Visitors check out property deals at the House & Condo Show held in March.

New sales of Greater Bangkok townhouses plummeted in the first quarter of 2024 to a 12-year low, nearing levels following the severe floods of 2011, largely attributed to weak demand in the middle to lower-end segments.

Somboon Wasinchutchawal, acting chief executive of residential developer Frasers Property Home (Thailand), said the company has not launched any new townhouse projects, primarily priced in the 3-5 million baht range, for over a year.

"The townhouse market has hit rock bottom as demand remains very weak," he said. "This affects townhouses priced 5-7 million baht because of the sluggish economy and high interest rates."

Prasert Taedullayasatit, chief executive of property business at SET-listed Ananda Development, said new sales of townhouses in Greater Bangkok in the previous quarter were the lowest since the third quarter of 2012.

"The number and value of townhouses sold in the first quarter this year were close to levels in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, following the great floods that hit Greater Bangkok," he said.

According to Mr Prasert, the number of townhouses sold in the first quarter of 2024 tallied 3,732 units worth 12.2 billion baht, down by 26% and 58%, respectively, from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, new sales of single detached houses dropped by 13% for the period to 3,470 units worth 36 billion baht, down by 8%, as units in the higher-priced segment helped sustain strong sales.

The largest year-on-year drop in new unit sales was in condos, with a contraction of 47% to 7,511 units worth 31.6 billion baht, a fall of 26%.

However, the number and value of new condos sold remained higher than during the pandemic, ranging from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021, when sales ranged between 6,382 and 7,407 units.

Townhouse transfers, both in unit number and value, also hit a six-year low, with 11,459 units worth 31 billion baht, down 20% and 17%, respectively.

The Real Estate Information Center (REIC) reported overall new residential sales in Greater Bangkok in the first quarter of 2024 dropped 26.6% year-on-year to 15,619 units worth 90 billion baht, down 14.5%. This decline resulted from a 39% decrease in condo sales, while low-rise houses posted a 16% drop.

When combined with new launches, the number of unsold units rose by 16.4% to 213,429 units worth 1.22 trillion baht, up 36.5%. The largest increase was for condos with 22% growth, while low-rise houses rose 13%.

Given the economic slowdown and other negative factors such as elevated interest rates and mortgage rejection rates, REIC estimated a decline of 8.4% in new sales and a slight decrease of 0.03% in new mortgages this year.