Bangkok--19 Aug--Asian Property Development Asian Property Development Plc is testing the condominium market in the second half of this year by launching Rhythm Ratchada, the first joint venture project with Pacific Star Group, aiming to attract urban buyers. The Rhythm Ratchada project, which is positioning itself as the best condominium on Ratchadapisek Road, has already sold 80% of units (in Tower A) just in two days of pre-sale. The success comes from different wall design and good function, co-initiated by Thai and Canadian architects, which match requirements of young urban buyers. Moreover, the developer is also working with Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) to offer special financial packages, allowing buyers to pay with credit cards and getting special points.The sales of Tower B are scheduled to kick off between Sept 13-14. Mr Anupong Asavabhokhin, chief executive officer of AP, said the company has developed quality projects such as townhouses (under Baan Klang Muang and Baan Klang Krung brands), detached houses (The City and The Centro) and condominiums (The Address and Life) and got warm response from buyers for years. To accommodate more new housing segments, AP is ready to launch its new condominium under Rhythm brand to focus on target buyers with aged between 30-40 years old with metro lifestyle and monthly incomes of 50,000-60,000 baht or household incomes of 100,000 baht per month. The Rhythm Ratchada project is the pilot project under the Rhythm brand. “We have positioned the Rhythm brand for growing condo buyers when compared to Life Condo, whose theme is Condo for Fun, while The Address is the condominium for deliberate buyers. The three brands are different in term of lifestyle, taste and pricing. Rhythm will also strengthen condo products for AP,”' Mr Anupong said. The Rhythm Ratchada project, located just one metre from the MRT subway's Ratchada station, is the first joint venture between AP and Pacific Star as both sides will bring their strength to help shape up the project. The co-working between Thai architect and famous Canadian architect Calum Srigley, who is advising on both interior and exterior architectural designs as well as interior decoration, will make the best for Rhythm Ratchada. The innovation for Rhythm Ratchada is the new wall system, which is different from the other condominiums. “What we got from the cooperation meets our target. We can have new perspectives to develop our projects and our expert partner can help us see different things such as new products and new designs. As well, Pacific Star gave us information about behavior of foreign buyers,” Mr Anupong said. As well, buyers will feel that they will get more space especially for the unit of 45 square metres. The company designed this type of units with two options. The highlight is the dining room will also have space for mini bar, which will offer a panorama view of Bangkok through the three-metre-wide window glass. Yet, the two-bedroom units are also designed to have wide glass windows in every bedroom and the bathroom will have see-through glass from the master bedroom_the sexy design for urban living. Meanwhile, the company has already opened pre-sale for Tower A during August 2-3 and got an overwhelming result with 80% of total units of 396 sold. Most of the fast sales came from the book building made by old customers who showed intention to buy in this project while the rest from those who live in the Ratchadapisek area. The quick sales reflected that Rhythm Ratchada has set up the right prices and right products. AP plans to launch sales of Tower B in the coming Sept 13-14, with new promotions to be done through TVs, radios, web sites, newspapers and billboards. To support the launching of Rhythm Ratchada, the company has produced three series of commercial under the “This is Ratchada” concept to send clear messages to target buyers. Pritpal Singh Gill, country head of Pacific Star International (Thailand) Ltd, said the company has expertise in property investments. Previously, the group has developed a number of projects in many countries by co-investing with local partners, whose names are widely recognised over there. For Thailand, the group saw a lot of potential in the property market. It is happy with the partnership with AP as it is appreciated the concept AP has implemented to develop the project to satisfy buyers the most. Moreover, AP is dynamic and works further to initiate new residential innovations through new designs and services. The fast pre-sale is affirmed the close work and collaboration between AP and Pacific Star to serve requirements of their buyers. Every detail of Rhythm Ratchada is to reflect the perfect condominium on Ratchadapisek Road. “I believe that the official launch of Rhythm Ratchada on Sept 13-14 will be successful,” Mr Pritpal said. Khun Non Pokasup, vice-president for retail banking of Siam Commercial Bank, said the bank gave importance on every group pf customers from developers to retail customers by tailor-making financial products to meet their different requirements and lifestyles. SCB, with the biggest market share among commercial banks in the housing loan segment, is moving forward to expand its home loan portfolio. Total outstanding home loans stood at 210 billion baht currently and has its target to extend new home loans worth 55 billion baht this year. With the cooperation with AP, the bank will support in both project financial support for Rhythm Ratchada and post financing. SCB will apply direct debit and bill payment to provide convenience for buyers of the Rhythm Ratchada project.The condo buyers can pay down payment through the direct debit from their accounts and be offered special privilege to use SCB credit cards to pay on the day they make the buying contract and pay deposits. They will get a double on collective points for ordinary cards, two times for silver and gold cards and three times for platinum cards. After they finish paying down payment under the direct debit system, they will get a special discount of 100,000 baht on the day they transfer the unit ownership with AP. SCB is very proud to help innovate new financial products for AP customers. The bank will continue to improve its products and services to meet customer demand as well as provide them financial advices forever. “The special financial package SCB offer to buyers of Rhythm Ratchada is our dynamic financial innovation. In the past, we had worked with SCB to develop many financial schemes that matched lifestyles of our buyers. We are concerned about the customer satisfaction the most. The payment through credit cards is a new chapter of property financing, which is very convenient for buyers as they need not to carry cash, reduce risks and times to deal with the bank counter. As well, the buyers will also get special points, which are valuable privileges for them,” Mr. Anupong said.