Condo and housing market surges in Chiang Mai

Land prices in central Chiang Mai have seen a dramatic increase this year and are set to rise further as the city continues to attract more tourists and new residents.

Arkom
Chiang Mai has seen a phenomenal year of rapid growth in size that seems to be running out of control. Large amounts of money are being moved into the market continuously and the number of tourists and residents has jumped. Traffic has become snarled and not much different from Bangkok.
Chiang Mai people will have to adapt themselves as next year the numbers of tourists and people moving to Chiang Mai is expected to continue to climb. People will need to learn to manage travel times and cope with higher costs of living.
As a Chiang Mai person, I think we may see a crisis situation if the local government and people are not ready for this growth, especially in handling traffic, safety and the image of the city.

An artist’s rendering shows the Resort Condominium by Quality Condominium Co., one of many new projects launched on the back of Chiang Mai’s burgeoning real estate sector.

According to the Bangkok’s Business Newspaper the number of condos and townhouses in Chiang Mai grew substantially in 2012.
Paisarn Phucharoen, Vice President of the Real Estate Association of Lamphun, Chiang Mai and Vice Chairman of the Board of Land and Houses Public Company Limited said that in 2012 Chiang Mai saw more than 50% growth in housing with total sales of 1,150 units at a cost of 3,399 million baht; a pace that has never been seen before. He credited this in part to the floods in Bangkok that saw many people purchase a second home in Chiang Mai as well as investment buyers. This year there has been a total construction area of 300,000sqm and this will double to 600,000sqm next year.
The booming condo market has seen big companies like Sansiri, Quality House, Land and Houses, plus the local developers investing in Chiang Mai. The condo market continues to settle inside the city but the price is increasing from 30,000 baht per sqm to 50- 60,000 sqm. Along the Super Highway the minimum building is 4,000sqm. In gated communities (Moo Baan), the land price is increasing from 1 to 2 million baht per rai (1600sqm).
Vasant Chawla, Managing Director of Quality Condominium Co. said the period 2011–2012 was a golden year for real estate business in the area with a lot of investment, trading and selling of land. He said it was becoming more difficult to find good buildable land because of the influx of capital invested by the large companies like Land and Houses, Quality Houses, Supalai, Sansiri and LPN.
Currently the land prices in Chiang Mai have increased more than 100% in some locations such as the Nimmanhaemin Road and Super Highway, Chiang Mai - Lampang Road. For the past 4-5 years the price has been steady at around 20,000 baht per sq wah but this year the price is already 50,000-70,000 and up to 100,000 baht per sq wah. This has forced expansion along the Ring Road and development moving to the third ring road with more showrooms and big commercial buildings. Even here prices have risen from 5,000 baht per sq wah a few years ago to 20,000-30,000 baht per sq wah today.
Currently, there are more than 10,000 condominium units in the city with an average price of 1.5 million baht per unit. The total value is more than 15,000 million baht. This does not include projects that are still waiting for government approval.
According to the Government Housing Bank (GHB), condo sales totaled 3,500 units or 8,000 million baht in 2011 with 3,000 of those units in the city distributed among 12 condo projects. 2012 saw 33 new condo projects launched.
An official from the Chiang Mai Land Office said that the floods in Bangkok inspired people to move to Chiang Mai, purchasing land, houses and condos. Within five years, the price of land in the city is expected to be much higher and there will be less land for gated communities. It is expected that more Chiang Mai people will live in condos and the average price of a unit will be in the region of 1.5 million baht.
Housing projects will expand to areas outside the city, like Mae Rim, San Sai, Doi Saket, Sankampaeng and Saraphi. According to the statistics of Moo Baan projects from 2010-2012, there are 392 Moo Baan and 60 condo projects.

Sansiri announces new 1.5 billion baht ‘dcondo Sign’ condominium

Developer unveils plans for latest project under the ‘Today, Tomorrow & Forever’ campaign

Sansiri’s latest project dcondo Sign is located near the soon to be opened Central Festival Chiang Mai and all units come fully furnished.

Sansiri, one of Thailand’s leading property developers, recently announced the launch of its latest condominium project in Chiang Mai, ‘dcondo Sign Chiang Mai’ aimed at appealing to home seekers both in Chiang Mai and nearby provinces.
The dcondo Sign project is centrally located adjacent to a large shopping complex, and is linked by the superhighway to all main roads, making it easy to get in and out of town. The project offers a complete range of first-rate facilities, dependable 24-hour security, and other features. Prices start at 1.45 Million Baht.
Suriya Wannabuit, Executive Vice President – Project Management and Marketing Department, Sansiri Public Co., Ltd., stated that, “Sansiri continues to develop quality residential projects to meet strong demands in Chiang Mai, with the ‘dcondo’ brand being the highlight. dcondo projects have received remarkable response from our customers. So we introduce the ‘dcondo Sign Chiang Mai’ project into the market this year to respond to increasing demand for urban residential properties such as downtown condominiums. Such demand is a result of the changing lifestyle of Chiang Mai people. When buying a property, buyers now consider not only price and quality of the project, but also the location and how it complements their lifestyle.”
Mr. Suriya continued, “Chiang Mai has developed into a hub in all aspects of the Northern region. It is a hub for land and air transportation, economy, education and tourism. Chiang Mai is envisaged to become a city of choice to live in and one of the world’s top travel destinations within the next four years. The city is a regional gateway to international trade and investment. Such vision has led to rapid growth of the city over the past years. Also, the city has welcomed both domestic and overseas investors who have come to invest in various businesses as they have foreseen the potential of the city together with various developments that are soon to take place.”
He noted that in terms of design, the project is a harmonious blend between time-treasured Lanna architecture and sophisticated touches of modernity. This is evident in the fact that the same types of bricks as those used in the construction of the iconic city walls of Chiang Mai have been used to adorn this otherwise modern condominium.
Located on an 11-rai land plot on Chiang Mai-Lampang Superhighway, Fa-Ham Sub-district, this community of four 8-storey residential buildings is next to the new Central Festival Chiang Mai. There are 813 units consisting of two types – 30-sq.m. studios and 60-sq.m. two-bedroom units. The units come fully furnished, and the project is equipped with a range of first-rate facilities including a large common garden, a swimming pool, a fitness room, ample parking spaces, and, a 24-hour security service. The project is also close to virtually everything demanded by a cosmopolitan lifestyle including many upscale shopping venues and a nearby leading hospital.
“Sansiri has created a number of successful projects in Chiang Mai to accommodate ever-growing demand for quality residential properties. All of our previous projects there have been greeted with very warm welcome from potential buyers, and we expect that dcondo Sign will soon win hearts of customers similarly,” added Mr. Suriya.
dcondo Sign has been opened for inspection from 15th July onwards at its on-site Sale Gallery in Chiang Mai. For more information, please Tel. 1685 or visit www.sansiri.com.

A computer generated graphic shows the completed dcondo Sign Chiang Mai project.

Condo and housing market surges in Chiang Mai

Sansiri announces new 1.5 billion baht ‘dcondo Sign’ condominium

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