The homebuilder Built To Build Group is conservatively aiming to grow its sales revenue by 10% to 1.2 billion baht this year, despite a promising surge during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Managing director Sutee Ketsiri said homebuilding is a product-oriented business which should focus primarily on design and functions, as well as quality of products and services, rather than marketing strategies.
"We could potentially grow our annual sales to 1.4 billion baht, but we prioritise quality control and are thus focused on maintaining our sales at 1.2 billion baht as we need to prepare our backend process and resources to ensure quality control," he said.
In 2021-22 the group recruited a number of new contractors, as its sales jumped from 700 million baht in 2020 to 1 billion baht the following year.
Of 200 applicants, only 10% met the criteria while the number of approved contractors was finally concluded at 8%.
"If a homebuilder takes too many jobs beyond its limit, it might be unable to maintain quality, as building a home involves a multitude of complex tasks and processes," Mr Sutee said.
He said the key sales growth driver in 2021 was consumer preference shifting to homebuilders from individual contractors.
"During a crisis, brand, reputation and good records were crucial," he said. "Many people are hesitant to take risks in dealing individually with contractors even though the price is cheaper."
Another factor was that the group's commercial advertisements, both online and offline, were able to reach their target customers more effectively at either the same or lower cost during the pandemic, as there were fewer competing ads, he added.
Mr Sutee forecasts that the homebuilding market will grow by 5-7% this year.
Founded in 2002, the group targets units priced above 20 million baht, or 30,000 baht per square metre.
The group has two subsidiaries. Small House Builder aims for units priced between 2-8 million baht, or 17,000-18,000 baht per sq m, while Bangkok House Builder focuses on units priced between 8-20 million baht, or 20,000 baht per sq m.
During the pandemic, the proportion of customers using cash rose to 60%, from less than half.
"There was also a customer who bought a land plot in the Sukhumvit area and asked us to build three townhouses with three storeys each and rent it out to foreign tenants," Mr Sutee said.
The homebuilding market this year is projected to see growth of 5-7%.
However, the first half may be affected by negative factors before improving in the second half, driven by tourism industry.
"Even with a lower birth rate, the homebuilding market will continue to thrive due to urbanisation spurred on by mass transit lines," Mr Sutee said. "The younger generation wants separate living spaces from their parents. There is also a trend towards renovating many houses in Bangkok that were built 50 years ago."