Luxury condos thrive on Thong Lor

Soi Thong Lor (Sukhumvit 55) remains a prime location for luxury condominiums, with a number of property firms recently launching condo projects worth more than Bt20 billion in this location, offering starting prices of between Bt90,000 and Bt150,000 per square metre.
Just 2km long, Thong Lor, which links Sukhumvit and Phetchburi roads, is home to a voncentration of no less than seven new condominium projects worth more than Bt20 billion, some in the construction phase, some already built and awaiting sale.
They are: Eight Thonglor by Pacific Star International (Thailand); Quattro by Sansiri; a new condominium project by Tan Estate; Ivy Thonglor by Pruksa Real Estate; The Alcove at Thonglor by Samirano Property; Villa Sikhara by Sikhara Kotobuki Property; and Aequa by Aquarius Estate.
Property experts who have examined the flurry of activity here now attribute it to the location’s proximity to the city’s mass-transit system, hospitals, shopping centres and fancy restaurants, according to Samma Kitsin, director general of the Real Estate Information Centre (REIC). It is particularly popular with people who work in the central business district, Samma said.
Dr Sopon Pornchokchai, president of the Agency for Real Estate Affairs (AREA), said Thong Lor has bucked the trens in Bangkok for residential prices to be flat or to decline. Residential projects’ prices in the area have increased by between 10 per cent and 15 per cent ayear on strong demand, Dr Sopon said.
Condominiums in Thong Lor now go for between Bt100,000 and Bt150,000 per square metre depending on the character of the project, the doctor added.
Confirming the doctor’s diagnosis, many property developers have said they chose Thong Lor as a location for new projects due to the continued high demand in the area.
In a strikingly similar summary, Ssnsiri president Srettha Thavisin described the location as continuing to show strong demand despite the limp growth exhibited by the economy’s other parts.
And in yet another variation on this familiar theme, Seita Hagiwara, managing director of Sikhara Kotobuki Property, a joint venture between Japan-owned Siam Kotobuki and a group of Thai investors, said the company decided to build its condominium project, Villa Sikhara, at Soi Thong Lor 25 because the company sees strong demand in the location, especially among Japanese investors.
Pacific Star International (Thailand) asset manager Urasate Navanugraha said Thong Lor is the best location to engage in what he called “lifestyle building”. On this basis, the company decided to develop Eight Thonglor as a mixed-use development with serviced apartments, office space and a condominium.
Preuksa Real Estate chief operating officer Prasert Taedulsatit said the main customers in the Thong Lor area are what he called the “lifestyle customer”, along with upper income people, Thai and foreign. Once again, proximity to transit routes was a key selling point, he said.
Source : reic.or.th