The Thai Condominium Association has joined hands with property agency Century 21 Real Affiliates (Thailand) to stage the first Thailand Condo Expo in Singapore from October 23-25.

The three-day event, to be held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, is expected to achieve sales of at least Bt1 billion.

The association expects at least 50 property firms to participate, offering up to 60 projects together worth more than Bt60 billion, its president Atip Bijanond said yesterday.

He said the association had decided to conduct the expo in Singapore this year because condo-purchasing power in the domestic market had dropped significantly.

In the first half of the year, Thai condominium projects launched this year recorded presales of only 75 per cent of the project value. That is about 10 per cent lower than in the same period last year, he said.

Meanwhile, the number of newly registered condominiums, for launches made in 2007 and 2008, still recorded growth of nearly 5 per cent in the first six months.

Atip added that first-half presales at property developer Supalai – of which he is a director – had come in at Bt4.2 billion, about 16 per cent lower than the target.

However, Supalai believes its presales will meet the full-year target of Bt10 billion following the launch of six residential projects in the second half, he said.

Because of the lower domestic demand, the association had decided to help its members expand their sales overseas, starting in Singapore, he said.

It set aside Bt10 million to hold the October event, with Bt5 million earmarked for marketing and promotion and the remainder for operations.

Century 21 Real Affiliates (Thailand) CEO Kitisak Jampathipphong said the property market in Singapore was showing signs of recovery, based on a company survey two week ago.

It found that many Singaporean buyers had a strong interest in purchasing a residence in Thailand, as the Kingdom’s prices were still five to six times cheaper than in the island-state.

Singaporeans are interested in buying Thai residential property both for vacation and investment, with an expected return on investment of 6-7 per cent.

Kitisak added that the focus was both on Singaporean investors and expatriates who stay in Singapore. The prices on offer will range between Bt1.5 million and Bt10 million per unit.

“We believe that when Thailand’s property developers present their projects at this event, they will get positive feedback from the market because Singapore investors are now starting to expand their investment in Thailand, having suspended their investment last year when the global recession took hold,” he said.

Kitisak added that Singaporeans’ purchasing power for residences was higher than that of Thai people, because their average annual income is Bt1.2 million – far higher than that in the Kingdom.

Century 21 Realty Affiliates (Thailand) will introduce six residential projects worth a combined Bt6 billion – and for which it has been appointed sales agent – at the event.

The projects include developments on Bangkok’s Ratchadaphisek, Sukhumvit and Phetchaburi roads, as well as on Soi Thonglor.