This concept will start with Sansiri’s new condominium, the Bt2.4 billion Wellness Residence, located at Krungthep Kreetha. It will encompass a community with lifestyle activities for a healthy body and mind , said Piti Jarukamjorn, Sansiri Plc’s deputy executive vice president/condominium project development and strategic project management said at a press conference,

The project is jointly developed by Sansiri, Tokyu Corporation and Saha Tokyu Corporation Co Ltd with shareholding proportion of 70:29:1 respectively, while Samitivej Hospital takes a strategic partner role for all health-related services to serve the demands of target buyers.

The new condominium worth over Bt2.4 billion in Krungthep Kreetha, encompassing a living community and lifestyle activities offered by leading partnering providers to encourage residents to start a journey to healthy body and mind today, in light of the growing wellness trend in Thailand and all over the world.

Piti Jarukamjorn, project boss at Sansiri, said: “More and more people tend to spend a majority of their lifetime at home and are ready to pay for a healthier lifestyle, from the home they live to health-promoting activities and a better quality of life.

“Living in a home purposefully built to promote healthy and good living is desirable for people of all ages. According to Global Wellness Institute’s Build Well to Live Well 2018 Research Report, the market value of wellness real estate is a US$134 billion [Bt4.4 trillion] global industry in 2017 and has grown by 6.4 per cent annually since 2015, far beyond the average growth of global construction industry of 1.5 per cent.

“Wellness lifestyle real estate development is achieving home sales price premiums averaging 10-25 per cent. Today, there are totally 740 wellness lifestyle real estate and community projects across the world.”

The project will open for booking on October 27-28, managing director Tritecha Tangmatithum said on Monday.

“We are confident that the property market will continue seeing strong growth in the last quarter of this year,” he said.

Property developers are stepping up their launch schedules in the final quarter of the year with a slew of residential projects worth Bt187.71 billion, ahead of the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) expected measures to rein in mortgage loan approvals by commercial banks, according to a survey by The Nation.

Amid high confidence across the industry, Pruksa Real Estate Plc plans to launch up to 42 projects nationwide in the quarter comprising condominium, single-detached house, townhouse, and twinhouse developments with market value of Bt41.5 billion.

AP (Thailand) Plc is poised to introduce 18 residential developments worth a total of Bt31.23 billion while Supalai Plc Plc gears up for the launches of up to 18 new projects costing a total of Bt20 billion before yearend. (See graphics)

A survey by Collier International (Thailand) Co Ltd finds listed and non-listed property firms planned to launch 102 projects, offering 23,917 units at a combined cost of Bt138.8 billion, in Bangkok and its suburban areas. Of the total, up to 70 projects worth Bt55 billion are single detached house, townhouse, and twin-house developments, offering a total of 7,500 residential units. Condominiums make up the balance of 32 projects, supplying a total of 16,417 units worth Bt83.8 billion.

“We are confident of homebuyers’ demand in the final quarter, from both local and foreigner clients. We have revised up the year’s presale target to Bt50 billion from Bt45 billion after posting Bt41.5 billion for the first nine months,” said Sansiri Plc’s chief financial officer Wanchak Buranasiri, adding that foreign buyers accounted for Bt12 billion of the total.

Hence, the company will launch seven residential developments towards the end of the year, comprising three condominium, three townhouse and one single detached house projects worth a total of Bt12.7 billion, he said.

Chanond Ruangkritya, chief executive officer of Ananda Development Plc, cited government investments in infrastructure projects, construction of mass transit networks in particular, as a driving factor for the realty market.

He said the company will launch three residential properties, a condominium and two single detached house projects worth a total of Bt7.8 billion, in the final quarter.

In regards to the central bank’s policy to restrict mortgage loan approvals by lowering the loan to value ratio from 90 to 80 per cent, Golden Land Property Development Plc’s (GOLD) executive managing director Saenphin Sukhee said it means a homebuyers will have to settle a down payment equivalent to 20 per cent of the property’s market value while the evaluation process on his/her ability to pay will include all existing debts relating to credit card spending, hire-purchases, and personal loans. It will have a direct impact on buyers of residential units under Bt5 million each.

“In view of the BOT measures, there will be increased supply in the middle and upper income markets as developers shift their focus to foreign buyers. The picture will be clearer next year,” he said.

GOLD will launch 17 residential properties worth a total of Bt21.3 billion in the second half of the year including nine townhouse, four twinhouse and three single detached house projects, plus a single detached house development upcountry.

Siamese Asset Co Ltd’s managing director Kajonsit Singsansern said the company is sure of demand for conฌdominium units in the central business district (CBD) in Bangkok. It introduces ‘the Collection’, a Bt4.8 billion condominium project on Sukhumvit-Asoke early this month.

“The BOT measures will not have a direct impact on our projects which target real market demand,” he said.

The central bank is seeking to rein in the mortgage market by reducing the debt-service ratio and loan-to-value criteria for prospective borrowers. The move will hurt home sales priced below Bt3 million per unit, according to a source from a major property firm.

Currently, commercial banks set a debt-service ratio of between 33 per cent and 50 per cent, which means a homebuyer pays a monthly instalment at an average of between 33 per cent and 50 per cent of their monthly salary. The banks have also imposed loan-to-value ratios of about 90 to 95 per cent, requiring homebuyers to make a down payment of five to 10 per cent of the property’s value.

Under the new policy, expected to be implemented next year, homebuyers making an average monthly income of Bt27,000 will be limited to residential units priced at a maximum of Bt1.5 million. They would need a monthly salary of more than Bt40,000 to buy a Bt1.5 million property, the source said.

“Following this model, property firms will have to shift their sales base from the middle and lower-income market to the middle and upper-income market. It will have an direct impact on the market.” he said.

At present, up to 30 per cent of the demand in the lower-middle to lower-income market, involves residential units priced between Bt1.5 million to Bt3 million each. Properties with a starting price of Bt5 million, pitched at the upper-middle and upper income market, account for the rest.

If the central bank persists with the implementation of the new regime next year, now is the last chance for prospective homebuyers to make a purchase, said another source in the industry.

The plan is divided into three levels, from fundamental systems control to a full-scale smart building, according to a press release issued by the company on Friday.

Sansiri will offer residents three concepts including iConvenience, iSafe and iGreen. The Line Asoke-Ratchada, a joint-venture between Sansiri and BTS Group, is the first smart condominium, as the company looks to The Edge, the world’s most intelligent building in the Netherlands, as a role model to develop more smart projects by 2020.

Dr.Tawicha Trakulyingyong, chief technology officer of Sansiri, said: “Sansiri sees the importance of Smart Building technology and it is how we want to make building management more effective by incorporating Internet of Things or IoT in the building and connecting it with software and services from common space to living space.”

He said the technology will improve the comfort and safety for residents while making building management better and more effective.

All electrical systems and equipment, including firefighting equipment, electric generator, central electric system, elevator, water pump, drain system and swimming pool, will be centralised and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) are monitored and controlled to reduce excess power use.

“On a global spectrum, in some areas up to 90 per cent of online listings are either not up-to-date, the full information is not provided or the properties are not available; creating confusion about what properties are currently on the market and at what price. The result of this cloudy market, which is an issue in Thailand, as well as Southeast Asia and other countries worldwide, is that it creates lack of trust and belief in property listings online,” said Denis Nemtsev, CEO of Hipflat.

Vast, diverse and highly competitive, Thailand’s property sales and rentals markets can also be obstructively unwieldy. Lack of market data equals less transparency in the market which hinders owners, buyers, landlords and renters in making valid transactions; leading to low liquidity with the market not able to reach its full potential.

Whilst Thailand is faring better in the region than just a couple of years ago, globally it is lagging behind countries like the US which are far more regulated.

Many mature economies are achieving advances in transparency and boosting liquidity through so-called proptech; pioneering blockchain technology applied to the property markets.

With real-estate investment at an all-time high in Thailand, Hipflat is adopting the blockchain-enabled protocol, Domus, to push Thailand over the border into the realm of transparency.

Meanwhile, property portals and real estate agents can also compound these market challenges, with out-of-date, inaccurate and missing information clouding transparency further and resulting in a marketplace that cannot be trusted and relied upon.

The Hipflat verified listings feature is a tool that ensures that property details have been independently validated by Hipflat members through either direct contact or site visits; dramatically improving accuracy and presenting trusted and reliable property data.

Due to open in September next year, COSI Pattaya Naklua Beach will have 282 hi-tech rooms, all with Smart TVs.

Free WiFi and convenient USB ports will be in every room and throughout the hotel. COSI also features a swimming pool, gym, laundromat, and the all-hours “hub”, a social hangout and digital playspace with a 24-hour lifestyle Café. Guests can enjoy free food and drink there using the daily credits they get with their stay.

The hotel is situated just a short stroll away from the beach, right opposite the renowned Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya and a five minute drive from Central Festival Pattaya. The hotel will follow the first COSI hotel which opened in Samui in December 2017. A third COSI which is also under development will open in Krabi in 2020.

Whether travelling for work or leisure, the newest COSI will captivate the market and demonstrate the diversity of Pattaya’s traveller demographic, the company says.