinkedIn/ Line

The objective of this report was to compare Sales and Rental Inquiries for the periods of 1H 2021/ 1H 2020 and to analyze the following:

• Changes in Inquiry Levels
• Potential Shifts in Budget Ranges
• Neighborhood Inquiry Trends

It is important to note that Fresh Property is a real estate agency focusing its sales and marketing activities mostly on Central Bangkok and popular expat neighborhoods. Here is a list of the neighborhoods we are actively covering:

Sukhumvit
Nana
Asoke
Phrom Phong
Thonglor
Ekkamai
Phra Khanong
On Nut

Ploenchit-Lumpini
Ploenchit
Chidlom
Ratchadamri

Silom-Sathorn
BTS Saladaeng/MRT Silom
Chong Nonsi
Surasak

Rama 9- Ratchada
MRT Phetchaburi
MRT Rama 9
MRT Thailand Cultural Center

Central Bangkok rental market overview

Bangkok is Thailand’s economic heart and it usually benefits from a fast-paced and dynamic rental market. With a steady flux of expats and Thai working professionals all year round. However, Fresh Property recorded a 41% decrease in rental inquiries between the period H1 2020/ H2 2021 and we are analysing more data for 2022.

This was expected, as COVID-19’s impact on the local economy and travel restrictions affected the market. The negative impacts were especially severe for Central Bangkok’s rental market as it is primarily expat-led. However, now that Thailand is open again, we expect a positive recovery period for the rest of 2022 and into 2023.

The table above  shows the total rental inquiries (%) received categorized by budget range. Market trends that we observed:

• Fresh Property recorded a substantial decrease in higher priced rental inquiries (40,000 THB and above). With very few inquiries over 100,000 THB per month received.
• The Agency experienced an increase in low-level inquiries (10- 20,000 THB) and affordable inquiries (20-40,000 THB per month). The biggest increase was for properties between the 20-40,000 THB price range. This was driven by rental demand for 2-bed condos available at this price range.
• The rental team has experienced an increase in renters looking to downsize or looking for more affordable rental properties. Several landlords have reviewed their rental rates downwards, resulting in a correction in rental prices across Bangkok.

The table above shows the distribution of rental inquiries (%) for each neighborhood under Fresh Property’s coverage during period 2021:

• On Nut remains a very popular rental neighborhood. This area also came out on top in a market report we conducted back in 2018. The popularity of On Nut is because of its travel convenience to Central Bangkok and the large selection of modern condos priced at low-level/ affordable rental rates (I.e., Only 10-15,000 THB for a 1-Bed).
• Bangkok’s prime locations such as Thonglor, Asoke and Phrom Phong remain popular rental destinations. Over the past year, Fresh Property’s rental team experienced renters looking for discounted rental properties in the Central Business District. With many renters taking advantage of the price correction and upgrading their lifestyles, while maintaining or even reducing their cost of living.

Central Bangkok sales market overview

Bangkok’s sales market was also affected by the pandemic. Fresh Property recorded a 36% decrease in sales inquiries between the period 1H 2020/ 2021.

Pre-2019 we had a stable international market of buyers, especially from Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK. However, inquiries from international buyers dramatically decreased as a result of the pandemic.

The decrease was not as large as rental inquiries and the reason for this is an increase in inquiries from the local Thai market. As many Thai investors and homebuyers, have been using the depressed market conditions to look for good deals.

The above table shows the total sales inquiries (%) received categorized by budget range:

• Fresh Property recorded a big decrease in inquiries for the price ranges 2.5-5 MB and 5-7.5 MB. These price ranges are usually middle-income price brackets and this income group was likely the most affected by the pandemic.
• There is a surprising increase in the higher budget ranges of 7.5-10 MB and 10MB+. Upon further analysis, these inquiries were mostly from Thai homebuyers looking for larger 2-bed and family-sized condos.
• The outlier <2.5MB budget range is showing a small increase; after looking at the inquiries, our Agency notes that this is mostly from foreign buyers that are looking for discounted properties.

The table above shows the distribution of sales inquiries (%) for each neighborhood under Fresh Property’s coverage during period H1 2021:

• The Agency experienced a high number of inquiries for condos and properties in Phra Khanong, the area is a residential commuter hub, popular with employed professionals that work in the Central Business District. This increase was likely because of a large influx of good-value property listings that were advertised.
• Central Business District locations remain the top Go To neighborhoods for buyers, especially during the changing market conditions. We experienced a large increase in inquiries for properties in Asoke, Phrom Phong and Thonglor. These 3 areas are lifestyle and business hotspots usually popular with affluent working professionals.

Bangkok’s market outlook

The Central Bangkok property market is still in recovering mode. Any predictions on the exact timeline of a recovery is pure speculation but now in 2022 it is looking that is moving in a positive direction.

A few major Bangkok Real Estate trends to note:

• Developers continue to scale back on high-rise projects in the Central Business District. With most focusing on low-rise housing projects in Outer Bangkok.
• The rental market continues to be a tenants’ market, with landlords having to accept discounted prices on their rental investments.
• The resale market continues to be a buyers’ market, with buyers being predominantly Thai. Most of these buyers are looking for discounted deals.

The biggest factor to watch is the ability of the Thai Government to curb and contain the spread of C-19 infections over the coming months.

Fresh Property is a Central Bangkok focused real estate agency offering consultancy, sales, rental and property management services. If you have any questions about this report, feel free to contact us on [email protected].