100,000 empty apartments! May be more, soon.

Yeah, I think everyone who has read kopiandproperty.com for some time would know that Malaysia has unsold properties and some of it has turned into overhang properties too. Unsold units may not be overhang In fact there were also some measures to attract some foreign purchasers too. RM600,000 threshold for foreigners to buy KL properties . We are definitely not alone here in ASEAN.

I think we also know that Singapore has some of these unsold units too. Some challenges in the Singapore property market What about our neighbouring country up north then? By the way, Bangkok’s property scene where foreign buyers are concerned is more vibrant than Malaysia’s. They have a lot more of these foreign buyers and that’s both a plus and a minus too. Latest developments in brief is that there are now an estimated 100,000 empty apartments there.

Article in thestar.com.my Bangkok’s condominium market which was once a favourite of Chinese investors are attracting far fewer these days due to the COVID-19 issue. From 20% previously, the share of foreign purchase of properties has halved to just 10% predicted for 2020. This is estimated by consultancy Agency for Real Estate Affairs estimates.

Sopon Pornchokchai, the consultancy’s president said, “The demand from foreigners may disappear in the first half following the outbreak.” He also added that there are now 100,000 vacant condominiums in and around Bangkok and it will not be easy to rely only on local buyers.

The real estate sector slowdown is among the many challenges ahead for the Thai economy. However Aliwassa Pathnadabutr managing director of CBRE Group Inc in Thailand says that first half would be slow due to the travel restrictions caused by the virus but the property sector will eventually recover quickly.

Phattarachai Taweewong, associate director of Colliers International Group’s Thai unit said, “It’s a tough situation in 2020. Hopefully, the market can go back to a balanced supply and demand again in the next three years.” Please do refer to the full article here: Article in thestar.com.my

I love Thailand. I love the Thais, I love Thai food. Haha. Yeah, I think if you ask me, I would love to own a property there some day too. We just need to understand that unsold properties as an issue is not happening just in Malaysia. In every market where demand suddenly started and supply could not suddenly keep up (it takes 3 years to build a property…), this will cause many buyers who were not that genuine or thinks of flipping.

For these demands, as soon as they realise the market is no longer hot, they will pull back very suddenly too. If these buyers were mostly owners, then demand and supply would have been more aligned. Perhaps it’s a good period where all stakeholders learnt something and hopefully, this huge unsold situation will not happen so frequently yeah. I wonder when’s my next trip to Thailand. Maybe May would be a good month.

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