Mortgage loan rejection rates in May and June subsided to pre-pandemic levels as homebuyers made decisions reflecting confidence in their income, says SET-listed developer Supalai.
Managing director Tritecha Tangmatitham said the bank rejection rate for the company was 13% in May and June, down from 20% in March and April.
"Customers who walk to project sites and make a decision today are screening themselves before visiting," Mr Tritecha said. "They have to make sure their qualifications meet a certain level."
Banks also relaxed their strict consideration of some workers who saw a strong impact from the virus, such as those in restaurants and hotels, because hospitality-oriented businesses have been allowed to reopen.
But potential homebuyers in aviation-related careers continued to struggle to get a mortgage loan approved at the same credit line as before, as some of them had their salaries cut.
As the residential market resumed activity in May and June, Supalai gained confidence in recording the same presales figures as in the first quarter this year, when it posted 5.7 billion baht.
"We will monitor the situation in the third quarter again because we are not sure that good presales in May and this month were from pent-up demand or a market recovery," Mr Tritecha said.
In addition, no one can guarantee that there won't be a second wave of coronavirus after the reopening, he said.
If the situation in the third quarter is unfavourable as expected, the company may delay the launch of three condo projects worth 6.6 billion baht from the second half of this year to 2021.
This would hit the presales target for 2020, dropping it from 30 billion baht to 27 billion baht, Mr Tritecha said.
Supalai remains confident in the low-rise market and will launch 16 projects worth 13 billion baht in the second half.
"Low-rise property saw good sales because the product was preferable during the peak of the pandemic locally," Mr Tritecha said. "But the shift to low-rise houses will be short-lived. After a vaccine is developed and there is no work-from-home, condos will bounce back."