Despite the pandemic and economic slowdown, the resale condo market remained steady, with locations from Chidlom to Thong Lor ranked the top areas in 2020, according to property consultant Knight Frank Thailand.
Anchalee Kasemsukthawat, head of prime sales, said there were several negative factors last year, including a sluggish global economy, the pandemic and ongoing domestic political turmoil.
"The economy has been directly impacted by the global economic slowdown," she said. "These factors caused major shifts in the condo market last year."
Ms Anchalee said many property owners wanted to sell their assets in order to change their investment directions, while some want to preserve cash on hand. This led to an increase in the supply of resale condos in the market compared with 2019.
She said many negative economic factors drove price competition among resale condo units quite high.
Most of the buyers included Thai investors who had solid financial footing and cash savings. They have waited for this opportunity since 2019.
"Buyers see this time as an opportunity to acquire a condo at the best possible price. They are switching from putting their funds in fixed deposits or investing in stocks to long term assets," Ms Anchalee said.
Some were purchasing property for their own residences as they required more space to meet living needs.
According to Knight Frank, locations from Chidlom to Thong Lor remained the most popular location for resale projects with continuous selling and buying throughout 2020.
The purchase prices at those locations ranged 180,000-320,000 baht per square metre.
Locations from New Petchaburi to Rama IX roads also saw brisk buying and selling as they have convenient transport options and a concentration of leading offices.
The areas had high condo supply, forcing many operators and investors to lower prices to attract buyers.
"There were price cuts in new and resale condos, aiming to attract customers with good purchasing power, including those wishing to reside in units themselves and those buying for rent," said Ms Anchalee.
Resale condos along the Chao Phraya River had stable prices with less buying and selling activity.
"Chatuchak-Lat Phrao-Ratchada was a concerning area as there was a relatively large supply of new condos last year," Ms Anchalee said. "As developers offered heavy discounts, resale condos had to lower prices as well, however, more buyers decided to purchase new ones."
With regard to 2021, the resale condo market outlook will be better because Knight Frank has started to see signs of improvement from foreign investors who target the prime market in popular locations like Chidlom to Thong Lor.