Singapore V Bangkok

Post - Articles by David Wade, Tropical Homes

Singapore has seen an unprecendented boom in property prices within the last 18 months and whilst there are those amongst you who will not see an obvious comparison between the Lion City and The City of Angels; there are nevertheless, some things that do deserve comparison. Bangkok's concentration of sought after condiminium developments has until recently largely been centred around Sukhumvit and Ploenchit but despite concerns over transport the Chao Phraya river has now become an area of high interest. Likewise one of the most expensive condiminium projects undertaken in Singapore has been at the mouth of the river.

It is obvious to me why buyers should be looking to these locations. Not necessarily the people who want or need to be in the centre of everything and close to their workplace but the wider circle of buyers, those who wish to own a property in a Capital city as a stopover or those who do not need to be at the business centre of the city. The life of a river is ever moving, particularly in Bangkok where the river is still very much a working river and a hive of activity that never appears dull. Why therefore should a prospective condominium buyer not want to have as his window this great living canvas?

I can recall when London first opened up the great River Thames to residential development and the huge Victorian warehouses were first converted into apartments, and where the riverside did not suit warehouse conversion; modern tower blocks rose in their place. Many thought that the old dockside areas would never be seen as desirable places to live and again there were concerns about transport, however, now multi-million dollar penthouses are common place. This scenario has been repeated all over the world from Chicago to Cologne to CapeTown.

So why compare Bangkok to Singapore?
Because in the price of real estate there is no comparison. Current per square metre selling prices of similar type developments run at about four times the price in Singapore. Yet Singapore is still seen as an attractive proposition to the real estate investor Take a look at a copy of the Straits Times in particular the Sunday edition and see how many real estate agents there are. Now compare two similar ground breaking projects; One Shenton in Singapore and The River in Bangkok. One Shenton had a very successful launch and is being built to a very high specification employing all of the latest technology and positioned overlooking the Straits. The River is a fabulous twintower project designed by Hans Brouwer and being developed by Raimon Land located directly on the river, as the name suggests, next to The Peninsular and opposite The Shangri-La and Oriental Hotels. Both projects have stunning views yet prices of The River start at about 115,000 baht per square metre, a fraction of the prices now being asked for similar apartments at One Shenton. Little wonder The River's launch has been one of the most successful in Bangkok's history. It is also worthy of note that much of the interest in The River has come from overseas.Perhaps, at last, the investors are realising that in terms of capital growth Bangkok's riverside offers much greater potential. There are of course those investors that still see Thailand as a potential risk. Once their doubts are put aside, just watch the prices, like the towers, go sky high!

(2007-04-20 12:01:45)
by David Wade, Tropical Homes Real Estate