New developer makes debut with condo at Ekamai

New property developer The Choice Property Development Co, a joint venture between a Thai and a Hong Kong investor, is launching a new condominium project worth 3 billion baht on Sukhumvit Soi 63 (Ekamai) next week.

Managing director Winyu Poolkerd said the company, as a new entrant in the property sector, would launch C Ekkamai, a 44-storey condo, with an average selling price of 125,000 baht per square metre.

“We are new and have no brand,” Mr Winyu said. “Using attractive prices will draw in both buyers and investors.”

The average selling price of new condominium on Ekamai is 150,000 baht per sq m, he said, while a project launched last month offered 190,000 baht per sq m on average and sold out on the launch date.

Property consultant Plus Property Co said there were four condominium projects with a total of 1,096 units launched on Ekamai with a take-up rate of 82%, while resale unit prices have risen 80% in the last five years.

The Choice Property Development was founded this year with a registered capital of 600 million baht. Pongsak Pichitnapakul, owner of P.S. Bowling, owns two-thirds and the rest is owned by a shareholder of Clear Media Ltd, a Hong Kong-based advertising company.

Set to launch on Oct 15, the C Ekkamai project is located on nearly four rai near Ekamai Soi 28 and offers 736 units sized 27-126 sq m and priced at 3-19 million baht. The aim is to sell 40% of the units during the launch period.

Mr Winyu said the company will have a roadshow in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China, by the end of October to introduce 200 units at 140,000-150,000 baht per sq m.

“Land prices i n prime l ocations have soared while competition among developers to grab plots is high,” Mr Winyu said, adding that the company hopes to buy a three-rai plot on Ekamai next year to develop a low-rise condominium project worth 2 billion baht.

Sopon Pornchokchai, president of property consultant Agency for Real Estate Affairs, said the skytrain has dramatically driven up land prices in locations it runs past. In the Ekamai area, land prices have soared to 950,000 baht per sq wah last year from 220,000 baht per sq wah in 1994.