Positive factors, ranging from global and domestic economic growth, the government’s populist policies and anticipated rises in construction costs, will help the homebuilder Built to Build Group enjoy 30% sales growth this year.
Sutee Ketsiri, the group’s managing director, said the country’s gross domestic production (GDP) was expected to expand by around 5% while the European and US economies have hit bottom and are bound to pick up soon.
But locally, consumers are concerned about a jump in the prices of goods including construction materials, as well as energy, which could exceed US$100 a barrel.
An increase in the minimum wages will be reflected in the prices of goods and services from April this year, when the new rates take effect.
“The longer buyers wait, the higher unit prices they will get,” he said.
While housing prices generally rise by 10-15% a year, Built to Build raised unit prices by 3% last year and another 3% early this year.
In addition to the wage increase, the labour situation will be worsened with the re-emergence of Myanmar after 50 years under military rule.
Workers from the neighbouring country will return to their land after the government agreed to reforms, paving the way for new investment.
Last year alone, hundreds of thousands of Myanmar workers went back to their home country to tap new opportunities there.
The labour shortage will cause a major problem in the property development, construction and homebuilding segments.
Under the circumstance, companies with prefabrication technology will have an edge over those relying solely on manual labour, he added.
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