Target now young professional buyers
Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Ltd is scaling down to smaller condominium units to make the prices more affordable to younger buyers.
Managing director Visit Malaisirirat said unit sizes at the new Whizdom @ Punnawithi Station would start at 34 square metres while those at its previous project next door started at 45 sq m.
“The sales rate at the previous project was slower than expected with 30 out of 79 units unsold since the launch last year,” he said. The previous project targeted families so most units were larger.
The new project will be located on a plot of almost three rai on Sukhumvit Soi 64, comprising two buildings with 262 units worth 800 million baht. Unit sizes range from 34-60 sq m and are priced between 64,000 and 77,000 baht per sq m, or from 2.2 million baht.
Since the launch was held in June, 140 units have been sold. Magnolia expects to close sales by the first quarter of 2011. Construction will start in the early part of next year and be completed by the end of the year.
The company is also expanding into the hotel business by investing 300 million baht to develop the Retreat Spa Boutique Hotel with 77 rooms on a 32-rai site in Khao Yai. It is in talks with American and Singaporean hotel chains to manage the hotel, which plans to open operations next year.
On the same plot in Khao Yai, it will develop 18 villas for sale worth a combined total of 200 million baht next month. The villas are sized from 250 sq wah to 1.5 rai with prices ranging from 8 million to 15 million baht.
Mr Visit said the company expects sales of 1.2 billion baht from condominium projects, a large plot of land on Bang Na-Trat Road Km 18, single houses in Bang Na and villas in Khao Yai.
It will also realise 400 million baht in revenue this year and 1.3 billion in 2011. Revenue this year will drop sharply from 1.3 billion baht last year when the company delivered condominium units to buyers.
Magnolia was set up in 1994 with registered capital of 1.45 billion baht and is held by members of the Chearavanont family, the major shareholders of CP Group, the country’s biggest agribusiness conglomerate and also parent of the telecom operator True Corp.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/198688/magnolia-shrinks-condominium-units
