KHON KAEN : After recording sales of 75% at its first condo project last Friday, local property firm Zenith Asset Co has set its sights on a new project in the same location.
The Houze, a 37-storey condo with 414 units worth 1.2 billion baht, and The Hugs, a threestorey lifestyle mall with 4,000 square metres of rentable space, will be located on Sri Chan Road, aka Khao Niew Road.
Director Viroch Saliddeechaigul said higher than expected sales of The Houze showed that condo buyers in Khon Kaen, mostly middle- and higher-income earners, want a new lifestyle.
Some 40% of buyers live in Muang Khon Kaen, 30% in other districts and 30% in neighbouring provinces like Maha Sarakham, Kalasin, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Roi Et and Chaiyaphum.
"Khon Kaen is the gateway to the Northeast," said Mr Viroch. "One attraction is Khon Kaen University."
The Houze, a 37-storey condo to be completed in a few years, is the first high-rise project in Khon Kaen and is claimed to be the highest condo in the Northeast.
It will sit on two rai of a 10-rai plot on Sri Chan Road, also known to tourists as Khao Niew (Sticky Rice) Road.
Of this plot, four rai will be developed for The Hugs, a community mall with total retail space of 4,000 square metres.
The remaining four rai will be developed as a new condo after strong sales for the first project.
The estimated land price on Sri Chan Road is 200,000 baht per square wah, but transaction activity has been limited by a scarcity of plots.
The location has the potential for high-priced condos. The one-kilometre road has underground electric wires and is regarded as the central business district.
The 1.2-billion-baht Houze condo will have 441 units, some 300 of which were sold in an exclusive launch last Friday.
Unit sizes will be from 28 to 55 square metres and priced at 70,000 baht a square metre on average.
Most buyers booked one or two units, showing fewer speculators. Larger units were the most popular.
One buyer signed to buy three units at 11 million baht for himself and his daughter who will study at Khon Kaen University. He lives in Chaiyaphum and has a rice mill business.
"The Khon Kaen economy is driven by dealers of hardware and tools for agriculture and car dealers," said Mr Viroch.
The official launch of the Houze project will be this coming Saturday.
With bookings occurring despite no sample units on display, buyers seemed to consider location rather than price or brand. Zenith Asset is not new to Khon Kaen's property market.
"We started property development in 1991, run by my father before setting up property firm VIP Grand in 2005, developing only low-rise projects in Khon Kaen," said Mr Viroch.