SET-listed developer Land & Houses (LH) will launch just four new projects worth 11.1 billion baht, the lowest level in more than two decades, due to the ongoing economic slowdown and ample existing inventory.

Naporn Sunthornchitcharoen, chairman of the board of directors, said the overall economy in 2025 is expected to remain sluggish, continuing a trend of economic slowdown that has persisted for several years.

"Last year, government investment was insufficient [to stimulate the economy], leaving grassroots and middle-income earners struggling. This, in turn, impacted SMEs, which face significant challenges in adapting," he said.

The housing market continues to grapple with challenges. Over the past five years, there has been a significant surge in condo supply.

As the condo market slowed, the focus shifted to low-rise housing in recent years, but with contracting demand, much of the new supply launched during this period remains unsold.

"Today's market is far more complex than in the past, with numerous challenging factors at play," Mr Naporn said.

"Last year, our average mortgage rejection rate doubled from 10% to 20%. The lower the price, the higher the rejection rate. Those who wanted homes faced mortgage rejections, while those with high purchasing power delayed their purchases."

Mr Naporn said LH is scaling back on new project launches as its existing portfolio is sufficient to sustain sales this year.

The company currently has 75 projects in hand, including those under development and in progress, with a combined development value exceeding 93 billion baht.

Mr Naporn added that opportunities for new project expansion in Greater Bangkok are limited.

The company also holds a substantial land bank valued at 13-14 billion baht, with 12-15% of that located in the provinces.

The four new projects being launched this year will all be single detached houses, which will replace existing projects that have sold out or are nearly sold out.

The locations are Bang Na KM13, New Krungthep Kreetha Road, the Ratchapruek-Phran Nok area, and Phuket.

LH plans to invest 8.5 billion baht this year, down from the 10.1 billion baht it spent in 2024.

The 2025 budget includes 4 billion baht for new land acquisitions for residential development and 4.5 billion baht for recurring-income assets, compared to 4.3 billion baht and 5.8 billion baht, respectively, in 2024.

The company aims to achieve 23 billion baht in presales and 20 billion baht in transfers by the end of 2025, with revenue from recurring-income assets targeted at 9.24 billion baht.

The company also plans to sell three rental apartment projects in the US and pivot to investing in hotels there, which offer more attractive yields of 8% per year compared to 3-4% from apartments.

The three apartment buildings include Parc and Revere in Campbell, California, and Yard in Portland, Oregon, for which LH has invested a total of $381 million over the past 3-4 years.

It plans to sell either all or some of these properties and reinvest the proceeds into hotels, with Los Angeles being a potential target market.

At present, LH owns two hotels in the US: SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Anaheim, California, acquired for $31 million in 2021, and Residence Inn Manhattan Beach in California, purchased for $68 million in March 2024.