Density, health and technology are three key factors for future residential development in the post-pandemic era that property developers should be concerned with, according to SET-listed developer AP Thailand.
Vittakarn Chandavimol, AP's chief corporate strategy and creation, said many behaviours will likely disappear after the pandemic has passed. Some will remain and become normal.
"For many people, home is now more than just a home," he said. "It's an office for parents, a school for children, a restaurant or a gym for family. The home space is for all family members."
He said these new uses are challenging for a condo unit as space is limited given the number of activities to do.
To solve this problem, common areas should be designed to promote such activity.
As social distancing has become key during the global pandemic, developers may provide more private spaces in common areas or co-working rooms, such as private cocoon seating from which people can work while keeping distance from others.
Mr Vittakarn said urbanisation will remain a trend despite a decrease in population growth.
Density will be a factor developers should think about in residential developments.
"Developers should think about helping homebuyers get units at affordable prices," he said. "They should also consider how to provide green areas in a residential unit or project and how to design common areas to be more efficient."
Mr Vittakarn said three other areas developers should consider are how to promote good health, clean air quality and social distancing.
"During the pandemic, people have adopted a lot of technology to facilitate their daily lives," he said.
"To be more competent and gain advantage, developers should adopt more technology in project design, construction, marketing, communication with consumers and community management."
He said data is important for developers in creating more advantages as it can help gain customer insights and develop products.
"Resilience will help developers survive in a crisis and prepare for a recovery. They should be flexible with finance, marketing and sales," Mr Vittakarn said.
Kobsak Pootrakool, executive vice-president of Bangkok Bank, said developers this year should prepare liquidity for the long term and wait for an abrupt change when vaccines are distributed, which will boost the economy.
"Businesses should cut down on organisation, hire talent, have digital development and seek tools to be ready for competition when the economy resumes," he said. "Tourists from Europe, the US, Japan and Singapore may come back sooner than expected."