The Property Guru which is Singapore's only dedicated real estate newspaper has debuted.
Former Thailand media expert Andrew Batt is at the helm as Regional Group Editor.
Issues will come out bi-monthly and cover industry news in the Singapore and abroad.
See the website at <link>http://www.propertyguru.com.sg*CLICK</link>
Forbes Asia has put out its Top 10 list, and the winners are –
1. Dhanin Chearavanont – USD7.4 billion
2. Chaleo Yoovidhya – USD5 billion
3. Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi – USD4.8 billion
4. Chirathivat Family – USDUSD4.3 billion
5. Krit Ratanarak/Family – USD2.5 billion
6. Aloke Lohia – USD2.1 billion
7. Chamnong Bhirombhakdi – USD2 billion
8. Vichai Maleenont – USD1.5 billion
9. Isara Vongkusolkit/Family – USD1.4 billion
10. Praneetsilpa Vacharaphol/Family USD1.05 billion
Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has rolled in at #19.
Koh Samui's W Retreat – The Residences has relaunched four ocean front villas with a product redesign.
The developer of the project Amburaya has shifted away from the larger sized units into a smaller investment type offering.
A road show took place in Hong Kong last week with property agent Engel & Voelkers organizing the event.
Pricing for the 2-3 bedroom product now runs from THB60 – 90 million. Built up areas start at 515 square meters and plot sizes from 864 square meters.
Key to the current offering is that the units are directly on a white sand beach, which is an unusual feature for the current selection of properties on the island.
It remains to be seen is lower pricing points and a move away from the ultra villa market into a pure investment play will be successful or not.
Financial Institution HSBC has released the result of their 2011 Expat Explorer Survey.
Thailand has been ranked number one for lifestyle and economic profiles.
While always popular as a retirement end game for many expat, the new poll shows other leading considerations including quality health care and rated highly as place to work.
Two new entrants this year on the list were Vietnam and New Zealand.
As flood stories continue to dominate the daily news in Thailand, businesses in Bangkok and further afield are wonding whats next.
CBRE Thailand have issued the following analysis of what will likely lay on the road going forward.
"The current flooding situation will have an impact across the board on all property sectors, but will vary in degree and extent, according to a leading real estate consultant CBRE Thailand.
In the short-term, business is likely to slow down as people will be busy solving their own problems .
Overall, the flooding will result in changes in demand patterns in the residential sector in terms of preferred locations and product. In terms of location, the CBD which includes Lumpini, Silom, Sathorn and early Sukhumvit will be the preferred area, other areas will be assessed after the flooding is over. Demand for high rise condominiums is likely to rise as people may want to buy them to use as a second home in the city center.
Purchasers considering buying residential properties in the future will pay more attention to the product, design features and flood protection measures of individual developments. Housing developers will also need to ensure flood prevention measures and features are incorporated when launching new developments.
The second home markets in Pattaya, Chonburi, Hua-Hin, Cha-am and nearby provinces will benefit from this crisis. Bangkok residents with disposable income will be inclined to purchase holiday homes out of Bangkok as many residents are now evacuating to Pattaya and Hua-Hin.
The move of Bangkok residents out of the city is also benefiting the hotel markets where CBRE is seeing a pick-up in occupancy for hotels and serviced apartments in Pattaya and Hua-Hin. Bangkok on the contrary is facing a drop in occupancy with cancellations from overseas tour groups and with travel warnings for Thailand. However, given the resilience of Thailand's tourism industry, CBRE expects arrivals to quickly rebound once the flooding is over.
The office and retail sectors will experience minimal short-term impact. The office sector is experiencing a short-term slow down as businesses are delaying decisions, while the retail business is experiencing a slow down or closure in some areas which are directly affected by the flooding. In the long-term, retailers may re-think their distribution strategy and consider a wider geographical dispersion of their distribution centres in order to minimize the impact from any future crisis. However, CBRE believes the retail sector will experience a quick recovery.
The most impacted is undoubtedly the industrial sector. At present, it is difficult to predict how long the recovery process will take, but in the short-term the impact is severe with widespread disruption in the manufacturing and distribution chain. The recovery process will be strongly underpinned by the government's effectiveness in implementing supporting measures, as well as the individual industrial estate operators' measures to bring factories back into operation. Going forward, whilst existing operations will re-open, it is critical for the government to re-build confidence and take effective measures to prevent similar disasters from occurring again in the future, if not, Thailand is at risk of losing its credibility and FDI.
Overall, the government's recovery program will be essential to all sectors of the property market and will have a direct impact on the overall economic outlook and Thailand's direction for the coming year."
Thai listed real estate developer Sansiri's first Phuket condo project has managed to sell out 556 units in half a day.
The dCondo in Kathu with unit sizes just under thirty square meters was priced from one million baht and up.
From a property storyline the successful debut is a key sign of the times towards a continued surge by the domestic sector.
What's evident is that the speculative nature of Bangkok's domestic entry level condos has now veered south to Phuket.
Typically projects such as this often have multiple unit buyers who are investors rather than end users. Relatively small down payments are made with the bulk of the purchase due on completion. Speculators hedge to sell on prior to handover and look at take profit at prevailing market pricing at the finishing stage.
Sansiri already has a considerable database of existing buyers and tapped into this resource to spur volume sales.
We can expect other geared up Thai developers to try to tap into the apparent success of dCondo, while Sansiri has already announced plans for a second project early next year.
The current domestic surge in many way's parallels the foreign market from the middle part of the last decade, as property buyer are motivated by a short term investment horizon and many have no intention of living in the units once the project is complete.
Is this a strong fundamental or a sign the domestic market is peaking? Only time will tell.
Jungceylon retail management group Phuket Square will plunge into the Bangkok market with a reported THB300 million project set to unveil in early 2012.
Looking to replicate their success on the island, this time the product will be a community mall aiming at the lifestyle segment.
Christened as Mille Malle, the complex will be located on the frontage of the Millennium Residence on Sukhumvit Soi 20.
For shoppers on the island, speculation is seeing talk turn to new project under planning for a large scale commercial complex on Thepkassatri Road, on the west side of the road near to the Heroines Monument.
Singapore hospitality group Ariva has joined into a new business venture with Thai listed property developer Pruska Real Estate.
Rentals will be the target of the enterprise which is looking to spur investment type sales at Pruska's upscale projects, with Ivy Thonglor being the first step.
Marriage's between development companies and hotel chains are continuing to mount since the global financial crises triggered a slowdown of sales to overseas buyers.
It's been rumored that Raimon Land is looking to launch a hospitality led offered a their projects which have slow moving inventory.
While the country's tourism numbers continue to escalate renting of residential units looks propel numbers of non-traditional accommodation units for the foreseeable future.
Nirwana Resort Bali which plays home to the Pan Pacific hotel brand and one of Asia's most stunning island golf courses is set to get new neighbors.
Developer and leading Indonesian conglomerate Bakrieland Hotels and Resorts has rolled out a new residential offering in the form of golf suites.
Reports in the Indonesian media quote the project cost for the 146 unit addition is north of USD25 million.
