Hong Kong’s protests have been good for Bangkok’s luxury condo market

High end Hong Kong investment is turning away from the Chinese business hub and looking outside for new investment opportunities.

Thailand’s high-end luxury condo market has been one of the beneficiaries.

Keerin Chutumstid, from the Bangkok-based Magnolia Quality Development, says about 40% of the condos in a 52 storey Bangkok luxury tower development that opened last week have already been sold to buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. Among those, mainland Chinese and Hong Buyers are the top foreign customers.

The new luxury tower on the Chao Phraya River has 146 units, which are managed by 5 star managers Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Prices start at 65 million baht (US$2.9 million) and go up to 533 million baht for the larger penthouses.

Keerim says that the protests give them an advantage for the project.

“If you look at Thailand right now, compared to other countries, we have a good level of political stability.”

Meanwhile, Thailand leading property portal FazWaz says there has been a noticeable surge of enquiries in the past few months. CEO Brennan Campbell says a lot of the new interest is coming out of Hong Kong and Mainland China….

“FazWaz has noted an influx of investment inquiries over the past two months. The city’s high-end market offers some of the best condominium properties in the world at prices still well below other mature property markets. We’re also seeing a lot more inquiries into the medium-level condo market from 6-15 million baht as well as for the ultra-luxury market over 35 million baht.”

Last week, Hong Kong’s CK Asset Holdings and Sun Hung Kai Properties decided to postpone sales of new multi-billion-dollar projects, and transactions in the secondary market are down sharply, especially for luxury homes. The slump follows two months of protracted and often violent street protests by Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.

It’s believed that the circumstance could add another tailwind to the luxury market in Bangkok, where the last decade’s tourism boom has put the city on the map for investors, especially mainland Chinese who have buying up big.

Bangkok real estate has also been attractive to international investors because, even after years of gains, prices are still often cheaper than in less travelled-to cities such as Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, or Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.