An aerial view of the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong province. The province has seen strong demand in the low-rise housing segment.

The residential market in Rayong was driven by employees in industrial estates, with strong demand in the low-rise housing segment, while the condo sector struggled to meet demand.

Vichai Viratkapan, acting director-general of the Real Estate Information Center, said low-rise houses were the primary products in Rayong's residential market, constituting 90% of all units sold in the province in the third quarter of 2023.

"No new condo supply was launched between the first and third quarters of 2023 as developers adjusted strategies in line with the market situation," he said. "The existing supply was launched last year and earlier."

He said the low-rise housing market in Rayong faced a slowdown in the first nine months of last year compared to 2022. However, due to fewer new units launched than the number newly sold, remaining unsold units decreased.

In the third quarter of 2023, new residential supply launched in Rayong was entirely low-rise houses with 1,039 units, up 61% from the same period of 2022.

Main products were duplex houses which accounted for 44%, while single detached houses and townhouses represented 28% each.

The number of units newly sold totalled 1,771, down 18%, with a monthly absorption rate of 4.8%. This comprised 145 condo units, down 26% with a monthly absorption rate of 5.1%, and 1,626 low-rise houses, down 17%, with a monthly absorption rate of 4.8%.

The number of remaining units dropped by 12% to 10,567 units. The largest drop was low-rise houses, down 13% to 9,755 units, while condos dropped 9% to 812 units.

As a result, the total supply decreased by 13% to 12,338 units, with condos declining by 12% to 957 units and low-rise houses dipping by 13% to 11,381 units.

"Given that there were no new condo launches, the condo market continued to perform well. Usual sales range between 100 and 200 units per quarter," he said.

"With no new supply introduced, existing condo units will continue to be absorbed."

The top three zones in Rayong with robust sales of low-rise houses remained in industrial estates, including Amata City, Hemaraj and Map Ta Phut, but caution was advised in these zones due to the significant amount of remaining supply.

For condos, they were Map Ta Phut and Muang Rayong, yet only Map Ta Phut was considered a cautious zone as the monthly sales rate was 4.3%, while that of Muang Rayong had 7.5%.