Mr Anant said the total housing registration in greater Bangkok rose 2.6% during the first half. When taking into each category, houses built by individuals declined 1.7% from 9,297 units to 9,143 units while housing units developed by developers grew 7.2%. Detached houses soared 16.3% from 2,912 units to 3,386 units and townhouses jumped 91% from 2,205 units to 4,213 units. But condominiums fell 51.6% from 3,548 units to 1,719 units because supply was in short and demand got stronger.

Since the economic crisis erupted in 1997, the stock of detached houses had been absorbed and brand-new houses were built again in 2000. The supply of townhouses also ran out and construction of new units began again in 2001. The condominium market dropped 51.6% during the first half because the existing inventory has been absorbed and new supply is limited to serve rising demand. So there were some budget condominium projects relaunched their sales and got warm response from buyers and this would drive up the registration of more condominiums in the second half.

In conclusion, the overall housing market has a steady recovery from last year and supply in many categories has been improved to match with stronger demand. However, the market adjustment will depend on the process of bank loan approval to finance new projects, legislation changes, labor wages and construction materials of which some key materials have higher prices.

The government policy allowing homebuyers to use down payments when buying a house to deduct their personal income taxes would be expired by the end of September. Tax incentives such as property transfer fee, mortgage registration fee and special business tax would be expired by the end of December. Mr Anant said if the government wanted to see the property market continue and sustain growth, it should consider whether to extend the implementation of some property-stimulus measures.