Thai People Show Great Interest In Government-Supported Housing Initiative

Thai people have shown great interest in the "Ban Puea Kon Thai' (Houses for Thais) project, a government-supported housing initiative, with the project's website receiving over 60 million visits in just four days.

According to government spokesman Jirayu Huangsab, the Houses for Thais project has garnered significant public interest which highlights the significant demand among Thai people for housing over the past decade, coupled with the absence of concrete policies to drive national development and boost GDP to levels comparable with other Asean member states.

The pilot project, launched in Chiang Mai, Pathum Thani, Thon Buri and the Kilometre 11 area along Vibhavadi Road, revealed a strong public desire for housing. The Kilometre 11 site in Bangkok attracted the highest level of participation, with 156,857 applicants, with a total of 226,499 applicants for all four locations.

The government is prepared to expand the initiative to other provinces, including northern, northeastern, central and southern regions, and Bangkok and its surrounding areas, to improve public access to housing and improve the Thai people's quality of life, in line with the key policies of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's administration.

This project involves long-term leases from the State Railway of Thailand, with a low instalment rate of just 4,000 baht per month and no requirement for a down payment. It aims to make it easier for first-jobbers to own their own home.

Prospective buyers must meet certain eligibility requirements: they must be Thai citizens aged 20 or above, earn no more than 50,000 baht per month, and have never owned any type of housing, including properties under other "Ban Puea Kon Thai" projects.

Additionally, the houses cannot be transferred to another owner within five years of registration.