Property consultant Plus Property Co aims to have growth of 20% in sole agent business to 14.1 billion baht by the end of the year, driven by new projects invested in by new developers, listed firms and foreign investors.
Somsakul Limsuttaphan, the company's deputy managing director for the asset management department, said new property developers are emerging in condo development business this year, with the proportion rising to 40% in the first half from 20% in the past few years.
"Most of them [new developers] are not new faces literally, as they are the second generation of veteran property developers who want to do property business on their own," she said. "Some shifted from other businesses."
Plus Property currently has 13 condo projects on hand for which it is the sole agent, with a combined sales value of 15 billion baht. Of this amount, 40% are owned by new developers and 30% each by listed property companies and foreign investors.
Most of the projects are in the central business district or along the skytrain line on Sukhumvit Road. They are in the middle- to upper-end segment, meaning selling prices of 130,000-200,000 baht per square metre or 5 million baht per unit.
"The upper-end segment and locations in the inner city are strong for the condo market," Ms Somsakul said. "Our clients [property developers] now see the same picture as us."
She said foreign investors this year whose condo projects are managed by Plus Property are mostly Japanese. Last year it was Taiwanese.
The sales rate of Plus Property projects is 50-70%. Some projects sold out quickly but had problems during the transfer period.
"More than half of buyers are real demand, and the rest are investment buyers looking for a condo to rent out due to attractive yield in inner-city locations," Ms Somsakul said.
Last year, Plus Property signed a contract with nine new condo projects worth a combined 11.7 billion baht to be their sole agent. The company aims to have 13 new condo projects worth a total of 14.1 billion baht in 2018.
From January 2018 to date, Plus Property signed on to 10 new condo projects worth a combined 9.6 billion baht, and it expects to ink deals with three new sites worth a combined 4.5 billion baht during the remainder of the year.
Plus Property's sales agent business has shifted to the upper-end segment from the mid- to low-end business that was its earlier focus, due to stronger purchasing power in the upper-end group.
"Many projects that we are the sole agent for have a good sales rate, as developers have a better understanding of product development to meet target buyers' needs," Ms Somsakul said.