Life Asoke – Rama 9, the most valuable of all new condo projects in the Asoke-Rama 9 area

Reinforces Life’s brand position as ‘Platform for Success’ offering limitless connectivity to life in the digital age and giving residents the best quality of life with 7.5 rai of common elements – the most complete ever in Thailand for peaceful, relaxing lifestyle in every aspect right in the convenient hub of transportation  

Delivers ground-breaking space design innovation known as ‘Interlocked Layout’ for better value of money and perfection where a 35-sq m unit enjoys a wide 7- metre frontage and even a studio unit has up to 5 metres of frontage

Starting price only at Bht 98,000/square metre  

AP (Thailand) Public Company Limited, the leading property developer for urban residents, in collaboration with its Japanese partner Mitsubishi Estate Group (MEC) today announced the launch of Life Asoke – Rama 9, a magnificent mega condominium development to end the year with a high note.  Valued at Bht 9,000 million, Life Asoke – Rama 9 allows residents to ‘Live a Visionary Life’.

In developing the project, AP challenged every limit to make Life Asoke – Rama 9 stand out among all condominium developments in a new business district which the Asoke-Phechaburi-Rama 9 interconnected area will be known from now.  The project boasts the most complete common areas with largest total area of 7.5 rai as well as a space design innovation in all units and advanced technology integrated to seamlessly elevate the quality of life, all at a starting price of Bht 2.45 million (Bht 98,000 per square metre).  Initial sales will take place online at AP-iBooking via the website apthai.com on Wednesday, 8 November with official pre-sale dates scheduled for 11-12 November at Life Asoke – Rama 9 Sales Gallery.

Life Asoke – Rama 9 is a Bht 9,000-million condominium project that is sold for a starting price of Bht 2.45 million (Starting Bht 98,000 per square metre).  Located on a 8-rai plot of land, the development consists of a high-rise condominium building comprising two towers (Tower A with 42 stories and Tower B with 46 stories).  There are a total of 2,248 units with functional areas ranging from (1) Studio with 25-27.5 square metres (2) One Bedroom with 32 square metres (3) One Bedroom Plus with 35-40 square metres and (4) Two Bedrooms with 45-58 square metres.

Mr. Vittakarn Chandavimol, Chief Business Group – Condominiums, AP (Thailand) Pcl. said that ‘AP deeply understands our clients’ needs and the trend of urban living, particularly the lifestyle of customers in the interconnected Asoke-Phetchaburi-Rama 6 area where AP has a leading share in the market for mid to high end condominiums with over 40% of the market in the area.  And in order to further continue our lead, we have brought our expertise in innovative space design to collaborate with specialists in architecture, interior design and landscape design to detail the project right from giving it an outstanding building layout to designing its 7.5-rai common elements, the largest ever in Thailand’s condominium development, to laying out individual units and re-arranging interior spaces while providing a platform for living success by integrating into it a structural system for digital connectivity anywhere at any time to support a lifestyle of the future.  All of this is to make sure that Life Asoke – Rama 9 as the most valuable project from AP this year with a Bht 9,000-million investment and its ‘Live a Visionary Life’ concept will make a difference and be the project of choice for those looking for a new condominium in the heart of the city at an affordable price starting at Bht 2.45 million – a good value for money both as an investment and a residence.”

“We position the Life brand of condominiums as ‘Platform for Success’.  We aim for Life to be the first and only condominium to give people the comfort of living and limitless connectivity.  AP already has success with two condominium projects under its new-dimension Life brand.  They are Life Ladprao worth Bht 7,600 million and Life One Wireless worth Bht 7,500 million.  Both projects are well received with 83% take-up rate, thanks to their outstanding locations in heart of the city, the convenience and living comfort they offer.  So we are now competing with ourselves to come up with new offerings to best meet expectations of a digital-age new generation craving success,” said Mr. Vittakarn.

“What makes Life Asoke – Rama 9 outstanding is a space innovation AP developed from the Interlock concept.  Based on what we observed and studied regarding the living behavior and actual uses of customers in the location, all units and interior spaces are given a new layout between the Studio Type (27.5 sq.m.) and the One Bedroom Plus Type (35 sq. m.) to offer better value for money and space functionality.  Studio units are given a wider frontage of 5 metres (compared to 3.4 metres in conventional studio units) giving residents more breathing room and a feeling of spaciousness from a wider visual exposure.  And what is special about the One Bedroom Plus Type is it has a 7-metre frontage (compared to 5.3 metres in its conventional counterpart) as well as more personalized functions with special areas adaptable to individual lifestyles and a closed kitchen.  We gave the space a fresh design and management approach.  For every square metre, the focus is on maximum use by the resident.  We are confident that the new layout will be well received by Thai and foreign customers,” Mr. Vittakarn added.

“Another outstanding feature of Life Asoke – Rama 9 is that it has the largest common area of more than 7.5 rai, of which 1.5 rai belongs to rooftop common elements complete with international-standard facilities such as Elite Fitness, a fitness centre which takes up two stories spanning five zones on the rooftop.  AP is the first in the real estate industry change the approach to fitness zoning.  We worked with exercise expert to design the fitness centre in response to how people really work out.  And also 3 pool on the 42^nd floor (rooftop) and 45^th floor (rooftop) which are divided into 2 zones: Active Pool and Scenic Glass Pool.  AP is the first in Thailand to give swimming pool a unique design with a special section for those to love to swim to exercise and a separate section for people who love to take a dip in the water to relax and enjoy the city view,” Mr. Vittakarn said.

“Moreover, we intended to design Life Asoke – Rama 9 with an inside-looking-out vantage point in every area of the project.  First, we laid out the building in a way that made it look twisted into two towers in order to frame a wider view of Bangkok on both the Makkasan and Rama 9 sides right from the project’s entrance down to the common area and inside the units.  We are confident that every vantage point from Life Asoke – Rama 9 will give you the maximum of use in every space so as to transfer quality of life to the residents.  We expect sales during the pre-sales period to account for more than 50% of the project or over Bht 4,500 million,” Mr. Vittakarn said.

“As for the overall market for condominiums in the Asoke-Phetchaburi-Rama 9 interconnected area, we found a consistent increase in demand for new condominiums, particularly from people working with Thai companies and multinationals which are moving into six Grade-A office buildings in the new business district where we estimate the number to be 78,837 office workers in 2020.  As a result, of the current unsold supply of condominiums which stands at 1,198 units or 17% of all units launched, most of which are high-end condominiums with a price tag of slightly over Bht 100,000 per square metre, only 109 will remain.

In addition, the take-up rate and yield for condominiums in the area are growing in the same direction.  In particular, AP condominiums such as THE ADDRESS Asoke, RHYTHM Asoke or ASPIRE Rama 9 all have an average take-up rate of over 85%.  Of all the occupied units, 75% are taken up by the buyers and 25% are rented mostly to Asian tenants from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Japan.  The average rent rate in the area is around Bht 22,000 – 53,000 per month while the yield is at around 7 – 8%.  Prices of condominiums in the area are still right for investment, so we believe that Life Asoke – Rama 9 will be well supported by the demand in the market given the central location of the project which is only 300 metres from the MRT Rama 9 station.  And this year in particular there are no condominiums in the area which are offered for a starting price below Bht 100,000.  AP will take advantage of its expertise in space design to create Life Asoke – Rama 9 as a project that makes a difference as the first and best choice for those looking for a new condominium in the heart of the city at an affordable price starting at Bht 2.45 million (starting Bht 98,000 per sq.m.),” Mr. Vittakarn added.

At present (as at 15 September 2017) AP has 15 ongoing condominium projects with outstanding sales value of Bht 11,530 million. Of all the ongoing projects, ten projects are the joint developments of AP and Mitsubishi Estate Group (MEC) with outstanding sales value of Bht 4,340 million.  AP’s condominium business group reported sales of approximately Bht 16,300 million, up 98% on the same period of last year and 31% higher than the projected sales of high-rise developments (projected sales target for high-rise developments in 2017 are Bht 12,400 million). The company is confident that following the launch of Life Asoke – Rama 9 (worth around Bht 9,000 million) it will be able to book more than 50% of sales during the pre-sales period or more than Bht 4,500 million.