Press release data on Land and Houses Plc's performance
Land and Houses Public Company Limited has set an operational plan for 2024, targeting 31-billion-baht bookings and a 28-billion-baht realized revenue from ownership transfer. The Company also aims to achieve an 8.54-billion-baht income from rental property.
Mr. Watcharin Kasinrerk, Managing Director (Housing Project), revealed a real-estate market overview and operation summary of Land and Houses Plc. in 2023, including plans for 2024, as follows:
Real estate market information in 2023
The number of registered residential units (constructed by developers) in Greater Bangkok
Source: Real-Estate Information Center (REIC), Government Housing Bank
The number of new residential units open for sale in Greater Bangkok
Source: Agency for Real Estate Affairs Co., Ltd. (AREA)
• In 2023, the total number of completed residential units registered by developers in Greater Bangkok from January to October 2023 was 52,715, a 17.1% drop from the same period last year.
• In terms of market segmentation, the low-rise housing market expanded while the condominium market shrank. The market of single-detached and semi-detached houses grew by 58%, townhouses increased by 12%, and condominiums declined by 48%.
• On the supply side, 95,527 new residential units were opened for sale in Greater Bangkok between January and November 2023, down 7.1% from the same period of the previous year because of the shrinking townhouse and condominium markets by 23% and 10% respectively. As for the single-detached house and semi-detached house market, new sales rose by 17.3%, causing the single-detached houses, the Company's main product, to face more intense competition due to growing supply since 2022.
The Company's performance in 2023
• The Company launched 17 new projects with a total project value of 43.46 billion baht, including 16 low-rise projects and a condominium project. The value increased 8.5 billion baht from the originally planned 34.96 billion baht due to the launch of the Wanvayla Na Chaophraya Project, worth 15 billion baht, instead of The Key Srinakarin Project, worth 6.5 billion baht.
• The Company spent 6.1 billion baht on land investment to develop residential projects for sale.
• Booking ratio by product category in 2023
- Low-rise housing products, namely single-detached houses, semi-detached houses, and townhouses, remained the Company's main revenue-generating products. The sales ratio between low-rise houses and condominiums was 73%:27%.
- When the sales were divided by area, Greater Bangkokremained the main areas that generated sales volume. The ratio between the sales in Greater Bangkok and those in provincial areas was 90%:10%.
- Houses priced higher than 10 million baht accounted for 57% of our sales volume.
The number of projects implemented between 2023 and 2024
| Note | 1 .The Nakhon Pathom project is included in Greater Bangkok. |
| 2. The total number of projects implemented in 2024, excluding provincial projects with only a few plots left for sale, would be 74. |
• At the beginning of 2023, the Company had 70 projects in operation, 41 in Greater Bangkok, and 29 provincial.
• Out of 17 newly launched projects with a total project value of 43.46 billion baht, 16 were low-rise projects worth 28.46 billion baht, and a condominium project worth 15 billion baht.
• During 2023, 87 projects were operated and 14 were sold out.
• At the end of 2023, 73 projects were carried forward to 2024, with a total value of more than 68.35 billion baht: 66 low-rise projects worth 52.35 billion baht and seven condominium projects worth 16 billion baht.
• In 2024, the Company plans to launch 11 new projects with a total value of 30.2 billion baht, 30% lower than last year. That is because the Wanvayla Na Chaophraya condominium project, worth 15 billion baht, was launched for sale in 2023. Among low-rise projects, newly launched projects would grow 6% from 2023.
• New projects, all of which are low-rise ones, consist of:
- Single-detached houses 11 projects
- Townhouses 1 project
(Villaggio Lam Luk Ka-Wongwaen 1 Project comprised single-detached houses and townhouses.)
Ten projects were located in Greater Bangkok and one in the provinces.
• Consequently, in 2024, Land and Houses will be implementing 84 projects worth 98.55 billion baht, consisting of 77 low-rise projects worth 82.55 billion baht and seven condominium projects worth 16 billion baht.
• The average selling price per unit in 2024 is 9.4 million baht (versus 9.6 million baht in 2023).
Mr. Chokchai Walitwarangkoon, Managing Director (Condominium Project), revealed the market overview and information on the Company's condominiums as follows:
• In 2023, some segments in the condominium market rebounded after the Covid-19 pandemic had subsided. The situation is expected to improve in 2024.
• Land and Houses learned that there was still demand in the upper segment and some locations. Consequently, it adjusted the plan to launch condominium projects by launching Wanvayla Na Chaophraya at the end of October instead of the project at Srinakarin as originally planned. This was designed to meet the demand for waterfront condominiums. The project was well received and generated sales of over 5 billion baht, accounting for 35% of the total project value and higher than the expected revenue of 3-4 billion baht.
• As a result, in 2023, the Company earned over 6.2 billion baht from condominiums, growing 176% from the previous year and accounting for 27% of the total sales.
• In 2024, a positive factor for the real-estate market is interest rates, expected to gradually decline in the second half of the year. Another factor would be an extended period of government measures to reduce property transfer and mortgage registration fees for another year. It would benefit condominiums priced no higher than 3 million baht. The Company's The Key project offers products in that price range. The current project open for sale is The Key MRT Phetkasem 48, located next to the BTS Blue Line.
• At present, the Company has seven condominium projects worth 16 billion baht ready for sale. It will focus on selling condominiums in projects currently open for sale. Therefore, it has no plan to launch a new project this year. It has set a sales target of 5.5 billion baht and a transfer revenue target of 2 billion baht.
Mr. Wit Tantiworawong, Managing Director (Support), revealed the Company's financial status and operations of rental property as follows:
Performance in 2023
• Land and Houses issued two or three-year bonds with a total value of 16 billion baht and an average interest rate of 3.2% per year.
• At the end of 2023, the Company posted a net interest-bearing debt of 58 billion baht.
- Net debt-to-equity ratio 1.12
- Average financial cost 2.75%
• Overall, the rental property, especially hotels and shopping malls in Thailand, enjoyed robust growth in 2023. It was expected to earn 70% and 100% higher than the previous year, thanks to the return of foreign tourists. This factor directly benefited the Company's rental property.
• Land and Houses invested 2.87 billion baht in rental property through LHMH and LH USA, as seen below:
- Development of Grande Centre Point Surawong Hotel 920 million baht
- Development of Grande Centre Point Lumpini Project 870 million baht
- Development of hotels and apartments 1.08 billion baht
• Moreover, LHMH made an additional investment in the LH Hotel Leasehold Real Estate Investment Trust (LHHOTEL), totaling 1.95 billion baht. Therefore, the proportion of investment in the trust rose from 14.73% to 26.17%.
• LHMH launched a new project, namely the Grande Center Point Surawong Hotel, with an investment value of 2.3 billion baht in November 2023. It sold two hotels, namely the Grande Center Point Pattaya Hotel and Grande Center Point Space Pattaya, worth 9.4 billion baht, to LHHOTEL. Land and Houses booked a pre-tax profit of 2.5 billion baht in Q4, and the rest would be gradually realized in the statement of income between 2024 and 2032.
Operational plan for 2024
• The Company planned to issue bonds worth 16 billion baht. The debt-to-equity ratio was expected to remain close to 1.0, decreasing from the end of 2023.
• The Company has prepared a total investment budget of 11.5 billion baht, as seen below:
- Land purchase budget for residential projects 5 billion baht
- Investment budget for rental property 6.5 billion baht
• Currently, the Company has 16 commercial projects, already in operation and under development: 12 were implemented by LHMH and four by LH USA.
• The Company plans to sell a shopping center to the REIT.
Newly Launched Projects in 2024
Rental Property Business
Land and Houses engages in rental property businesses in Thailand and the United States. The business in Thailand operates under LH Mall & Hotels (LHMH), and the business in the United States operates under LHUSA. The projects include shopping malls, hotels, apartments, and office space for rent. Details of all projects are shown in the following table as rental income on the statement of income.
