For the record, if I were to live long term in Bangkok, it would be in the Thonglor neighbourhood. There are many reasons to live in Thonglor. For starters, this neighbourhood is predominantly an expatriate neighborhood. Predominantly traditionally Japanese but increasingly cosmopolitan. If you are looking for the top international schools, you will find a large concentration in the Thonglor area. Of course this includes the neighbouring neighborhoods like Ekkamai and Phrom Phong but primarily Thonglor is where I would focus my property search. I know I have been mentioning quite a number of locations across Bangkok for places where property investors should consider. However, for my own stay, it would be Thonglor.
When I speak of Thonglor, I mean the main Thonglor road which is Sukhumvit Soi 55. You get off the BTS at Thonglor BTS Station and you can see this very wide road. A lot wider than the typical narrow sois that are perpendicular to the main Sukhumvit Road. If you travel along Sukhumvit Soi 55, you will realise that this is a major artery that leads from the main Sukhumvit Road to Phetchaburi Road.
Sukhumvit Soi 55 links the main Sukhumvit Road to Phetchaburi Road
This is a straight road linking both major roads. This is very rare as most sois are short and narrow. Because of this, there is a lot of activity along Sukhumvit Soi 55. Much more than your typical soi in the area.
Five years ago, I made a video where I walked along Sukhumvit Soi 55 on a Friday night.
Therefore, when a property claims to be a property located in Thong Lor, you need to be careful as to whether it is merely near Sukhumvit Soi 55 or is it actually along Sukhumvit Soi 55. There are many projects that label their developments with the word Thonglor, or any other popular location for that matter, without the development actually being in that area. If they are near Sukhumvit Soi 55, I still think it is alright. If you want the strong rental demand, then it should be along or very near Sukhumvit Soi 55.
As you can see from my video above, Thonglor is a very modern and hip neighbourhood. There are many bars and restaurants in the area. It gives you an idea that people living in this area probably are from the upper echelons of Thai society. There are many landed houses in the area. These houses can only be bought by Thai nationals. The prices of these properties are very high. In some cases, there are houses going for over THB100,000,000. That is in excess of USD$3 million for a house in Thonglor.
Details about the development
Noble Form Thonglor is a freehold condominium by Noble Development Public Company Limited (Noble). Noble is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The development sits on a land size of 2-2-56.7 rai which is approximately one acre (1 acre is about 4,046.86 square meters). The development consists of 1 residential building that is 46 storeys tall. There will be 546 units. The parking will be automatic tower parking.
The unit mix is as such.
1 bedroom: 31 to 36 square meters
1 bedroom plus: 52 square meters
2 bedrooms: 63 to 73 square meters
Within the 46 floors, the facilities are located on the ground level, levels 37 to 38 and 45 to 46.
On the ground level, or what they call level G, there is a mail room and smart lockers. On the factsheet they also state that there is an urban oasis and art deco lobby. These are just fancy terms for the lobby. On the 37th and 38th level there is, according to the factsheet, a Noble Social Club, The Lounge & The Library, a Multipurpose Space, a Recreation Room, a Sky Auditorium and a Moon Bar. It is common for there to be these communal spaces in new developments in Bangkok. Co-working spaces are very common as the digital nomad lifestyle is very prevalent in Bangkok. On the 45th floor lies the Sky Lagoon Swimming Pool (essentially it is a pool on a very high floor), the kids pool, semi outdoor shower, semi outdoor jacuzzi, water curtain (whatever that is. likely a water feature), a pool bar, a steam room, digital lockers and the gym. The 46th level houses the Sky Garden which includes a yoga yard, party space, BBQ space and a sky observation seating.
The interesting part about the newer developments in Bangkok is that they are increasingly integrating technology into their developments. Noble Form Thonglor is no exception. There is a “ME PASS” that all residents will set up to access the development. You can go past the entrance gate and into your unit as a resident via bluetooth. Entrance into the lift lobby is via facial recognition.
Where is the development located?
Noble Form Thonglor is located along Sukhumvit Soi 55. It is located across the road from the very popular Noble Form Thonglor. Around this area are high end restaurants, community malls and bars. If you notice, there is very limited area for residential properties to be built. I have consistently highlighted the case of Park Origin Thonglor where the developer had to buy out all the commercial spaces to convert it into that condominium.
Location of Noble Form Thonglor
You will need to walk 1.5 kilometres to reach Thong Lor BTS Station. The walk will take 21 minutes. It is definitely not near the BTS Station. While I have always advocated buying close to the BTS stations, Thong Lor is unique. It is perhaps one of the very few locations where I would be ok with recommending that is not close to the BTS Station. Based on past experience, the rental demand for properties in the middle of Sukhumvit Soi 55 is very high. Tenants demand for properties in this location because of the large concentration of amenities in the area. Also, this is a very good neighbourhood to live in. It consists of well to do locals and foreigners. The houses that are within this area are one of the priciest in central Bangkok. Therefore, the neighbourhood is little with very wealthy Thais.
Walk from Noble Form Thonglor to Thong Lor BTS
There is a very small silver or perhaps grey lining. There is slated to be a BTS station, titled “Thonglor 10” on the yet to be confirmed Grey BTS Line. The BTS network has expanded very extensively and is continuing to expand. The grey line links northern Bangkok to the south and is slated to past through Thonglor with a station along Thong Lor Soi 10 (judging from the proposed name of the station). Thong Lor Soi 10 is a very short street that is perpendicular to Sukhumvit Soi 55. The end of which, if you are walking from Noble Form Thonglor, will be DONKI Mall Thong Lor.
The distance to walk to DONKI Mall Thong Lor is 850 meters and will take about 11 minutes. This is the end of the soi. If the proposed train station is anywhere else along Thong Lor Soi 10, then the walk will be shorter.
Walk from Noble Form Thonglor to Donki Mall Thong Lor
My thoughts about the development (selling points and investment potential)
You can get a 1 bedroom at about THB 7 million. There might still be units that are less than THB 7 million. This works out to a per square meter price of about THB220,000. Of course units with better facing and on higher levels would command a higher price and price per square meter.
Considering that there is another development along the same street going for way higher… perhaps Noble Form Thonglor is attractively priced.
Of course The Monument Thonglor is a very high end development with very premium finishes. The cost of building that property itself would be significantly higher than Noble Form Thonglor. If you want to purchase to rent, then Noble Form Thonglor would provide you with decent yield.
As a benchmark, let us use Park Origin Thonglor. For one, the distance to Thong Lor BTS Station is similar. It is also located around the middle of Sukhumvit Soi 55, albeit an arterial road that is Thonglor Soi 10. The size of their one bedroom units are also similar to those at Noble Form Thonglor.
In this area, with this level of furnishing, a one bedroom condominium would be able to command a rent of about THB45,000 to THB55,000. Let us take THB45,000 to be the expected rent for a one bedroom unit at Noble Form Thonglor.
Let us also assume a purchase price of THB8 million. I believe you can still find a small one bedroom at Noble Form Thonglor at about THB7 million but that would be for the smaller units, i.e., the ones that are 31 square meters in size. Instead, we will assume the larger of the one bedrooms. Those that are 36.61 square meters in size. Such a unit costs slightly above THB8 million. With a purchase price of THB8.2 million, the gross rental yield works out to be as such:
THB45,000 x 12 / THB8.2 mill = 6.6%
This is relatively healthy as the typical gross rental yield in Bangkok is about 5%. Moreover, the profile of tenants who will be renting properties in Thonglor is very good. They are usually families or well paid professionals. They can be both local or foreigners.
Investment potential wise, owning a property in the Thonglor neighbourhood is akin to holding a blue chip stock. If I were to choose one neighbourhood that will not go weak on demand over time, I would choose Thonglor. Location and environment wise you cannot do much better. Is there still room to rise in terms of capital appreciation? I believe so. However, if you are looking for property prices in Thonglor to increase in multiples, then this will definitely not be the case. Especially if you are looking to own the property for a period of about a decade. Instead, what you should be considering is whether the property in Thonglor can yield healthy returns through rent. In this aspect, I believe rental prices should increase over time. After a holding period of five years, individual investors should consider selling the property as they would have already side stepped the specific business tax that is levied on individual owners who sell within 5 years of ownership.
Of course, the ideal situation would be for the Grey BTS Line to be confirmed. That would definitely cause an increase in demand for properties in this area. Not that there is a need to encourage further demand. However, property investors should consider this as a potential upside as well.
Noble Form Thonglor
Pricing 5/5
To me, most attractively priced development in the last two years. You can take a look at my explanation above.
Location 4.5/5
This is not near Thonglor BTS Station. However, it does not need to be. This area is highly sought after. Perhaps this fact actually adds to the exclusivity of the development. If it were close to Thonglor BTS then this would be the ideal condominium. However, the prices of properties very close to Thonglor BTS will not be this affordable. I guess it is a trade off. This is a trade off which I personally would gladly make.
Yours sincerely,
Daryl
