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Two home-building fairs in 2009 as sector seeks 10% growth

The Nation February 12, 2009

In a bid to spur growth in the home-building market, the Home Builders' Association is planning to stage two fairs this year.

The first will be called Home Builder Focus 2009, and will be held between February 27 and March 1 at the Bangkok Convention centre, Central Plaza Lat Phrao. The second event will be in August.

The association hopes the two events will help to bring growth of more than 10 per cent to Thailand's home-building market this year.

Association president Panthep Thanchitikul said home-builder fairs in past years had succeeded in boosting the share of the Bt50 million home-building market held by association members. This share had climbed from 10 per cent to 18 per cent over the past five years.

Land owners now have greater confidence in the association's member firms than in contracting small- or medium-sized contractors to build their homes because the latter may abandon the job or charge high prices. The association is organising two home-builder fairs this year to attract a greater share of new contracts at a time of sluggish economic growth.

Home Builder Focus 2009, opening on February 27, will display new detached-house models from 21 of the association's member firms. Most of these firms will also offer special packages, including price discounts of between Bt50,000 and Bt500,000 per unit, for land owners signing contracts to build new homes during the event.

One leading firm, Four Pattana, will offer discounts of between 6 and 8 per cent and free home appliances for land owners signing contracts to build new homes at the fair.

The association expects the three-day event will lead to the signing of new-house contracts worth as much as Bt1 billion.

The association believes the home-building market will fall by nearly 4 per cent, from Bt54.5 billion last year to Bt52.4 billion this year.

However, it believes the share of that market being taken by its members will increase from last year's Bt9.8 billion, or 18 per cent of the market, to Bt10.5 billion, or 20 per cent of the market this year.

Both home-building fairs, in February and August, will be part of the association's efforts to boost the market share of its member firms, Panthep said.