Bangkok Market Outlook 2017
The overall economic outlook for Thailand looks set to mirror that of the past year, with the Bank of Thailand (BOT) maintaining its economic growth forecasts of 3.2% for 2016 and 2017.
EXTERNAL FACTORS POST GREATEST CHALLENGES TO THAI ECONOMY
The prospect of protectionist US trade policies towards China represents one of the major risks to the Thai economy over 2017, with a lower volume of Chinese exports to the US in turn reducing Thai shipments of raw and manufactured products to China for re-export.
GREATER FOREIGN INVESTMENT
While no fundamental shift in the dominance of prominent local developers is set to occur over 2017, market interest shown by foreign groups in Thailand, combined with cautious domestic bank lending, has created a favourable environment for increased activity from overseas investors and a clear catalyst for greater inbound investment in the Thai property market over the year.
DEMAND FOR PRIME LAND SITES TO CONTINUE
CBRE Research believes that the price of prime Central Business District (CBD) land in Bangkok will continue to increase as downtown condominium demand continues to remain strong with prices projected to increase further over 2017. CBRE Research is confident that the land price record will be broken again in each CBD location.
2017 will continue to see a rise in interest in the acquisition of value added opportunities, principally in the form of older properties in need of renovation. Offices, hotels and apartment buildings will be most actively sought by prospective purchasers.