Condominium developers have been the worst affected by project failures, says the Agency for Real Estate Affairs.
Of 18,404 housing units that had sales suspended in the first half of this year, 47% or 8,567 were condos, according to a survey by the property consultant.
Single houses accounted for 4,598 units or 25%, while townhouses comprised 2,414 or 13%. The rest was land allocation of 1,643 plots or 9%.
A total of 89 residential projects worth 45.8 billion baht suspended their sales out of 1,378 projects, the survey showed.
"This number has yet to become a worry, as it decreased by 18% from 109 projects in the same period last year," said president Sopon Pornchokchai.
Unit numbers and project value also dropped by 18% and 19%, respectively.
In terms of project value, single houses accounted for 20.4 billion baht or 44%, with condos at 15.5 billion or 34% and townhouses at 4.81 billion or 11%.
The largest segment with sales suspended was condos priced at 1-2 million baht with 5,122 units. The main cause of failure was insufficient market study.
It was followed by townhouses priced at 1-2 million baht with 1,413 units, then single houses priced 3-5 million baht with 1,418 units. Poor development plans were blamed.
"Land allocation rarely gets project finance as collateral value is low, while single houses with slow pace of sales usually face a problem," Mr Sopon said.
However, there were still no negative factors affecting the housing situation.
To prevent homebuyers from being affected by failed projects, Mr Sopon suggested escrow accounts be used in transactions.
"If escrow accounts are used, the housing market will be strong and sustainable. It will benefit developers and create equal competition between large and small developers," he said.
