Townhouses at Pruksa Avenue Nong Mon-Chon Buri in Chon Buri's Muang district. The project will have 219 single detached houses and duplexes priced from 2.79 million baht and 474 townhouses priced from 1.69 million.

Residential developer Pruksa Real Estate Co continues to launch new projects in three eastern provinces, as the government's flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme is expected to spur future demand.

Theeradej Kerdsamang, chief executive for townhouses at Pruksa Real Estate, the property development arm of SET-listed Pruksa Holding Plc (PSH), said demand for townhouses priced below 2 million baht a unit is strong.

In Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao, the sales rate of this segment is 14-15 units a month, while that for townhouses priced higher than 2 million baht is 10 units.

Over 60% of buyers are those working in industrial estates. If the government's EEC initiatives are approved, the housing market value in these provinces will grow from 72 billion baht to 100 billion, Mr Theeradej said.

In 2020, Pruksa plans to launch three new single detached house and townhouse projects worth a combined 1.96 billion baht. It launched two projects worth 2.33 billion baht this year.

"The loan-to-value (LTV) limits had an impact on buyers in the eastern provinces," Mr Theeradej said. "Mortgage lending rejection rate rose to 7-10% from 5% pre-curbs."

Market sentiment will likely be weak throughout the year, but if there are incentives from the new government, recovery will be quicker.

To help customers after the new lending curbs are applied, Pruksa offers a waiver of expenses on the transfer date valued from 100,000 baht, as customers are required to carry an amount in cash to compensate for a lower credit line.

The EEC area is the best-performing provincial market for Pruksa, driven by both the local economy and the tourism sector. The other provinces in Pruksa's top three are Phuket and Chiang Mai.

The best EEC location is Chon Buri, where Pruksa launched 13 projects, including five sold-out projects and eight active ones.

In the first quarter of 2019, housing market value in Chon Buri was 13.18 billion baht, up 24% from the fourth quarter last year.

Mr Theeradej said the company launched two new projects worth a combined 2 billion baht in Nong Mon, Chon Buri and recorded 400 million baht in sales in two days despite the LTV curbs.

To boost sales in the townhouse segment, Pruksa introduced a living tech idea to improve health, environment and safety.

PSH shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 20.80 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 38 million baht.