“Digital technology is changing all aspects of our business and has helped us to improve our business by designing a programme that makes use of Big Data to assist us in making the right decision in areas such as the purchasing of land,” Sansiri Plc president Srettha Thavisin said in an interview with The Nation accompanied by his management team.

“We also use digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) for our residential designs and to improve our construction process. Additionally, our staff are becoming a digital human resource.

 “The change under way involves the use of information technology to support our sustainable growth.”

Sansiri Plc spends an average of Bt30 million a year on research and development involving the use of information technology. In line with these efforts, the property developer has announced investment of Bt1.5 billion from 2018 to 2020 in startups under the concept of proptech. It is funnelling this investment into a joint venture with Siam Commercial Bank called Siri Ventures Co Ltd.

Srettha said that at present all property firms have the same knowledge for developing residential projects, such as that required for selecting locations for residential projects, designing residential function, and after-sales service.

However, with digital technology entering the property industry, this means that developers can use Big Data and applications to find suitable land plots. Sansiri uses what it calls the Bangkok Model, which is a map of Bangkok, to conduct searches with the help of Big Data for sites in the capital, Sansiri Plc ’s chief operating officer, Uthai Uthaisangsuk, said in an interview with The Nation recently.

Uthai cites as an example the belief held by most developers that land on Sukhumvit Road is limited with no new sites available for residential projects. But, under the Bangkok Model, the company has made use of Big Bata and the application program to find new plots for development on Sukhumvit Road.

“Technology is changing our working process, starting with the selection of land plots up to the design and marketing concepts,” Uthai said. “This makes theses tasks easier to perform and helps us to find a match with what the customers are demanding. In this way, we have used digital processes to transform our business model,” Uthai said.

Sansiri Plc uses the BIM system for its construction processes, helping it to reduce building waste and also improve its residential designs and construction processes, Uthai said.

“We use BIM for 3D design and also use it for quality checks in a later stage and are able to revise the BIM design on the iPad,” Uthai said.

The company also is studying how to use AI to create an example of a residential unit that provides an experience in which potential customers can have the feeling of touching the features of the property. It will be a visual-experience studio that will do away with the cost of constructing mock-up rooms of a residential unit. The studio will deliver the same experience of touching the room’s features that customers traditionally get from a showroom model, Uthai said.

“Digital processes are transforming our business into an intelligence-based enterprise and are also helping us to reduce costs. This is the way to do our business for this year and the next,” Srettha said.

SC Asset Corporation Plc is another property that has been using digital technology to transform its business.

The company has developed a new business model that draws on Big Data to search out what its customers want before designing the residential projects for sale.

“Investment in technology – that is the way to create our differentiation from other property firms in the market,” SC Asset Corporation’s chief executive officer Nuttaphong Kunakornwong said in an interview with The Nation recently.

At present, the company uses digital technology and AI to design its residential projects aided by the use of Big Data and information about its target customers in the areas where it plans to launch its residential projects. The information technology helps the company to make key decisions relating to the design and development of the projects that match with the customers’ demands, Nuttaphong said.

AP (Thailand) Plc’s chief corporate strategy and creation department officer, Vittakarn Chandavimol, said: “We have to transform our business to create a barrier for new entry by using AI BIM – artificial intelligence building information modelling – for our design, construction process and even our after-sales service to customers. We set up our application to serve all of our customers’ demands.”

AP (Thailand) set up its design and construction standards by collaborating with its building partners to ensure they know how to meet the company’s AI BIM requirements. The system reduces paperwork by communicating through an iCloud system.

“We make changes to the design and regarding most of our raw materials through the iCloud, and integrate our information until the design is finalised and we can start construction,” Vittakarn said in a recent interview with The Nation.

“Our engineering, architecture, marketing, and management teams can follow all project processes in real time. This helps us to reduce the diversions from the construction process. This will also help us to control business costs.”

The company inaugurated its use of AI BIM last year, applying it to low-rise residential buildings such as single-detached houses and townhouses and condominium projects.

With the entry of digital technology into the property market, property firms have adapted their business models to exploit Big Data in the selection of land sites and to improve property designs. The focus on meeting customers’ demands also extends to improved after-sales service through several applications.

Such efforts ensure that developers keeping pace with the evolving needs of customers in the digital era underscore the extent to which digital processes are transforming the property industry.

The campaign will run till March 15, 2019.

It expects the campaign to attract sales of up to Bt2 billion from this campaign, the company’s chief operating officer Uthai Uthaisangsuk said yesterday.

“Digital technology is changing all aspects of our business and has helped us to improve our business by designing a programme that makes use of Big Data to assist us in making the right decision in areas such as the purchasing of land,” Sansiri Plc president Srettha Thavisin said in an interview with The Nation accompanied by his management team.

“We also use digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) for our residential designs and to improve our construction process. Additionally, our staff are becoming a digital human resource.

 “The change under way involves the use of information technology to support our sustainable growth.”

Sansiri Plc spends an average of Bt30 million a year on research and development involving the use of information technology. In line with these efforts, the property developer has announced investment of Bt1.5 billion from 2018 to 2020 in startups under the concept of proptech. It is funnelling this investment into a joint venture with Siam Commercial Bank called Siri Ventures Co Ltd.

Srettha said that at present all property firms have the same knowledge for developing residential projects, such as that required for selecting locations for residential projects, designing residential function, and after-sales service.

However, with digital technology entering the property industry, this means that developers can use Big Data and applications to find suitable land plots. Sansiri uses what it calls the Bangkok Model, which is a map of Bangkok, to conduct searches with the help of Big Data for sites in the capital, Sansiri Plc ’s chief operating officer, Uthai Uthaisangsuk, said in an interview with The Nation recently.

Uthai cites as an example the belief held by most developers that land on Sukhumvit Road is limited with no new sites available for residential projects. But, under the Bangkok Model, the company has made use of Big Bata and the application program to find new plots for development on Sukhumvit Road.

“Technology is changing our working process, starting with the selection of land plots up to the design and marketing concepts,” Uthai said. “This makes theses tasks easier to perform and helps us to find a match with what the customers are demanding. In this way, we have used digital processes to transform our business model,” Uthai said.

Sansiri Plc uses the BIM system for its construction processes, helping it to reduce building waste and also improve its residential designs and construction processes, Uthai said.

“We use BIM for 3D design and also use it for quality checks in a later stage and are able to revise the BIM design on the iPad,” Uthai said.

The company also is studying how to use AI to create an example of a residential unit that provides an experience in which potential customers can have the feeling of touching the features of the property. It will be a visual-experience studio that will do away with the cost of constructing mock-up rooms of a residential unit. The studio will deliver the same experience of touching the room’s features that customers traditionally get from a showroom model, Uthai said.

“Digital processes are transforming our business into an intelligence-based enterprise and are also helping us to reduce costs. This is the way to do our business for this year and the next,” Srettha said.

SC Asset Corporation Plc is another property that has been using digital technology to transform its business.

The company has developed a new business model that draws on Big Data to search out what its customers want before designing the residential projects for sale.

“Investment in technology – that is the way to create our differentiation from other property firms in the market,” SC Asset Corporation’s chief executive officer Nuttaphong Kunakornwong said in an interview with The Nation recently.

At present, the company uses digital technology and AI to design its residential projects aided by the use of Big Data and information about its target customers in the areas where it plans to launch its residential projects. The information technology helps the company to make key decisions relating to the design and development of the projects that match with the customers’ demands, Nuttaphong said.

AP (Thailand) Plc’s chief corporate strategy and creation department officer, Vittakarn Chandavimol, said: “We have to transform our business to create a barrier for new entry by using AI BIM – artificial intelligence building information modelling – for our design, construction process and even our after-sales service to customers. We set up our application to serve all of our customers’ demands.”

AP (Thailand) set up its design and construction standards by collaborating with its building partners to ensure they know how to meet the company’s AI BIM requirements. The system reduces paperwork by communicating through an iCloud system.

“We make changes to the design and regarding most of our raw materials through the iCloud, and integrate our information until the design is finalised and we can start construction,” Vittakarn said in a recent interview with The Nation.

“Our engineering, architecture, marketing, and management teams can follow all project processes in real time. This helps us to reduce the diversions from the construction process. This will also help us to control business costs.”

The company inaugurated its use of AI BIM last year, applying it to low-rise residential buildings such as single-detached houses and townhouses and condominium projects.

With the entry of digital technology into the property market, property firms have adapted their business models to exploit Big Data in the selection of land sites and to improve property designs. The focus on meeting customers’ demands also extends to improved after-sales service through several applications.

Such efforts ensure that developers keeping pace with the evolving needs of customers in the digital era underscore the extent to which digital processes are transforming the property industry.

The planned projects will drive its total revenue up by 10 per cent in 2019 , from an estimate of Bt1 billion this year, he said.

The company also has a backlog (units sold, waiting for transfer to buyers) worth Bt9 billion that will be delivered to customers between 2019 and 2022.

“We expect to show a net profit soon,” he said.

In the first nine months of this year, the company reported total revenue of Bt806.31 million and Bt158.86 million in net loss.

the Government Housing Bank or GHB reported late on Sunday.

The bank will examine the list of applications on December 25, 2018 and those who meet the criteria can apply for the mortgage loan on January 2, 2019, said the bank’s president Chatchai Sirilai.

For example, Pruksa Real Estate Plc has launched its latest campaign, Biggest Sale Ever, between now and December 28, 2018. It offers customers who make a residential purchase entry into a lucky draw worth a combined Bt200 million.

Origin Property Plc launched its One Price promotion campaign by offering residential units at a Bt1.29 million starting price from December 8-11, 2019. The campaign managed to sell Bt220 million worth of units in the four-day event.

The latest campaign from Helix Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Ananda Development Plc, will offer a Bt2,018 down-payment Bt2,018 for 18 months, for customer who buy from among its four townhouse projects under the Unio Town brand, with prices between Bt2.28 million and Bt3.19 million per unit. The campaign runs from now till December 25, 2018.

Supalai Plc launched a winter campaign offering price discounts of between Bt25,000 and Bt100,000 for customers of its residential project till December 15, 2018.

Meanwhile, the latest campaign from Government Housing Bank will provide residential loans of up to Bt1 million, following government policy, on the December 23 weekend.

“Most property firms have tried to boost their sales in the last month of this year till the first quarter of next year before the new measure from the Bank of Thailand to increase down-payment value comes into effect on April 1, 2019,” Issara Boonyong, chief executive officer of Kanda Group, said recently.

Issara, who is also honorary chairman of the Business Housing Association, added that most property firms this year launched additional new residential projects to keep a backlog, as they do not know what will happen in 2019.

A survey Business Housing Association found that new residential projects launched in Bangkok and its suburban in the first 10 months of this totalled 95,727 units, up 6 per cent from the same period of last year. Condominium units accounted 57,878 of them, up 10 per cent from the same period of last year. The next 37,849 units were single detached houses and townhouses, up just 1 per cent from the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, new registrations of single detached houses and townhouse in Bangkok and its suburbs for the first nine months of this year totalled 43,125 units, up 15 per cent from the same period of last year. And new condominium registrations for the city and suburbs totalled 49,461 units, up 4 per cent from the same period of last year.

Recorded residential transfers in the first nine months of this year totalled 140,583 units, up 22 per cent from the same period of last year, with 71,578 units of those being single detached houses and townhouse, up 19 per cent from the same period of last year. Next were transfers of 69,005 condo units, up 24 per cent from the same period of last year, he said.

“We believe developers will have a hard time next year, given the negative factors affecting the purchasing power of homebuyers. Property firms must rejig their business models with a long-term focus,” said AP (Thailand) Plc’s chief executive officer Anupong Asavabhokhin.

However, he remains confident that the market will still post a 5-per cent growth next year given the strong demand for residential units priced between Bt5 and Bt10 million. This segment will not be badly impacted by the central bank’s measures on mortgage loans – as opposed to speculators and the second-home market, he said.

Origin Property Plc’s chief executive officer Peerapong Charoon-Ek agreed with Anupong’s assessment, saying that the new central bank regime will have little impact on real market demand. He expected growth of up to 10 per cent next year.

“The middle- and upper-income market, priced from Bt5 million to more than Bt10 million a unit, will not be adversely affected by the new regime on mortgage loans and a higher interest rate. However, the impact will be badly felt in the middle- to lower-income segments offering residential units for lower than Bt5 million each,” he said.

Piya Prayong , Pruksa Real Estate Plc’s chief executive officer for market evaluation, said the new loan-to-value measures announced by the Bank of Thailand will weaken demand from both domestic and overseas buyers, especially prospective customers from China. Thus, the company forecasts a market growth of not more than 5 per cent next year.

“To get around the problems, we will adjust our business model with a focus on condominiums. Construction of these projects take longer but the larger timeframe will, in turn, give our customers more time for paying instalments on their down payment,” Piya said. “We will also launch fewer projects next year.”

The Bank of Thailand has announced a set of new measures to rein in mortgage approvals, requiring buyers to place a higher down payment for multi-mortgage borrowings.

From April 1, it will require homebuyers of a third house to place a 30 per cent down-payment, regardless of the price. The first down payment remains unchanged at 10 per cent.

For the second mortgage, the down payment is 10 per cent if the re-payment period of the first mortgage exceeds three years, or the house price is below Bt10 million. The down payment will increase to 20 per cent if the first mortgage is less than three years or the house price is more than Bt10 million.

The Bank of Thailand also raised its policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 1.75 per cent last week amid signs of further increases if the country’s economic growth stays on track next year. However, Thai rates remain lower than other countries’. The US Fed has hiked rates three times this year, causing an outflow of capital from emerging markets to its shores.

Therdsak Thaveeteeratham, executive vice president/research for Asia Plus Securities, said the property market faces slower growth or even a contraction next year as a result of the BOT measures and higher interest rate.

The new regime on mortgage approvals will sap demand in the second- and third-home segments, while the higher policy rate will impact the first-home market, he added.

Therdsak said the Bank of Thailand’s measures will be felt throughout the realty market next year.

The 12 property companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand currently have over Bt500 billion worth of projects under development, of which Bt292 billion are invested in single detached houses and townhouses with condominiums accounting for the balance.

Meanwhile, the total of presale values this year will reach Bt360 billion, the highest in 10 years as the market absorbs higher demand ahead of the slowdown.

Developers are expected to revise their business plans for next year with fewer new-project launches, Therdsak said.