Neighbourhoods along mass-transit lines that offer easy access to the central business district of Bangkok have long been a priority for property developers, especially those specialising in condominiums. Along the BTS, the area north of Victory Monument offers a rich variety of residential neighbourhoods, government and business offices, schools and other facilities. One area that stands out is around the Ari BTS station.
A condo building boom in the Ari area prior to 2014 has left little land available to develop, although some projects are in the pipeline for completion this year. The neighbourhood is now home to a total of 4,407 condo units, 82% of which were launched before 2014.
With land prices topping 1 million baht per square wah along main roads and at least 400,000 baht along smaller sois, it is becoming very expensive to develop new condominiums in the area. As well, planning regulations limit height and density in narrower sois, making building uneconomical.
Given the limited number of new condo launches in recent years, take-up rates have been very high as the neighbourhood remains desirable, leading to good potential for second-hand sales. The average selling price of older units in the area was around 130,000 baht per square metre and has been rising 7-8% per year. But the average selling price in buildings launched after 2015 is 185,000 baht per sq m. The best-located buildings along Phahon Yothin Road close to the Ari station can fetch prices almost twice as high as those in smaller sois farther from the main road.
There has been some backlash in recent years against further development around Ari, given how densely populated it has become. Complaints about noise, pollution and other problems from big new big residential projects have led to tougher enforcement of planning restrictions.
That leaves the area along Phahon Yothin Road itself, but here land prices are becoming an issue. But developers have launched some new condo projects priced at 220,000 baht per sq m or more and still achieved high sales, suggesting buyers are willing to pay a premium.
Surachet Kongcheep is a veteran local property market expert. He can be reached at surachet.jock@gmail.com