House prices up by a meagre 0.23% during 2021
Nationwide house prices rose by a minuscule 0.23% in 2021 from a year earlier, a sharp slowdown from the previous year’s 4.21% growth and the lowest y-o-y increase since 2016. On a quarterly basis, house prices increased 0.58% in Q4 2021.
Demand growth slowing; construction activity falling
As of November 2021, the total amount of property credit outstanding rose by a modest 3% y-o-y to THB 3.37 trillion (US$ 103.7 billion), following annual rises of 5.7% in 2020 and 5.2% in 2019, according to the Bank of Thailand (BoT).
Residential construction activity has been hampered by the pandemic. Nationwide condominium registrations fell sharply by more than 40% to 40,204 units in the first eleven months of 2021 from a year earlier, following an 8.1% decline during 2020, according to BoT. In Bangkok Metropolis, condo registrations dropped even more, by almost 57% y-o-y to 23,432 units in Jan-Nov 2021.
Rents, rental yields: yields are good in Bangkok at 8.05%
Bangkok apartment costs are moderate, at around $3,638 per sq. m.
| Thailand.: city centre apartment, buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m) | |||
| Buying price | Rate per month | Yield | |
| Bangkok | $ 436,560 | $ 1,837 | 8.05% |
Recent news. In 2021, Thailand’s economy expanded by a minuscule 0.8% from a year earlier – one of the lowest in Southeast Asia. This follows a 6.1% slump in 2020, its biggest economic contraction in more than two decades, mainly due to lack of tourists and a sharp decline in exports amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. With tourism still well below its pre-pandemic levels, economic recovery this year is likely to be modest, with projected GDP growth maybe 3% to 4%.
In February 2022, the Bank of Thailand left its benchmark rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5%, following three consecutive rate cuts during the onset of the pandemic, in an effort to buoy economic activity.