Thai sellers cut prices on new and second-hand homes amid tight lending

Amid a slowing economy and intense competition in the property market, developers of new housing projects are accelerating promotional campaigns offering discounts, giveaways and added incentives.

These include price cuts, support for expenses on the ownership-transfer date and all-inclusive free extras, aimed at encouraging purchase decisions and closing sales more quickly.

The second-hand home market is being directly affected as buyers increasingly compare the value offered by new and second-hand properties.

As a result, many owners and brokers selling second-hand homes have had to monitor movements in the new-home market and reduce their asking prices accordingly to strengthen their competitiveness and clear stock.

The situation shows that competition in the housing market is not confined to new-home developers, but is also putting pressure on the second-hand market, where sellers must set prices in line with market conditions and purchasing power that remains fragile.

Tight bank lending weighs on new and second-hand homes

Pornnarit Chounchaisit, president of the Thai Real Estate Association, told Thansettakij that the housing market in the second half of 2026 remained sluggish and could deteriorate further without government measures to support it.

He viewed the new-home and second-hand markets as being in much the same position, with both trying to keep their businesses going because they depend on the same financial institutions and face similarly strict lending conditions.

Although demand remains in both segments, mortgage applications are often rejected because buyers are assessed as lacking sufficient purchasing power or income for homes at those price levels.

Both markets are also rushing to clear stock through similar discount and incentive campaigns, while benefiting from the same reductions in ownership-transfer and mortgage registration fees.

The main difference is that second-hand homes may be older, but can offer an advantage in the choice of urban locations.

With purchasing power severely weakened, household debt still high and financial institutions not extending credit, both new and second-hand homes are inevitably being affected by the same risk factors.

Prasert Taedullayasatit, honorary president and adviser to the Thai Condominium Association, said the property market would remain sluggish in the second half of 2026, with stock worth more than THB1.3 trillion, comprising more than 200,000 units in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces.

The extension of government measures provides a positive factor, while developers are delaying new project launches and running campaigns to clear existing stock, particularly by waiving transfer fees and offering all-inclusive free extras to attract buyers.

Even with lower transfer and mortgage registration fees, the campaigns reflect weakened purchasing power, as people are reluctant to make decisions because they lack confidence in the economy.

The biggest hurdle is strict lending by financial institutions, which is affecting the new-home and second-hand markets to a similar extent.

Second half may improve, but loan rejection rate stays high

Soonthorn Sathaporn, president of the Housing Business Association, said the property market in the second half of 2026 was likely to perform slightly better than in the first half, although any recovery would be gradual.

Important positive factors include the government’s extension of reduced ownership-transfer and mortgage registration fees and the Bank of Thailand’s relaxation of loan-to-value (LTV) rules, which help ease buyers’ financial burdens and encourage purchase decisions to some extent.

Another important positive factor is the government’s extension of the 0.01% ownership-transfer and mortgage registration fees for homes priced at no more than THB7 million, together with the easing of LTV rules.

This is consistent with data from the Real Estate Information Centre (REIC), which found that 72,583 residential units were transferred nationwide in the first quarter of 2026, up 11.2% from the same period a year earlier.

The transfer value reached THB187.182 billion, an increase of 3.1%, showing that housing demand remains, although buyers are increasingly choosing price levels that match their purchasing power.

Negative factors, however, still carry considerable weight, including the slow economic recovery, persistently high household debt and fragile purchasing power.

Most importantly, commercial banks remain strict in approving loans.

A survey by the Housing Business Association found that the rejection rate for retail borrowers was about 40% in 2025, while the average rate in the first half of 2026 remained at about 40%.

The figures clearly show that the main problem facing Thailand’s property market is not demand, but access to credit.

Buyers remain in the market, but many cannot obtain financing.

Unless the credit bottleneck is resolved, the market’s recovery will remain limited even if further measures are introduced to stimulate purchasing power.

New-home prices move closer to second-hand levels

Price competition is a market mechanism.

Many developers are carrying unsold stock from previous periods and therefore need to use both price reductions and added benefits, including waived transfer fees, free furniture and interest support, to accelerate purchase decisions.

As a result, the net prices of new homes in many projects have moved closer to those of second-hand homes.

This is affecting the second-hand market because, when the price gap is narrow, some consumers are likely to choose new homes that come with quality guarantees and more promotional packages.

Second-hand homes, however, have strengths in their urban locations, larger land plots and value per unit of usable space.

REIC data show that second-hand homes accounted for about 67% of all ownership transfers in the first quarter of 2026, compared with about 33% for newly built homes.

Economic strain drives surge in second-hand home supply

Wasan Kongchan, president of the Real Estate Sales and Marketing Association (RESAM), said ownership transfers of new and second-hand homes totalled 310,000 units nationwide in 2025, compared with nearly 400,000 units before the Covid-19 pandemic.

REIC data showed that new homes accounted for 38% of the 2025 total and second-hand homes 62%.

The growing share of second-hand properties reflects economic pressures that have prompted more owners to put homes up for sale, while the volume of new homes has declined.

In 2024, only 120,000 second-hand homes were on the market.

Just one year later, accumulated second-hand stock had risen to 220,000–230,000 units nationwide in 2025, reflecting the severe economic slowdown and the growing number of people putting homes up for sale.

Household debt, the high cost of living, the stagnant economy and strict lending were viewed as the main factors behind an increase of more than 100,000 second-hand units within one year.

The new-home market faces the same conditions, although developers are steadily reducing launches.

More than 100,000 new homes were once launched nationwide each year, but the figure has now fallen to just over 50,000 units annually.

New-home stock stands at 210,000 units and would take four to five years to sell, while second-hand stock would take two years to clear because prices are lower and can be negotiated down by as much as 50%.

Some 33,000 units were transferred in the first quarter of 2026.

New-home discounts push second-hand prices down

Wasan added that the severe economic slowdown had led the new-home market to cut prices by an average of 10–30% and launch major campaigns promoted as “live free for four years”, along with waived transfer fees.

For example, a detached house priced at THB4 million in the provinces was discounted by THB1 million, using a strategy similar to electric-vehicle campaigns.

This has forced second-hand sellers to follow suit and closely monitor the new-home market.

Whenever new-home prices are cut, second-hand prices must also fall, even though they are normally about 20–30% lower.

If a home requires repairs, its price would have to be reduced by at least 50%.

Oversupply hotspots and risks to assess before buying

Areas requiring particularly close monitoring for new homes include the Bangkok metropolitan provinces of Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Nakhon Pathom, as well as the eastern provinces of Chon Buri and Chachoengsao.

Condominium locations with units priced at THB1–2 million and excess supply, such as Tiwanon–Nuan Chawee, require the greatest caution because prices fell by an average of 8.3% in only one year.

The locations considered riskiest for second-hand homes fall into three main categories: (1) physical and disaster risks, including flooding and subsidence, (2) daily-life risks, including severe traffic congestion and remoteness, and (3) the risk of price declines or difficulty selling in the future.

Source: Thansettakij