GH Bank launches marketplace for second-hand homes
Sep 09. 2020Chatchai Sirilai, the bank’s president
By The Nation
The Government Housing Bank (GH Bank) has launched a “marketplace” to help people sell their properties.
Chatchai Sirilai, the bank’s president, said this move is to provide choices to homebuyers looking for cheap, second-hand options.
Homeowners can send details of the property they want to sell to the bank between October 1 and November 15. The applications need to include information such as sales price, location and photographs of the property.
These details will then be posted on the bank’s www.ghbhomecenter.com website and mobile application GHBank Smart NPA.
These homes will also be included in the bank’s auction of non-performing assets on December 19.
Homeowners using the GH Bank marketplace will need to pay a small service fee to the bank.
U.S. real estate pain leaves foreign investors holding the bag
Sep 05. 2020Hudson Yards stands without visitors in New York on Wednesday, 8, 2020. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Jeenah Moon. Photo by: Jeenah Moon — Bloomberg Location: New York, United States
By Syndication The Washington Post, Bloomberg · Patrick Clark
Foreign investors who backed real estate projects in return for U.S. visas are emerging as losers in the pandemic-driven commercial property crisis.
In Manhattan, Chinese investors who helped fund Related’s Hudson Yards have called for arbitration to pressure the developer into returning their money. On Long Island, a separate group assumed the lease to the Nassau Coliseum, after billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Sports and Entertainment decided to walk away from the project.
The investors, who backed development deals through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ EB-5 program, aren’t the only ones getting hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has kept mall-goers, hotel guests and office workers home, pushing commercial-property owners into delinquency. But EB-5 investors, who cared more about coming to the U.S. than financial returns, have less leverage than most.
“Cash is king during Covid, and developers are reluctant to let go of any cash,” said Mona Shah, a New York lawyer who works on EB-5 deals. “It doesn’t help that there are some developers who show distinct lack of respect for EB-5 money. It’s easy money.”
Shah said she represents a hotel developer who is looking to reduce the principal owed on an EB-5 loan, because the property closed due to the pandemic and is unlikely to return to profitability quickly. In other cases, developers are seeking to extend loan terms or withhold payments entirely, Shah said.
At Hudson Yards, roughly 2,000 EB-5 investors poured $1 billion into the Manhattan project through a series of deals, according to a demand for arbitration filed recently by Chicago lawyer Doug Litowitz. The investors were unsophisticated about U.S. real estate, according to Litowitz, and were told by the Chinese firm that helped Related raise money that they would be repaid following approval of their work visas, known as green cards.
But the funding was structured as a preferred equity investment, not a loan, and there was no fixed timetable for returning the money. After Neiman Marcus Group, the luxury retailer that was the anchor of the upscale mall at Hudson Yards, declared for bankruptcy, Litowitz asked Related to tell his clients when they could expect to get their money out of the project. He also asked the developer to open its books so his clients could determine whether the pandemic had diminished the value of their investment.
“The Related deal is interesting because the terms given to the Chinese are so bad that it’s almost like a test case for how bad a structure can be and still be legal,” said Litowitz, whose brother Alec is the CEO of hedge fund Magnetar Capital. “Dostoyevsky said, ‘If murder is allowed, everything is allowed.’ That’s how I feel about this case.”
Related has been unmoved by those requests.
“Financial investment returns are a function of the market economy and obviously this is a challenging time,” related spokesman Jon Weinstein said in an email. “We were off to a good start, but now we need to be patient.”
EB-5 was a sleepy program until the 2007-2008 financial crisis, when developers like Related looked overseas to replace traditional financing sources. They found a bonanza: foreign investors who viewed U.S. real estate as a safe asset and were principally concerned with obtaining visas, meaning they were willing to accept returns as low as 1% and sometimes less.
The program, which provided visas to foreign investors who sank at least $500,000 into U.S. projects that created at least 10 jobs, was meant to promote investment in rural areas, as well as urban locales with high unemployment. But gerrymandered districts allowed EB-5 funding to flow to developments like Hudson Yards and an Extell Development tower on Manhattan’s Billionaire’s Row.
Roughly $36 billion in EB-5 capital flowed into the U.S. from 2010 to 2019, according to estimates from Invest In the USA, a trade group, though the program has become less popular as the backlog of applications grew and the investment threshold increased.
The program attracted scrutiny when Kushner Cos., the developer formerly run by Jared Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, sought EB-5 funds from Chinese investors.
It also gained a reputation as a Wild West, rife with false promises and conflicts of interest. Theoretically, lending money to big projects should have been more solid, but even marquee developers haven’t been shielded from the pandemic.
As Covid-19 cases surged through the New York City area this spring, Prokhorov’s Onexim canceled sporting events and concerts at the Nassau Coliseum. By June, the company decided that the pandemic had made the events business unappealing, and signaled its intention to hand the arena lease over to lenders.
On Aug. 20, Nassau County announced a deal with the U.S. Immigration Fund, which funneled EB-5 capital into renovations at the arena. As part of the agreement, an affiliate of the EB-5 group assumed the lease, promising to operate the building so the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders could eventually return to the ice.
Maureen Hanlon, CEO of Nassau Events Center, which had operated the building for Onexim, said she was sorry to abandon the arena, but happy to reach an agreement that allows “the county to receive its rent and, most importantly, for the fans to have a functioning arena as soon as health guidelines allow.”
Gary Friedland, who has studied the program as a scholar-in-residence at New York University’s Stern School of Business, expects that because of the pandemic and the way the loans are structured, many EB-5 investors won’t be repaid.
“Many of these EB-5 loans were made when the market was much stronger,” said Friedland. “With the market downturn, many of these loans are very vulnerable.”
Dusit International, a top hotel and property development company in Thailand, will begin rolling out its new ASAI Hotels brand this month with the opening of ASAI Bangkok Chinatown, followed by six more properties all operating under a new hotel concept Dusit believes will be key to sustainable and profitable growth in the new normal.
ASAI Hotels is Dusit’s sixth hotel brand and represents the company’s expansion into the affordable lifestyle segment of the lodging spectrum. Its other brands – namely Dusit Thani, dusitD2, Dusit Princess, Dusit Devarana and Elite Havens – cover upper-midscale through to luxury.
The ASAI brand will initially serve domestic travellers seeking authentic experiences in Bangkok’s historic Chinatown district and the culturally rich old Bangkok.
Another ASAI hotel will open within 12 months in the capital’s stylish Sathorn district, followed by one in the Philippine’s Cebu island, one in Yangon’s old Yankin area and one in Kyoto, Japan.
“With its agile management structure, streamlined design and limited personnel, the ASAI Hotels business model is compact, sustainable and efficient, and ultimately serves as a cost-effective, fitting solution for continuing to grow our business and expand our presence in the new normal,” said Suphajee Suthumpun, group CEO of Dusit International.
Opening on September 15, ASAI Bangkok Chinatown features 224 compact rooms (ranging from 18 to 26 square metres).
Located adjacent to Yaowarat Road, only 100 metres from Wat Mangkon MRT underground station, the hotel also puts guests in the heart of a vibrant neighbourhood renowned for its lively fresh markets, historic temples, traditional shophouses, coffee shops and a vast array of streetside eateries.
The Rattanakosin Island area, home to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, is only two stations away on the MRT. The city’s major commercial districts can also be easily reached via the underground network.
Housing venture shifts focus from buyers to renters
Aug 31. 2020A artists’ rendering of an aerial view of HOMA Phuket Town
By The Nation
HOMA, a rental housing venture between Asia Capital Real Estate (ACRE) and NOON Capital (NOON), is putting together a portfolio of rental properties and co-living spaces that combine residential and hospitality features across Thailand’s key economic centres.
The first two projects are based in prime Phuket locations.
HOMA Phuket Town, scheduled to open in the third quarter of next year, is a 505-unit rental housing property in Phuket Town, which is within walking distance of Bangkok Hospital Phuket, Vachira Hospital and Rajabhat University.
HOMA Cherngtalay, scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2022, is a 422-unit property located near Bang Tao Beach and is within walking distance of Boat Avenue, Porto de Phuket and Laguna Phuket Resort.
Luca Dotti, co-founder of HOMA, said: “HOMA provides a place like home with hotel services that provide privacy when you need it and community when you want it. Co-living in Thailand meets the needs of an emerging generation and older professionals who are increasingly working remotely. What sets us apart is that we also cater to families.
“We are committed to Thailand and Asia Pacific for the long term. This reflects our confidence in the country and its ability to bounce back as the Thai economic recovery continues gaining momentum.”
Blake Olafson, founder and managing partner of ACRE and co-founder of HOMA, added: “After investing in more than 20,000 apartments in the United States over the past eight years, we are also seeing a trend developing in Southeast Asia that is making rental property more appealing to young professionals and young families.”
The company is pioneering long-term Thai residential rental market by shifting the focus from buyer to tenant. In the next five years, ACRE and NOON aim to invest more than US$250 million (Bt7.9 billion) in the development of six HOMA projects across Thailand, and plan to later introduce the brand to other major markets across the Asia-Pacific region.
AWC, Marriott ink deal for 4 luxury hotels in Bangkok, Pattaya
Aug 28. 2020
By The Nation
Asset World Corporation (AWC) has expanded its hotels portfolio via a multi-agreement deal signed with Marriott International today.
The agreement is for four new hotels under three global hotel brands on the Bangkok riverside and Pattaya beachfront.
AWC said the deal also strengthens its status as one of the largest owners of Marriott International properties in Asia Pacific (excluding China) with a total 6,636 rooms in Thailand, from nine operating hotels with 3,452 rooms, and seven future projects with 3,184 rooms – including the four new hotels with 1,638 rooms.
The three new Bangkok hotels comprise the ultra-luxury Ritz-Carlton Reserve resort, the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Asiatique Bangkok, and the Asiatique Bangkok, Autograph Collection.
All three will be located at the future expansion of the Asiatique The Riverfront shopping-dining destination.
The fourth hotel, Aquatique Pattaya, Autograph Collection, will be situated in Aquatique The Beachfront Pattaya, a soon-to-open mixed-use destination offering MICE hotel and facilities, luxury shopping and entertainment.
Wallapa Traisorat, CEO and president of AWC, said the multi-agreement demonstrates Marriott International’s confidence in AWC.
“We are confident in the long-term positive outlook of Thai tourism. Our collaboration with global partners enables us to create an exceptional customer experience and better respond to diversified consumer needs. This helps enhance potential and opportunity of Thai tourism industry to expand its tourist base to the wellness and long-stay segments in the near term, as well as create a more compelling experience to attract discerning and sophisticated travellers from around the world.” Wallapa said.
Craig S Smith, group president for Asia Pacific, Marriott International, added:
“Strengthening our longstanding, well-established partnership with AWC in this landmark multi-agreement signing for four new hotels in Bangkok and Pattaya is testament of our continuing growth strategy across Asia Pacific, including Thailand.”
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · John Gittelsohn · BUSINESS
U.S. commercial real estate prices are falling as the economic toll of the Covid-19 pandemic worsens — and the decline is just getting started.
Indexes for office, retail and lodging properties all slipped year-over-year in July, data from industry tracker Real Capital Analytics Inc. show. Transaction volume plummeted to $14 billion across all sectors, down 69% from July 2019.
“The worst is yet to come,” Real Capital Senior Vice President Jim Costello said in a telephone interview. “We’re not seeing the fallout yet of owners selling properties and taking a loss.”
Commercial real estate deals have been in a deep freeze as lenders give borrowers slack to defer payments and landlords are reluctant to drop asking prices. That may change in the next few months as debts mount and the outlook dims for retail, hotel, office and even apartment properties that already suffered from oversupply before the pandemic hammered the U.S. economy.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see some of it start to break in September or October,” Costello said.
Hotel prices dropped 4.4% in the year through July, while retail declined 2.8% and offices fell 0.1%, according to Real Capital. Apartment building prices climbed 6.9%, and industrial values rose 8.3%, leading to a 1.5% gain for all property types in the period.
The last time office prices slipped before the pandemic was January 2011. In central business districts of cities such as New York, San Francisco and Boston, prices started recovering from the Great Recession in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Multifamily prices are starting to diverge as suburban garden apartments lure residents from urban-core buildings that faced pricing pressure even before covid-19.
Family-forming millennials will drive the shift away from expensive, densely populated cities long after the pandemic’s impact fades, so property values in the suburbs are likely to rebound faster, Costello said.
“The last downturn, suburbs were the laggard,” he said. “This one will be different.”
Centara Hotels & Resorts has signed agreements to manage three new hotels in Myanmar – the Centara Hotel Thiri Hpa-An, Hpa-An Hilltop Resort & Spa, and Centara Hotel Mandalay.
In the last 12 months, Centara has inked management deals for a total of nine Myanmar properties.
Opening first in 2021 is the Thiri Hpa-An property, a 77-room hotel nestled against one of Hpa-An’s legendary karst mountains and featuring two restaurants, outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, and meeting facilities.
Hpa-An in Kayin state is a picturesque town known for its limestone karst mountain scenery, emerald rice fields, tranquil lakes, and Saddan Cave filled with pagodas and Buddha statues. Travellers can now reach Hpa-An overland from Thailand’s Mae Sot in three hours.
Opening in 2022 a short 20-minute away from Centra by Centara Hotel Thiri Hpa-An is Hpa-An Hilltop Resort & Spa, which will be managed under the Centara Boutique Collection brand.
The new-build resort will feature 60 guest rooms and bungalows, two F&B outlets, a spa, kid’s club, fitness centre with swimming pool, and a guest entertainment centre.
In 2024, Centara Hotel Mandalay will open as part of a mixed-use project which will also include a shopping mall, office and casino. The 200-room hotel will feature three restaurants, meeting facilities, fitness centre with swimming pool, and guest recreational facilities.
Centara has signed management deals with six hotels this year so far outside of Thailand, including the three Myanmar properties, as well as one in Oman, and two in Vietnam. The latest signings add 337 rooms to the group’s portfolio now totalling 17,154 rooms across 81 properties.
Almost 50 per cent of Centara properties are now outside Thailand, the group’s country of origin.
Aug 26. 2020Thailand-based Dusit International, one of Asia’s fastest-growing hospitality companies, is expanding into India with a plan to open at least two Dusit-brand hotels per year in the country from 2021 onwards in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, as well as key leisure destinations
By The Nation
Thailand-based Dusit International, one of Asia’s fastest-growing hospitality companies, is expanding into India with a plan to open at least two Dusit-brand hotels per year in the country from 2021 onwards in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, as well as key leisure destinations.
Along with signing a franchise agreement with Kolkata based real-estate firm Jain Group for Dusit Princess Serviced Suites Kolkata, Dusit is also in talks for at least four more signings in the next 12 months.
With India’s fast-growing middle class expected to reach 583 million people – or 41 per cent of India’s projected population – by 2025, Dusit sees huge potential for its upscale and midscale brands in this burgeoning market.
“While Covid-19 has brought immense challenges for tourism and hospitality worldwide, we remain confident that our resilient industry can and will bounce bank, and we expect India to be a key planer in international and domestic tourism in the brighter days ahead,” said Suphajee Suthumpun, group CEO for Dusit International.
“We are delighted and honoured that the Jain Group has selected our Dusit Princess brand for their property in Kolkata, and we now look forward to bringing more quality products to the market to generate long-term value for all our stakeholders.”
Slated to open in the second quarter of 2022 as part of Jain Group’s high-end residential development project, Dream One, Dusit Princess Serviced Suites Kolkata will occupy a prime location near the green expanse of Eco Park, only five minutes by car from both the city centre and the airport, and just one minute from the Kalakshetra Metro Station.
Comprising 42 three-bedroom units, the new property will provide an ideal base for both business and leisure travellers seeking extended stays.
Shrayans Jain, vice president of Jain Group, said: “In the new normal following Covid-19, Indian travellers will be increasingly seeking brands they can trust to deliver the high levels of safety, comfort and convenience they deserve. Dusit has more than seven decades of experience delivering exceptional guest and customer experiences in key destinations worldwide, and the company already has a strong reputation in India for the quality of its offerings.
“Our companies’ shared values to deliver quality in all aspects will ensure Dusit Princess Serviced Suites Kolkata is perfectly placed to exceed guest and customer expectations, and we look forward to a long and successful relationship with Dusit.”
Luxury InterContinental Residences claims final spot on prime Hua Hin beachfront – and Bt2bn sales in 2 months
Aug 24. 2020
By The Nation
Occupying the last prime beachfront spot on the Thai Riviera, the luxury InterContinental Residences Hua Hin has earned Bt2 billion in sales just two months after its launch.
Hua Hin has earned the “riviera” tag thanks to its upcoming motorway, high-speed train and new domestic flights linking it with Bangkok.
Clients are being invited to sample the InterContinental lifestyle at the exclusive “Feast De La Mer” campaign, which has been extended until the end of August for families who wish to spend quality time away from Bangkok at the weekends.
The campaign saw sales of InterContinental Residences Hua Hin soar to Bt2 billion in June and July as its developer Proud Real Estate announced a completion date of 2022.
Proudputh Liptapanlop, managing director of Proud Real Estate, points out that the success of the familiarisation activity shows how Hua Hin is revered as Thailand’s top beach resort with comprehensive amenities, shopping malls, restaurants and eateries, plus famed hospitals that make it the perfect post-Covid 19 “new normal” destination for city dwellers looking for a home away from the capital.
Tourism in Hua Hin is booming and becoming a prime choice among discerning travellers thanks to the government’s Teaw Pun Suk package and Rao Teaw Duay Kan campaign, which has been subsidising accommodation and flight costs since July.
Meanwhile, Hua Hin will soon offer more comprehensive transportation links than other destinations, including a motorway, high-speed train and new domestic flights. It will also reap the benefit of the government’s east coast tourism initiative known as the Thailand Riviera, including a new coastal road being built southwards through Samut Songkhram, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumpon and Ranong, to raise the standards of tourism to an international level.
Moreover, plans to construct fundamental infrastructure to support the Thailand Riviera initiative will make travelling to Hua Hin even more convenient. These include a motorway from Nakhon Pathom to Cha-Am, a high-speed train from Bangkok to Hua Hin, a double-track railway from Nakhon Pathom to Chumpon already operating, and extension of the Dao Khanong-Bang Khun Thian expressway to Thonburi-Paktor to ease traffic congestion.
Meanwhile, more comfort and convenience for travellers will come from Bangkok-Hua Hin flight links. Airlines are also preparing to launch more flights to Hua Hin – from Chiang Mai, Udon Thani and Phuket in the near future. With all infrastructure combined, Hua Hin will become a significant gateway to tourism in the south of Thailand.
Besides being a vacation home for quiet weekend getaways, InterContinental Residences Hua Hin is also designed as an everyday permanent residence complete with ample facilities and amenities catering to the New Normal, enhanced by 24-hour services from its globally renowned hotel brand. With its unparalleled quality and facilities for family life, InterContinental Residences Hua Hin has met with phenomenal feedback since its launch.
Experience the elevated, unparalleled living at the InterContinental Residences Hua Hin sales gallery and showroom at Hua Hin Soi 71.
Developers woo local buyers with discounted sale of luxury condos
Aug 21. 2020
By THE NATION
Luxury condos in the Sukhumvit area have slashed prices to attract buyers, while demand for condos as a second home has been rising.
Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, managing director at CBRE Thailand, a property consultant, said that the property market in the second quarter of the year is showing positive signs after the government eased lockdown measures imposed during the Covid-19 outbreak. “The demand is starting to climb while developers are launching promotional campaigns to attract buyers to sell their stock of finished condo projects and regain cash flow to compensate the contraction during the outbreak,” she said. “CBRE statistics also show that the number of potential buyers visiting projects’ mockup units in July is higher than that of the same period last year.
“This year the condo market has fewer supplies in the luxury section while most new projects have been focusing on units lower than Bt3 million or less than Bt150,000 per square metre to suit the purchasing power of people during economic contraction,” she added. “As a result, developers of luxury condos, especially in Sukhumvit area that has around 4,000 unsold units, are slashing their price by 5 to 40 per cent so that they could close the project as soon as possible.”
CBRE also found out that in 2019, 61 per cent of buyers bought condos for residential purposes, 34 per cent bought for investment and 5 per cent bought as a second home. However, in the first half of 2020 the number of people buying condos as a second home rose to 25 per cent while those buying for investment went down to 16 per cent, and 59 per cent bought for residential purpose.
“This is because the current economic status is not suitable for reselling so fewer people are choosing to invest in condos, while those who already have a house are looking for condos located in city areas for convenience in commuting,” added Aliwassa.
Meanwhile, Suriya Poolvoralaks, managing director at Major Development Pcl, said that the company’s Munich Sukhumvit 23 luxury condo project is now 70 per cent sold with one-fourth of the buyers foreigners, mostly from Hong Kong.
“The Covid-19 situation has prevented potential foreign customers from coming in so we launched a promotional campaign offering discount of Bt30,000 to Bt80,000 per square metre to attract domestic customers,” he said. “We expect that the move will help drive the sale of the project to 80 to 90 per cent.”
Chatchai Sirilai, the bank’s president 
Hudson Yards stands without visitors in New York on Wednesday, 8, 2020. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Jeenah Moon. Photo by: Jeenah Moon — Bloomberg Location: New York, United States 
A artists’ rendering of an aerial view of HOMA Phuket Town 
Mandalay, Myanmar 
Thailand-based Dusit International, one of Asia’s fastest-growing hospitality companies, is expanding into India with a plan to open at least two Dusit-brand hotels per year in the country from 2021 onwards in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, as well as key leisure destinations 
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