Bangkok s condo oversupply problem may worsen over quake fears

BANGKOK – A condominium glut in Bangkok is set to worsen after a deadly earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar damaged thousands of skyscrapers in the Thai capital, spooking prospective buyers.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which killed more than 2,800 people in Myanmar, led to the collapse of an under-construction office tower in Bangkok.

The authorities have also reported varying degrees of damage to about 13,000 buildings, leading to mass evacuations and safety checks.

The quake, the strongest to hit Myanmar in a century, has shaken the confidence of prospective home buyers, especially those weighing condominiums, according to real estate consultants.

That will hurt condo sales in the short term, exacerbating an oversupply in the segment in Bangkok and its suburbs, they said.

“The earthquake presents a serious challenge to Bangkok’s condominium sector, particularly as the market is already burdened by high unsold inventory,” said Mr Phattarachai Taweewong, research and communication director at Colliers Thailand.

Property developers in the greater Bangkok area were saddled with about 235,000 unsold residential units at the end of 2024, the most in data dating back to 2018.

Sales slumped 37 per cent to about 53,000 units in 2024, according to the Thai Condominium Association.

“We’ve seen some condo buyers temporarily pause their search,” said Mr Pierre Lung, sales director at real estate platform PropertyScout. “A number of buyers are now more hesitant when it comes to high-rise buildings, especially new projects.”

Thailand’s real estate sector was hit hard during the Covid-19 pandemic, and a raft of government incentives and tax breaks to support the sector in South-east Asia’s second-biggest economy have failed to revive its fortunes.

The Bank of Thailand relaxed the loan-to-value ratio for mortgages in March to allow banks to lend more to the buyers, who are battling one of the highest household debt