Undecided buyers to delay property-market

"The floods last year are having a lingering effect on home-buyers' decision-making this year," Samma Kitsin, director-general of the Real Estate Information Centre (REIC), said yesterday.

But demand for homes in tourist destinations, especially Phuket, is still strong, according to a survey by the Agency for Real Estate Affairs (AREA).

Samma said most home-buyers considering projects in the capital and its suburbs are concerned about location.

Their target may change from single family homes or townhouses to condominiums at places that have never experienced flooding. Those neighbourhoods that escaped the floods will be their first choice.

Developers with land in flooded locations will have to revise their projects before introducing them to the market. That will take three to six months.

Developers who do not own land in flood-hit locations will not buy land close to those locations.