Inner Bangkok land prices surge on back of floods

Land prices in many areas of inner Bangkok have surged in the aftermath of flooding, according to a recent survey from independent property consultant Agency for Real Estate Affairs (AREA).
Prime land prices in areas along Sukhumvit Road near Siam Paragon and Siam Square have shot up 17 percent from last year, from THB1.2 million to THB1.4 million per square wah.
Siam Square saw the highest increase in land prices over the last 15 years, rising from THB430,000 per square wah in 1996.
“The main reason for the skyrocketing prices is there is a mass-transit electric train passing through the areas, especially those in Siam Square, which connect to the stations of the two mass-transit trains – BTS Skytrain and MRT Subway,” said the agency president, Sophon Pornchokchai, according to the Nation.
Land prices have also gone up in the Wireless Road, Silom Road, and Rajadamri Road areas. Sophon said that AREA evaluated prices according to market value rather than Treasury Department evaluations.
Sophon said that he didn’t see any reason why flooding would push down land prices. “The agency believes that land prices will not fall as a result of the floods because there is no evidence that disasters – such as the severe floods in 1995 and the floods in Hat Yai last year – had lowered land prices,” he said.