With robust sales recorded of late by mid-range condominium developers such as Plus Property, Supalai and Asian Property, more players are bound to copy this type of project.

The latest builder to jump on the bandwagon is Tararom, one of Bangkok's oldest names in real-estate development.

Its site on Sukhumvit Soi 50 covers one rai 100 square wah and flanks the entrance to the Second Stage Expressway, which has recently become heavily congested.

The high-density project called "The Link" will eventually add five more large buildings on another five rai.

They will each stand eight floors tall and together contain more than 1,200 units, mostly studios and two-bedroom flats. The current phase will have 206 units. Floor space is selling for about Bt55,000 a square metre, which is a bit more expensive than other estates in the same area.

The Link units are unfurnished and the developer will only fit an air conditioner in the studio units.

During a promotion campaign at the Tesco Lotus centre situated not too far away from the project, a salesman from Harrison Realty agency, representing The Link, provided details about the project.

What was most interesting was the signage that attracted many people, which said prices start from "Bt1 million plus".

When asked what the starting price was exactly, the salesman named Suriya said: "Bt1.7 million."

Thinking he had misunderstood my question, I repeated: "What is the price for the cheapest unit?"

"Bt1.7 million," he asserted. Apparently there was no misunderstanding.

But isn't it a bit misleading to say the condos start from "Bt1 million plus" when it ought to say "Bt1.7 million"? Wouldn't that be against the law?

Suriya said they had checked and he was adamant that no law had been broken.

He did not seem to understand that the actual price was 70 per cent more expensive than what its signage implied. 

It also didn't dawn on him that the ploy could be misconstrued by some people as being rather tricky, perhaps the last emotion sellers want to evoke in a nervous marketplace filled with people who have been disappointed with "off-plan" projects that are late in delivery or never built at all.

Even more bizarre is underestimating the value of a good name like Tararom, which carries so much goodwill.

If anyone had asked this writer about whether to buy a Tararom house, I would not hesitate for one instance to say: go ahead, it is a professional, quality builder with a strong track record.

Its association with The Link, however, has made giving such recommendations so much harder to endorse.

The first phase is expected to take 16 months to build. The high-density project will require much scrutiny from the Environmental Impact Assessment body, as it has to consider the traffic problems that have made Soi 50 such a congested road - made worse by container trucks and lorries as the area is filled with container yards.

Itthi C Tan

The Nation