Tongthai Group, a provider of Chinese-language travel magazines and media, yesterday launched a Chinese-language property website to tap what it foresees as an immense opportunity from surging growth of Chinese buyers in the Thai property market.
Nattapong Lertwuthirak, the group's chief executive and co-founder, said Chinese buyers in Thailand's property market have been on a spending spree since 2014, as Thai property prices are seen as cheaper for them.
In Beijing, the average condo price is no longer affordable for many Chinese people after rising from the equivalent of 50,000-60,000 baht per square metre in 2008 to 500,000-600,000 baht this year.
In Bangkok, the average price per sq m of new condos launched in the first half of this year was 120,000 baht, according to property consultant Colliers International Thailand.
Mr Nattapong said there are two key figures that Thai developers showed to Chinese buyers when they had sales roadshows or events to introduce their condo projects in China.
One is capital gains, which are climbing at a gradual pace, not fluctuating as in many key cities. The other is annual yield, which starts from 5%, which is higher than China's deposit interest rate.
The top five locations booming among Chinese are Ratchadaphisek, Rama IX, Sukhumvit, Silom and Sathon roads, with units priced at 5 million baht or lower.
"At those prices, their target unit on Sukhumvit Road either moved to inner roads off the main road in the same location or to upper Sukhumvit locations like Bearing, as land prices in lower Sukhumvit have risen," Mr Nattapong said.
But the high-end market is coming, as there are some affluent Chinese looking for a unit priced at more than 15 million baht. This group, with a spending capacity of more than 3 million yuan (14.6 million baht), accounts for 66% of China's total investors on overseas property.
Tiensak Thamcharonkij, Tongthai Group's chief financial officer and co-founder, specified six Chinese groups buying Thai property: retirees, new families, multi-generational families, affluent business people, Chinese students in Thailand, and local expats.
The group last quarter launched a property consultant service for organising property events in Beijing for Thai property developers where 100-300 Chinese buyers participated.
It sold a total of 42 condos in Bangkok worth a combined 200 million baht to Chinese buyers in two months and expects to have 100 units worth 400 million baht by the end of the year.
"This year and next there will be many condo projects in Bangkok being completed and transferred to Chinese buyers who booked a unit a few years ago," Mr Tiensak said. "This is a chance for us to do a website as a channel for Chinese buyers to resell or rent out."
Earlier this month the group launched www.ts-fang.com, a Chinese language property website for new units, second homes and rent after spending 30 million baht to develop it last year.
"In the past, most Chinese buyers looking for a Bangkok condo either asked their relatives or friends in Thailand or used independent agents," Mr Tiensak said. "Some agents had no office in Bangkok, which sometimes led to problems."
Meanwhile, property developers had minimal knowledge about Chinese people, the culture or how to transfer money from China to buy a property.
Founded in 2014, the group started with a free-copy monthly Chinese-language Thailand travel magazine, Tongthai, sponsored by Bangkok Bank.
A year later it expanded to inbound group travel business Tongthai Holiday for VIP Chinese.
The group saw the opportunity to tap into the Chinese property buyer market from one of its subsidiaries, S39 Digital Agency, and Chinese-language media.