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Thailand - June 2008
Increased flights boost Thai market: CBRE
Thailand Property Report
Thailand real estate firm CB Richard Ellis has
reported soaring interest in holiday home investment,
which it attributes to booming tourism and an increase in
flight links.
In Phuket, the firm reported a 32 per cent increase in
transactions from the third to last quarter of 2007, with
a 59 per cent increase in their value based on the latest
statistics from the Land Department.
Although villa prices doubled from 2000 to 2006, CBRE said
“Phuket remains globally competitive. Prices and interest
remain solid.”
Market enthusiasm is attributed to growing tourism, with
tourist arrivals to Phuket exceeding five million last
year, complimented by a robust 22.5 per cent increase in
visitors to Thailand. These included many from new tourism
sources, such as Russia, the UAE, Switzerland and eastern
European countries.
“As a result, there is a broader global customer base for
high-end villas. Previously, most customers were
expatriates from Hong Kong and Singapore. Now we are
seeing a rise in demand from NRIs, Russians and Eastern
Europeans,” said CBRE.
Airlines have responded to this increased demand, most
notably with new connections from regional budget
carriers.
From Singapore, budget airline Tiger Airways is supporting
Silk Air connections. Air Asia has introduced new flights
from Kuala Lumpur, and introduced daily flights between
Macau and Phuket in May 2008.
Dragon Air is meanwhile upgrading its Phuket-Hong Kong
route in peak seasons with larger aircraft and 90
international chartered flights in the last high season
from October 2007 to March 2008, which represented a 150
per cent increase from last year.
With new flight links, investors are also looking for
opportunities beyond Phuket to areas such as Phang Nga,
Krabi and outlying islands in the Andaman Sea, said the
realtor.
A Bt1.3 billion domestic airport is under planning in
Phang Nga, aimed to serve travelers to Khao Lak, Takuapa,
Surin and the Similan islands. The areas are also well
connected by Destination Air’s seaplane service to islands
including Koh Yao Noi, Phi Phi Islands, Koh Lanta, Koh
Racha Yai, Koh Mook, the Similan Islands, as well as to
Khao Lak and Ranong. “Private jet travel and helicopter is
also increasingly popular amongst high-end travelers,”
said CBRE.
The real estate firm is similarly bullish about property
investment in Koh Samui, Pattaya and Hua Hin, where it has
new offices. Bangkok Airways has invested in a major
upgrade to Samui Airport, with a grand opening scheduled
for this summer. Allowance for larger aircraft will
increase landing capacity by 62 per cent.
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