Discounts on condo prices should continue into the first quarter of 2021 as developers want to drain unsold inventory as much as possible, says a property website.
Kamolpat Swaengkit, country manager of DDproperty.com, said many developers keep reducing unsold condo inventory to prepare for new project launches in the second half.
"Developers still want to launch new condo projects to retain brand awareness," she said. "If they have no new project launches for six months, their brands may be forgotten as others that keep launching will seize awareness."
Mrs Kamolpat said the pandemic was the key factor influencing homebuyers' purchasing decisions.
According to a survey of 1,002 respondents last year by the website, 75% delayed property transactions because of the virus outbreak.
Around one-third had higher uncertainty about property prices and difficulty in securing home loans.
The proportion of those planning to buy a residential unit within one year dropped to 20% in the recent survey in 2020, down from 33% found in the 2019 survey.
"To hasten homebuyers' decisions and boost sales of unsold, completed condo units, many developers last year used discounts and campaigns to attract buyers," she said.
This caused a consecutive decline in the property price index in the first and second quarters of 2020 to 198 points, the lowest since the third quarter of 2017.
The index slightly picked up to 201 points in the third quarter of 2020 but still dropped 9% year-on-year.
DDproperty.com's property price index was compiled from property data posted for sale or rent on the website since the first quarter of 2015, the base quarter, totalling 600,000 lists and 35,000-60,000 active lists in the surveyed month.
By category, condos saw a consecutive drop in the price index, from 115 in the third quarter of 2019 to 110 in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 and to 106 in the second quarter of 2020.
Meanwhile, the single detached house and townhouse price index had a year-on-year increase in the third quarter of 2020 to 136 and 115, up from 128 and 114 in the third quarter of 2019.
Top five locations with the largest year-on-year increase in the property price index comprised Khlong Maha Nak subdistrict in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district with 63%.
It was followed by Khlong Ton Sai subdistrict in Khlong San district with an increase of 14%.
"These two locations had an extension of mass transit lines," she said. "In Khlong Maha Nak subdistrict, MRT Blue Line from Hua Lamphong to Lak Si started in 2020 while the Gold Line just ran last month to IconSiam in Khlong San."
Three other locations were in inner city locations, comprising Lumpini, Si Phraya and Pathumwan with an increase of 10%, 9% and 9%, respectively.
A key driver was a lack of new residential supply.
Pathumwan and Si Phraya subdistricts also witnessed an increase in the condo price index of 15% and 10%, respectively, ranked as the second and fourth largest increases, following Bang Phai subdistrict in Bang Khae district with an increase of 42%, driven by the Blue Line.
The largest increase in the price index for single detached houses and townhouses was mostly in outer city locations.
For single detached houses, three of the top five locations were in Thon Buri, comprising Arun Amarin sub-district in Bangkok Noi district (21%), Bang Chak in Phasi Charoen (18%) and Bang Phrom in Taling Chan (17%).
The other two were Talat Bang Khen in Lak Si and Saphan Sung with an increase of 18% each.
Four of the top five locations in the townhouse price index were in Bangkok's eastern zone, including Khoo Fang Nua and Khok Fad in Nong Chok district with a rise of 41% and 24%, respectively, Khlong Sam Wa (21%) and Lat Krabang (19%). The other was Bang Phai in Bang Khae with a rise of 15%.