Story :  Renford Davies   
Images : courtesy of Knight Frank
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Phanom Kanjanathiemthao, Managing Director of Knight Frank Thailand

Phanom Kanjanathiemthao, Managing Director of Knight Frank Thailand, is a quietly modest man, but when it comes to understanding the complexities of Thailand’s property industry there are few who can match his expertise. Sought out by both the local and international press for his market wisdom, he is considered something of a guru when it comes to unraveling the intricacies of Thailand’s property business.

As Knight Frank’s managing director, Phanom has been a godsend. After entering the Thai market in 1998 – a year after Asia’s financial crisis hit – Knight Frank struggled to break into Thailand’s distrustful and elitist property market.

Baan Chaan Talay, Cha am

Grand Peak Sriracha, Sriracha

Boathouse Hua Hin

Horseshoe Point, Pattaya

The Right Direction

Phanom joined the company in 2001 during the merger of his own company with Knight Frank Asia Pacific to form Knight Frank Chartered (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Since then, he has been the company’s driving force – cementing its reputation in the Thai community and securing new business.

With Phanom at its helm, Knight Frank has quickly strengthened its position doing what it does best: acting as a property service agent for key resort destinations.

However, he is the first to concede that Knight Frank has thus far not been so active in the Bangkok property market. “We’re not ignoring Bangkok but have been collecting our resources and training our people. We have to be sure our services are up to Knight Frank’s [international] standards.” This year is the first year he will increase efforts in the Bangkok property market. In recent years Phanom candidly admits that Knight Frank was not in a position to take on the Bangkok property developers.

“As an international property consultancy firm we have to make sure that the developer can complete and deliver the units to buyer. A selection of good trustable developers is part of our sole agency deal. Most of the developments we are working with we have joined from the concept design stage to make sure that the project has selling points, matched with the market demand, and most projects have value higher than 1 billion baht,” says Phanom.

PHUPHAtara, Rayong

Phanom Kanjanathiemthao with Kirstie Flood and Amous Lee

Looking Further Afield

Following several international exhibitions in Hong Kong during 2003 to 2004 to promote regional business, Knight Frank has concentrated hard on developing its business in Thailand’s resort destinations, traditionally crammed with western buyers. This, says Phanom, is where Knight Frank can fall back on its international network and global reputation. 

“In resort destinations we can use our international connections. Compared to other international property services – or the lack of them – we have a strong presence and people know who we are. Not many [international] property agents have residential services in these [Thai resort] destinations,” he says.

One resort destination where Knight Frank commands a strong position is Thailand’s traditional seaside resort Hua Hin. Two hours drive from Bangkok, the resort has seen a boom in beachside property development. New condominium supply in Hua Hin and Cha-am boosted sales in the first four months of 2007 to about two billion baht, and this is expected to reach four billion baht by the end of the year. Knight Frank’s flagship project in Hua Hin is the 5 billion baht Boathouse, a sprawling residential complex touted in its brochure to be “quite simply the most luxurious residential community yet to be developed along the glorious sunshine coast.”

One of the largest beachfront properties currently being developed in Thailand, the Boathouse is located close to the King’s Klai Kangwon summer palace – a prestige factor for Thai buyers. Featuring detached luxurious villas on the beachfront it boasts a 15,000 sq.m. pool - 12 times the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool - flowing through the 40-rai landscaped parkland.

Boosting the Market

For Knight Frank, business in Hua Hin and Cha-am couldn’t be better. New developments are quickly pushing up the prices and beachfront plots and land prices have increased by up to 50% over the past two years. Currently land prices range from about 60,000 to 100,000 baht per square wah.

“We are still selling the Boathouse’s third condominium and we are coming to the fourth condo project which will be launched next year. The Boathouse is a vast project with a broad price range. Units start at around 2.4 million baht and go up to 60 million,” said Phanom.

While Knight Frank’s customers in Hua Hin and Cha-am are mostly Thai – up to 80 percent at the Boathouse – its other key markets Phuket, Pattaya and Rayong cater predominantly to foreign buyers.

Developing Further

In 2003 Knight Frank opened its Phuket office and is currently running its sales and marketing and property management service there. Up to now the majority of its business in Phuket has been in individual sales, but, says Phanom, Knight Frank is getting ready to launch into bigger things.

“We have plans to jump into project marketing and sales this year – we are in talks with developers in Phuket about some large new projects. If all goes well we may start pre-sales for one of these projects this December or early January.  As you know Phuket is a key destination for foreigners – 95 percent of buyers are from overseas. The market is expanding and constantly developing new products,” says Phanom.
 
Asked what he thinks of Chiang Mai’s future as a property destination, Phanom said the city’s recent boom as the showpiece of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s northern hub had collapsed with Thaksin’s demise. “We have no plans to do anything there. All the promotions for that destination have ground to a halt and it’s very difficult to say what will happen next.”

Baan Chaan Talay, Cha am

PHUPHAtara, Rayong

Phanom’s pragmatism reflects a general uncertainty about Thailand’s future political stability. Any changes in the country’s foreign investment law will not come overnight, he says. “In the first six months following the election (Dec 23), probably nothing will change as the new government will need time to settle in. On the good side we will have democracy,” he quips.

“What I would like to see is a new government serious about working on Thailand’s foreign investment law and making foreigners welcome. We need to reconsider the Foreign Business Act and to make leasing contracts easer for foreigners. Investors are waiting in the wings for stability and that’s what we must give them.”

TEL : +66(0)2 643 8223    www.knightfrankthailand.com