Buyers lost billions in the 1997 crash, now warnings of another bubble burst are causing people concern

A towering cement skeleton on Phahon Yothin Road, one of Bangkok’s notorious “ghost” buildings abandoned after the 1997 financial crisis, still haunts Nichapat Tulsakchuentana.

Her parents paid over one million baht for a condominium in the unfinished high rise. The fallout from the 1997 crisis, which devalued the baht and caused businesses to crumble, did not spare this project.

Almost 15 years later, her family has yet to get a single baht back from the developer.

“I learnt a costly lesson. I’ve been very afraid to buy any property,” said Ms Nichapat, 29. “We have no money to buy a place now because all our hard-earned savings were put into that condominium.” Continue reading →

SET-listed Sena Development Plc plans to tap Board of Investment tax incentives more actively in 2011 in response to rising interest rates and inflation.

Next year’s projects have not been finalised, but the developer plans to focus more on ones that are eligible for BoI support, with prices estimated at 600,000 to 700,000 baht per unit, said executive director Kessara Thanyalakpark.

“The upward trend in interest rates is expected to have a significant effect on buyers who rely on bank loans. For every 1% rise in the interest rate, their budget for a home purchase drops by 8%. This has become a factor prompting us to consider developing new products that cater to this change in purchasing power,” she said. Continue reading →