Condo prices in Bangkok’s CBD areas have been surpassing record highs almost every 6 months since 2016, according to CBRE Research. These constant price increases have made owning a new home in these areas difficult. Some buyers are now looking at well-maintained older condo buildings in the CBD as an alternative.

“The declining performance in the low to medium priced market segments has prompted many developers to switch their focus to offering high-end and luxury residences located in prime Bangkok downtown areas. The competition to carve out a piece of the luxury market has led to a frenzy of land purchases, rapidly driving up the cost of land and development costs. Consequently, many developers are offering smaller units to keep purchase prices low enough to attract buyers,” says Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, CBRE Thailand Managing Director, to the Bangkok Post.

The price of a 1bedroom unit in a new luxury condo between 35-45 square meters in Bangkok’s CBD has the same average price as a 50-60 square meters unit in an older building. CBRE Research notes that 60 percent of new condo units under construction in downtown Bangkok during the 4th quarter of last year were 1bedroom units meaning that selection for larger units was limited and much more expensive.

“Increases in new property prices have been a blessing for owners of older properties, especially those that are well located and well maintained. The result has been an uptick in prices in the resale property market as well,” says Aliwassa.

However, the trend is not universal. Some older projects have not been able to attract this newfound interest and have not benefited from the steadily increasing property values in Bangkok. The reasons for this include bad locations, poor maintenance, higher prices, and inconvenient layout/design. The most popular older condos are those built between 2005 and 2010 which feature more modern layouts.

Credit by: https://www.ddproperty.com/en/property-news/2018/4/170665/older-bangkok-condos-could-see-price-increases