|
|
| • EXCH RATES |
|
Baht/$ 33.64/67
Bid/Ask
|
GOLD |
15,200
+ 300
|
|
PROPERTY
KANANA KATHARANGSIPORN
The homebuilder Landy Home (Thailand) Co is speeding up construction periods to keep its unit prices competitive and control costs that have been pushed higher by construction material prices, according to managing director Phiched Maneerattanaporn.
He said the company would expand the use of the accelerated methods it adopted last year for lower-priced houses to units priced from three million baht this year. It expects to finish construction within four months compared with seven to eight months normally.
The company is using design technology to reduce waste as much as possible, and prefabricated materials such as poles, beams, flooring and roof structures for up to 50% of construction.
Last year it tested these methods on units priced at one million baht and was able to halve construction time to two months. As a result, it could deliver units faster and also take more jobs in the first half of the year.
During the first six months of this year, Landy posted 300 million baht in revenue, up by 30% from a year earlier, on sales of 100 units. It expects to generate a total of 800 million baht by the end of the year, up from 500 million in 2007.
''Another factor [causing higher sales] was lower increases in our unit prices,'' Mr Phiched added.
The company increased its unit prices at a lower rate than rivals, now ranging between 10,500 and 15,000 baht per square metre, as prefabrication resulted in less use of steel.
The number of complains about builders to the Consumer Protection Board quadrupled to 48 between October and March 2008 from the same period a year before, so Mr Phiched suggested that consumers to be careful.
''Consumers should not consider only price, materials and design or they may lose time and more money,'' he added. ''With construction material prices rising, they may end up facing higher prices if they waste time with an unreliable home builder.''
He said consumers can check a building firm's capital at www.dbd.go.th.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Next
