Real estate loses billions

Members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy swarm a departure area at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, temporarily halting all outbound flights.

The Suvarnabhumi Airport shutdown has scared away potential foreign investors and buyers in the property market, causing billions of baht worth of damage, according to Patima Jeerapaet, managing director of the property consultant Colliers International Thailand.

“It is worse than the Phuket International Airport blockade (in September). The overall situation is very bad. We just got cancellations from potential customers from Eastern Europe who had planned to fly to Bangkok,” he said yesterday.

“If the situation does not improve, pending property deals worth around one billion baht in the final stages will definitely vanish. Investors who are waiting and seeing or freezing their investment will absolutely cancel.”

He added that foreigners generally came to buy property during the high season but the airport closure would slow transactions.

Meanwhile, the country’s hotels and serviced apartments face a major occupancy decline that could get worse.

Some hotels in Bangkok have an occupancy rate of only 20-30% despite the fact that this is the high season.

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