Bangkok--31 Aug--PD House International
Homebuilding market in the third quarter this year is more sluggish than in the same period last year due largely to rainy storms and natural disasters. Construction work needs to stop. PD House fights the natural disasters by joining forces with business partners to expand multi-joint lock system (MLS) prefabricated structure factory which is outstanding with rain resistance, fast construction, accuracy, strong and longer life time. It aims to target premium customers including Thai and foreigners, using campaigns with a discount of up to 10% for customers in the northeastern region.
Pisan Thamwiset, Managing Director of PD House International Company Limited, Thailand's first homebuilding franchisor or PD House Homebuilding Center, says that in the third quarter this year rainfall is so heavy that there are floods in many areas in the country, particularly in the northern, northeastern and southern regions. Meanwhile, there are landslides and mudslides in some areas which damage houses and people get in trouble. Consecutive heavy downpours since July until today have an impact on homebuilders as construction needs to stop and homebuilding demand in the third quarter slows down.
"In the third quarter of every year, many homebuilders compete to boost sales and accelerate consumer's decision making with many sales activities and campaigns. In the past year, leading homebuilders claimed that they were successful and sales was on the target. This year they hold marketing events like ever but result is not as expected. One of the key factors we estimate is that they get an impact from consecutive heavy downpours and natural disasters as seen from marketing and sales events through both online and offline channels are less attracted to consumers than ever. This reflects that consumer is not ready and has no mood to buy. Moreover, homebuilders that use original construction technique or cast-in-place reinforced concrete structure get an impact and construction delays."
PD House chooses multi-joint lock system or MLS as the key construction technique. It was designed and developed by engineering team and manufacturers from high-standard factory which is PD House's expertise business partner before it is installed at construction site. This system needs no welder between poles and beams like other prefabricated structure but engineer designs to use socket to connect poles and beams and use bolt and nut to connect poles and foundation. When they are installed, they will be accurate and in line with engineering design including span, degree, angle and vertical of structure which is better than cast-in-place reinforced concrete structure or traditional prefabricated structure. Significantly, construction is faster and no need to stop during rains. It is also safety as it does not use electric equipment during MLS is installed, Mr. Pisan says.
Ms. Tiraporn Suwannasut, Marketing Manager, discloses that the company applies MLS in homebuilding business as it aims to introduce a different construction technique as an alternative for consumer who focuses on quality and a longer lifetime. A shift to construction technology produced from factory is aimed to meet consumer's requirements and increase competence to deliver good quality house to all PD House customers. Though the company lost advantages in the past year as it had higher manufacturing and transportation costs, particularly for house built in provincial areas, customers are always trust and give a good feedback. PD House expands the largest number of branches in provinces when compared with other homebuilders.
According to a survey on self-built home customer's behavior, PD House's target customers are both Thai and foreigner (from European countries Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, German). In particular, foreigners who get married with Thai women and want to have a self-built home are mostly found in the northeastern region. Meanwhile, the company has 7 branches in the region, covering almost 20 provinces. The company needs to adjust strategies to meet customer's requirements as much as possible. Recently, it joins force with business partners to expand MLS production base or have a factory in the northeastern region to reduce transportation cost which will result in a decrease in housing prices. The new factory will start production by the end of the third quarter this year.
For marketing event and sales campaign in the third quarter, those in the northeastern region who choose one of five housing designs (each branch will set) will get a discount of up to 10%. For example, Khon Kaen branch will give a discount for ME-148 from 11,469,000 Baht to only 10,278,000 Baht or WA-122 with a usual price of 2,323,000 Baht to only 2,114,000 Baht. These promotions will be reserved for only the first three units booking at the branch, Ms. Tiraporn concludeds.