The Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok (left) and The Residences at Sindhorn Kempinski are part of the 55-billion-baht Sindhorn Village complex, one of several large mixed-use developments in the pipeline.

While there is ongoing debate about whether the hazy Bangkok skyline is just an aberration or residents need to get used to wearing N95 masks, the future of the capital's property market has also become overcast with significant changes approaching.

The country's first elections in eight years will take place on March 24. Not only should this help improve foreign investor sentiment, but also we will be seeing the various contesting parties promoting new policies for the property market.

Whoever emerges as the winner will have an impact on the economy and the progress of infrastructure projects across Thailand in terms of continuity and direction; yet, the impact is expected to be short-term.

Tighter mortgage lending rules for second homes will come into effect on April 1 and will directly hit the condominium market, especially speculative buyers. This may cool down the residential market and put more focus on real demand from end-users.

Developers in turn will be prompted to turn to foreign buyers who use their own funds to purchase condominium units. However, the focus on foreign buyers comes with some uncertainty from external factors and raises questions about the sustainability of the market.

The new land and buildings tax, coming into effect on Jan 1, 2020, aims to increase the efficiency of land use, reduce inequality and make taxation more defined within a new structure. This will put more pressure on companies with land banks to put them to use or release them back to the market.

To make the new tax structure clearer, solid and defined criteria are needed to better define vacant land, along with land used for agricultural or commercial purposes.

The new Bangkok City Plan, aiming to create smarter growth and drive the capital towards becoming a more outward-looking city, is expected to take effect in early 2020. We have yet to see what changes will be made to zoning as it is still in the planning stage.

Increasing floor area ratios across the board will not induce smarter growth, but thoughtful changes such as reducing parking requirements or offering incentives to build new urban nodes in outer areas will change the market.

Consequently, many developers are holding back to see what changes will be made to the city plan before strategising for their new developments.

Significant changes in the property market will not be derived solely from new regulations and policies, but also from waves of large-scale mixed-use developments across Bangkok that will bring a massive amount of new supply in every sector.

Major mixed-use projects still under construction such as Samyan Mitrtown, The Parq, One Bangkok, Dusit Central Park, Sindhorn Village, and Whizdom 101 will bring millions of square metres of saleable and leasable space into the market.

Whether these will fuel or flood the market depends on when they will be completed.

Rathawat Kuvijitrsuwan is a manager of research and consulting with CBRE Thailand. He can be reached at bangkok@cbre.co.th