Pattaya-based developer Apus Development Group Co will continue with its policy to collect a 30% down payment for a new condominium project it plans to launch in Pattaya, a strategy it employs to reduce risk.
Managing director Chalermphon Khoncham said collecting a high down payment of the unit price could help screen out some short-term speculators who refused or might be unable to get a unit transfer when the project is completed.
"When units are unable to transfer, they will return to us and hurt us eventually," he said. "We are not a big player. We do not focus on speeding up sales during a launch period like a big firm does."
Mr Chalermphon said the collection of a high down payment has worked well at the company's previous projects as the number of buyers who refused unit transfers was very minimal, or even zero.
"Most of the buyers who paid the down payment usually receive the unit transfer, as the down payment rate is high and the unit had a capital gain in price," he said. "We will continue to use this strategy as it helps us reduce risk."
On Nov 25-26, Apus will launch Andromeda, a 1.28-billion-baht condominium project located on a 1.5-rai site in the Khao Pratumnak area of Pattaya.
It will comprise 216 units sized between 27-74 square metres and priced from 2.8 million baht. A 30% down payment is required from Thai buyers and 50% from foreigners.
The company expects to have 200 million baht in presales during the two-day launch and 50% units sold by the end of the year, said Mr Chalermphon, whose family runs Baan Amphur Trading Co, one of Siam Cement Group's large construction materials dealers in the eastern region.
He said the oversupply in the condominium market in Pattaya is mostly in the lower-end segment, but the company's projects are targeted at the middle to upper-end market.
To survive in the Pattaya condominium market where competition is very high, local developers should understand customers and develop projects that meet their requirements, said Mr Chalermphon.
Foreign buyers in Pattaya with the highest purchasing power are from China, followed by those from Hong Kong. The company posted 300 million baht in sales from a condominium project it promoted in Shanghai and Hong Kong in June this year.
In 2018, the company plans to launch a new condominium project with 200 units worth 1 billion baht and a 150-room hotel on a four-rai plot near Terminal 21 Pattaya.
It plans to develop a housing project with 200-300 single detached houses priced 3-7 million baht on a 50-rai plot in Bang Saray to capitalise on anticipated local demand, as income in the area is set to rise based on the government's Eastern Economic Corridor initiative.
To diversify risk, the company plans to enter the Bangkok condominium market next year by partnering with a Bangkok-based developer. They plan to develop two eight-storey condominium projects in two locations: opposite Bangkok University's Rangsit Campus and in the Chatuchak area.
The company, formerly called Vareejinda Co, was founded in 2007 with registered capital of 40 million baht by Mr Chalermphon and his friend Vichapol Srisuriyachai, owner of swimming pool company Home & Pool Pattaya Co.
Since 2008 it has launched and developed three condominium projects worth a combined 4.2 billion baht.
One, the 600-million-baht Apus Condominium Pattaya, was completed in 2010 and is sold out.
The other two, Cetus Beachfront Pattaya and Del Mare Bangsaray Beachfront worth 1.8 billion baht each, were completed in 2015 and mid-2017, respectively, and are 98% and 82% sold.
