......International agency Knight Frank (Thailand) postponed its planned home show, Taste of Living, which was to have opened late last month. The company now plans to begin campaigning aggressively for sales, according to a report in The Nation newspaper.
The home show was to be staged at Bangkok’s Siam Paragon, and run to May 3. It will now be held in October.
Knight Frank’s managing director Phanom Kanjanathiemthao said the company had been expecting sales of between Bt800m and Bt900m from the event, and it was now planning alternative means of boosting sales in the second quarter.
The political turbulence “had a negative impact on purchasing decisions of potential property buyers”, he said in another report in the Bangkok Post.
After talking with prospective participants, Knight Frank decided to postpone the fair to June or July, but Siam Paragon had no available slots during the period so the switch was made to October.
“It would have been quite risky to hold the fair on the original schedule,” said Mr Phanom. “Sales might not have reached the target and spending for the event might not be worth it. We will have only one fair in October, instead of the two planned this year.”
He said Knight Frank had received many questions from foreign customers asking about the local political situation and current trends but could not give clear answers.
“Many investors might now look to China, Vietnam and India instead so Thailand would lose opportunities,” he added.
“Reviving confidence is considerably more difficult than an economic recovery,” he said. The overall situation had turned to a positive direction in March but a month later it turned upside down.
“April will be worse. Normally, the month is a good one for property sales for many projects under our management, most of which are in tourist destinations,” he said.
“If the political situation becomes stable, market sentiment should pick up by the end of the year as the world economy should show a positive trend and clearer perspective.”
Meanwhile, Siam Paragon will maintain its schedule to host a fair featuring residential units of many condominium developers from May 14-23. Ω