With the imminent Asean Economic Community (AEC) drawing more visitors, Khao Yai is expected to become a property hotbed soon, says Plus Property Co.
"The area's population is still seeing consistent growth, while visitor numbers increase by at least 10-15% each year," managing director Poomipak Julmanichoti said yesterday.
"Many visitors are in the high-income segment of the market and interested in living there. This may very well lead to constant demand for property in the area in the foreseeable future, with supplies being limited.
"After integration into the AEC, the number of visitors is expected to increase, and the Khao Yai area is likely to respond with new job opportunities and increasing prices for property purchases and leases. This area will soon become a rare property hotbed with ever-increasing demand."
With 13 new projects worth a combined 12 billion baht recently unveiled, the area is seeing an 80% average take-up rate as well as especially high demand for condominium units, which have risen in price by 13%.
Spanning an area of 2,000 square kilometres, Khao Yai is a major tourism hotspot located a little more than 100 km from Bangkok, mainly in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
It has a full range of transport and telecommunications infrastructure that can cope with its growing number of residents and visitors.
The area has also had significant investment in service-oriented businesses including restaurants, hotels, resorts and golf courses to meet rising demand.
Plus Property's research shows the market is highly concentrated from Km 15 on Phan Suek-Kud Khla Road to Khao Yai National Park, which represents 51% of the entire market.
A 33% portion is located in the Khanong Phra-Yothathikan area, while the Mitra Phab-Thanarat and Muak Lek-Pak Chong zones take up just 14% and 2%, respectively.
Since February 2013, 13 new projects have been made available with 1,495 units. The take-up rate is very high at almost 80% on average.
While the increase in new projects has slowed due to various limitations imposed, demand continues unabated and take-up rates remain on the rise. The Khao Yai condo market saw demand increase by 83% through 387 units launched between March 2013 and November 2014, averaging 70,000 to 120,000 baht a square metre.
Condo prices have also increased. Previously, new units could be purchased for an average of 74,291 baht per sq m, but in 2013 this rose by 13% to 83,840 baht. Projects located in the Khao Yai hotspot now launch with an average price of 88,600 baht per sq m.
While this represents an 8% increase, the new units remain an attractive proposition since they are priced lower than properties in other high-demand hotspots.
In the single-detached house market, only three new projects were launched, but they fetched average prices of 13 million baht or more, with take-up rates of 50-100%, indicating significant demand.
Also driving demand is the fact that property projects in Khao Yai could soon become a rare commodity, as developers without a permit may not be able to construct projects, Mr Poomipak said.