Bangkok homebuilder Fourpattana Group has introduced a new type of house resistant to earthquakes measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale to stimulate self-built home demand that has been depressed despite the end of the political stalemate.
"Unlike buyers in the condo and low-rise housing segment who promptly resumed purchases once they felt more confident about the economic and political situation, self-built home demand has yet to recover," said managing director Pramote Theerakul.
"Buyers of self-built homes usually take their time to decide. They have to make plans and prepare a plot and a budget."
Fourpattana has 39 customers on hand that booked units priced from 5 million to over 20 million baht.
The company's 6.9-earthquake-resistant houses are expected to accelerate their decision-making, with 34 of them expected to sign a contract in the second half.
The additional cost of earthquake resistance is 40,000 to 100,000 baht for houses priced from 5-10 million baht, adding 0.5% to 1% to the cost of regular houses, which generally are resistant to earthquakes up to a magnitude of 5, as per construction regulations.
The resistance will offer additional lateral reinforcement at joints where beams and columns meet.
"The nearest fault line to Bangkok is 200 kilometres away in Kanchanaburi province. If it experiences a 6.9 earthquake, our new houses can resist that,” he said.
During the first six months, the company had sales of 21 units worth a combined 250 million baht. It targets 55 units sold worth 600 million baht this year, the same as in 2013.
The group expects to realise 660 million baht in revenue for the full year after recording 248 million in the first half.
The overall value of Thailand's self-built house market is estimated at about 12 billion baht a year.
Of this figure, 60% or 7.2 billion baht was shared by homebuilders.
Luxury homes with unit prices higher than 50 million baht had a market value of 800 million baht.