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Thai developer Sansiri targets Hong Kong buyers with ‘affordable’ mini flats in Bangkok amid glut

  • Bangkok-listed Sansiri is marketing units as small as 231 sq ft starting at HK$500,000 (US$64,394) to buyers from Hong Kong
  • Thai developers are resorting to various marketing strategies to dispose of some 65,000 unsold housing units in Bangkok

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Thai developer Sansiri is marketing 55 units in its latest project in Bangkok to Hongkongers at prices starting from HK$500,000 (US$64,394). Photo: Handout
Cheryl Arcibal
With Thai developers struggling to dispose of a massive stock of unsold flats in Bangkok, many of them are trying to lure overseas buyers with huge discounts and bargains to whittle down the inventory and get the struggling sector back on its footing.
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Bangkok-listed Sansiri, one of the top three developers in the Southeast Asian nation, is marketing units as small as 231 square feet (21.5 sq metre) starting at HK$500,000 (US$64,394) to buyers from Hong Kong – a size they are familiar with but at a fraction of prices in the world’s most expensive property market.

The developer said it was targeting first-time Thai buyers and foreign investors looking for affordable flats in the capital with the Muve Ram22 development. It is Sansiri’s latest in the Muve series in Ramkhamhaeng on the periphery of the city’s central business district.

The project is billed as the cheapest in Bangkok – at the equivalent of HK$2,100 per square foot, it is about a third of the typical cost in the Thai capital and less than a tenth of a comparable flat in Hong Kong. Flats in The Pavilia Farm in Hong Kong’s Tai Wai district cost about HK$24,858 psf.
Over the past five years, Thai developers have launched more than 230,000 flats in Bangkok, including over 60,000 units in 2018, according to property consultancy Colliers. In the last two years, launches have slowed to 20,000 units a year as developers look to reduce the high inventory levels.
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The interior of a unit in Sansiri’s Muve Ram 22 in Bangkok. Photo: Handout
The interior of a unit in Sansiri’s Muve Ram 22 in Bangkok. Photo: Handout

Amid the oversupply and travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many developers have been continuously using promotions and discounts to sell flats and boost cashflows. Current promotions for property purchases include up to 50 per cent discounts, vouchers for luxury hotel stays, referral fees, move-in-now, pay-later, and fully furnished flats, according to Savills Thailand.

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