PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards 2018 embraces high-growth niche segments in thirteenth year

Return of the country's longest-running, professionally-run real estate industry awards programme marks the competition's biggest edition yet.

- New categories for outstanding smart home, co-working space and senior living development

- More than 40 awards are to be presented for the best real estate from Chiang Mai to Phuket

BANGKOK, Thailand - 21 February 2018: The countdown begins as the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards returns on 31 August 2018 to honour the country's best and most active developers of the year.

Presented by Kohler, and supported by official portal partner DDproperty.com, Thailand's leading property website, the annual competition celebrates its thirteenth edition by adding new categories to acknowledge the sector's current high-growth segments - including Best Smart Home Development, Best Co-Working Space Development, and Best Senior Living Development - bringing the total competition categories up to forty.

Additionally, the independent panel of judges has announced the Special Recognition for Public Facility, which is open to healthcare, education, public service, transportation, public assembly and religious facilities that are owned, leased or operated by a governmental or public entity.

Nominations from the general public are now open. Eligible entries from developers will be accepted until 8 June 2018. To submit entries online, visit: AsiaPropertyAwards.com/nomination/thailand/

JLL Thailand managing director Suphin Mechuchep, who has been reappointed as chairperson of the independent judging panel, commented that the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards continue to gain respect and awareness. With the addition of new categories, the panel expects to receive high calibre entries and looks forward to conduct site inspections and deliberate on the merits of eligible entrants.

"The developments and developers alike will benefit from the endorsement of quality by this prestigious awards programme and help set an example and encourage excellence in Thailand's property industry," she said.

The panel's decision to recognise the growing popularity of co-working spaces, for example, was partly due to the dramatic increase of new office and multi-purpose buildings especially in Bangkok to cater to various types of workers today, including those who primarily work independently online and may not use traditional office space.

In a recent interview with a national newspaper, Suphin also noted the highly creative design concepts of new office buildings to make them stand out. "Cities around the world are competing for recognition. Among the many areas they are competing in are property developments that raise eyebrows."

Another niche segment that deserves attention is senior living/housing market, which JLL Thailand described in late 2017 as a "relatively small market but has a strong potential to grow." The country remains one of the region's top retirement destinations for expats and affluent locals. Combined with competitive living costs and affordable nursing care services, JLL analysts believe that many developers and joint ventures will cater to this segment for years to come.

With the advent of disruptive technologies in the real estate sector, more Thai builders are also utilising smart building applications into their residential or commercial properties, according to a recent market trends report published on DDproperty.com. This year, the judges will honour a residential project that use internet-connected devices to enable the remote monitoring and management of appliances and systems, such as lighting, temperature and security.

The 13^th PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards gala dinner will be held on 31 August 2018 at The Athenee Plaza, Bangkok. Around 600 top-level executives and VIPs are expected to join the black-tie event that begins with a cocktail reception at 18:00. The four-hour ceremony will feature a red-carpet welcome for the shortlisted developers, as well as a lavish, four-course dinner with free-flowing drinks.

Main category winners will advance to the 8^th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final, which will be hosted by Thailand for the first-time ever. The ceremony is a collocated event of the two-day PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit at The Athenee Hotel, Bangkok on 8-9 November 2018.

"Thailand's most active developers deliver outstanding projects year after year. They adapt to evolving market trends and consumer demand, and offer some of the best properties in the Asia-Pacific region. The PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards remains committed to recognise and reward their hard work. It is also fitting that Thailand will host this year's Grand Final - this is where the Awards started and it is the perfect venue to celebrate the programme's thirteenth year," said Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the Awards.

The 2018 PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards is supported by platinum sponsor Kohler; co-sponsors Hitachi Elevator and JLL Thailand; official airline partner Thai Airways; official portal partner DD property.com, Thailand's leading property site; media partners Prestige Thailand and PropertyGuru Property Report, Asia's leading luxury real estate, architecture and design publication; and official supervisor BDO, the world's fifth largest auditing and accountancy firm, led by co-managing partner Paul Ashburn.

For more information about the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, email awards@propertyguru.com or visit: AsiaPropertyAwards.com/thailand-property-awards/

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About PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards

Returning for its landmark thirteenth annual gala dinner on 31 August 2018 at The Athenee Plaza, Bangkok, the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, presented by Kohler, is the longest running and biggest event of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards programme established in 2005. With a professionally run awards system supervised by BDO, the world's fifth largest auditing and accountancy firm, the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards is the premier and most credible industry awards in the kingdom, with the top and emerging names in real estate celebrating the best developers, projects and design.

About PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards:

The PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, the region's biggest and most prestigious real estate awards series, is recognised as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence in the Asian property sector. Boasting an independent panel of industry experts and trusted supervisors, the Awards has an unparalleled reputation for being credible, fair and transparent.

Established in Thailand in 2005 to ‘recognise the region's finest in real estate', the Awards acknowledge, reward and celebrate the extraordinary achievements of developers and developments at a domestic and regional level. The Awards is a milestone event in the real estate industry calendar and is attended by key decision makers as well as esteemed trade and consumer media. Annually, the Awards covers 17 key markets in the Asian continent via a series of domestic gala ceremonies, hosting up to 600 senior industry figures in each event, to recognise excellence within the Asian property sector, culminating in a Grand Final at the end of the year.

In 2018, the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards celebrates its 13th anniversary, and features 12 domestic gala dinners and associated awards ceremonies in 11 countries: Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Japan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. The Awards series has also been expanded to include categories for Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Australia.        

Domestic winners from these 17 markets will then advance to the final round and compete for regional awards. The regional winners will be announced on the night of the 8th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final to be held in Bangkok on 9 November 2018, which takes place alongside the two-day PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit. 

For more information, please visit AsiaPropertyAwards.com 

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Headquartered in Singapore, PropertyGuru.com.sg was launched in 2007 by two entrepreneurs. They had a vision to simplify the property search process and help renters, buyers, sellers and investors make confident property decisions - faster. Since then, it has grown from being a media company to a high-growth technology company, operating a suite of No.1 property portals and award-winning mobile apps across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. PropertyGuru also operates renowned project marketing technology platform, ePropertyTrack, and a host of industry-leading property offerings such as publications, events and awards - across eleven countries in Asia.     

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