By NINA SUEBSUKCHAROEN (Bangkok Post)

The weaker dollar has affected Bangkok’s top-end rental market because 90% of expatriate housing allowances are quoted in the American currency, forcing some landlords to adjust their rates, according to Wez Barber, managing director of the real estate agency Bangkok Finder, www.bangkokfinder.com.

The challenges are evident at this time of year when there is heavy turnover of expatriates before the new school year starts in August. Both landlords and senior executives are beginning to realise that a housing budget of $5,000 a month doesn’t go as far as it used to.

On the other hand, rentals of mid-range apartments and houses have remained steady because even though there is a large supply and heavy competition, the percentage of good units is low, as most tenants prefer newer units.

Bangkok Finder, which handles only rentals, categorises the top end of the market at 100,000 baht a month and above, mid-range between 50,000 and 100,000 baht and the low end from 20,000 to 50,000 baht.

The big surprise is at the bottom, says Mr Barber, who cannot explain why these generally smaller units can command 20,000 baht or more. ”But they are better quality than they used to be, they are more hip, happening and trendy, and also the price of buying real estate is going up. What you used to be buying for 50,000 baht a square metre is now 70,000 to 80,000 baht, so to realise the return on your investment the rental yield has to go up.”

Nowadays it is difficult to rent a good studio in the downtown Sukhumvit area for around 15,000 baht a month. ”The farther you move down to Phra Khanong you can find units at 10,000 baht but landlords of cheap units, anything below 15,000 baht, don’t generally like to deal with agents … which is why, when you search the internet for property in Bangkok, it is very difficult to find anything below 30,000 baht.”

Mr Barber previously ran a home repair and renovation business that he sold to his partner in order to launch Bangkok Finder. He is optimistic that he will succeed pointing out that independents have an edge over big international companies in certain ways.

”There is good and bad in everything, there are a lot of unprofessional agents and there are a few good agents out there just as there are in any service industry. Usually we found that clients have come to us after being with the well-known names. Because they are much bigger organisations things take longer to happen, inquiries take longer to get dealt with. … A smaller company is where things can happen quicker and you know the name of the boss.”

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