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Phuket property looking for a strong high season 
Phuket property looking for a strong high season
As Phuket's low
season winds down and the Island's high season beckons Phuket's property
industry have their fingers crossed for a pick-up in business. And the
signs look positive.
Passenger traffic to Phuket is starting to
see an increase and flight traffic is also on the rise. Expected to
begin in November are direct flights from Perth by Virgin Blue. This is
on the back of an earlier announcement by Virgin Blue that they intend
to start direct flights from Brisbane and Sydney.
Increased
flight frequency is also expected from a number of regional airlines and
Air Asia announced in August they plan to make Phuket their regional
hub.
All this bodes well for the upcoming high season which
officially kicks off 1st November.
Hoteliers are also in an
increasingly optimistic mood as advanced bookings are on the up and some
hoteliers reporting full occupancy during the peak season period (over
Christmas and New Year).
The question being whispered on the
Island, however, is how long will the 2009/10 high season last?
Phuket´s
high season, at least in terms of accommodation rates, runs from 1st
November until 30th April. With the global economy struggling back onto
its knees, expectations of a boost in accommodation and island activity
is just, though many feel this much needed boost may taper off towards
the end of February 2010.
What does all this mean for Phuket real
estate?
According to a mid-year report by C9 Hotelworks, in the
first half of 2009 total luxury villa sales totalled THB3.5 billion (19
units) while the market of unsold luxury villa inventory remains THB10
billion (92 units). (The report defines a luxury villa being THB65
million or above)
With few launches having taken place in the
last 12 months, and many active developers having slowed construction,
Phuket´s property inventory is no longer growing at a pace anywhere near
that experienced in the previous 24 months. This bodes well for well
established and financed developers.
As visitors to the island
return and the real estate market picks up, those properties that are
built and those well established in the market are likely to see an
increased uptake, as new launches are expected to remain few.
However,
to paint Phuket´s property market with a single brush would be to
ignore the market´s product segmentation: Area, price and product
(villa, condo, freehold, leasehold) create mini-markets within the
Island´s larger property market, and each segment has it´s own strengths
and challenges and success stories to report.
One commonality
heard from most commentators is that the mid market is highly
competitive and reaching a point of oversupply.
The issue of
oversupply and product variance is being addressed as Phuket's market
evolves, with a rapid rise in the interest in alternative proeprty
ownership schemes – Fractional Ownership in particular – and how/whether
than can open up new revenue streams and tap into a new market of
buyers.
Not a new idea worldwide, and a concept that has been
applied to everything from property to executive jets, yachts and even
supercars, Fractional Ownership is however, relatively new to Phuket
with the Absolute Group pioneering the idea at two of their boutique
condo developments – Nakalay and Bangla Suites – and more recently at
yooPhuket.
Whatever the outcome of Phuket's property market
evolution, the fundamentals currently remain the same. It´s attractions
and infrastructure, and it´s ease of access and central location within
Asia, remain key selling points, while a relatively low cost of living
and high standard of living, adds to the positives.
Combine that
with an expected increase in air traffic and already strong advanced
hotel bookings, and Phuket property looks set for a resurgent high
season.Source: http://www.property-report.com/property-news-top-stories.php?id=282...
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