Homebuilder Seacon continues to target civil servants amid the economic slowdown, aiming to achieve 1.69 billion baht in sales this year, growth of 12% yet less than its peak of 2 billion baht.
Managing director Manu Trakulwattanakit said the economy this year is expected to remain sluggish with only two main drivers: tourism and exports.
However, the tourism sector faces challenges, with Chinese visitors cancelling direct flights late last month, while exports are becoming increasingly uncertain given the impact of likely trade tariffs under the US President Donald Trump.
"These factors may impact household income and reduce consumer spending," he said.
"Amid weak purchasing power, civil servants are among the few segments with stable incomes, making them potential buyers of self-built homes."
In addition to having stable incomes with annual salary increases, civil servants often save money to buy land, enabling them to build their own homes -- a behaviour that aligns well with the self-built home market.
Late last year, Seacon launched a campaign offering low mortgage interest rates for units starting at 1.39 million baht, targeting civil servants, who tally around 1.2 million nationwide.
This year, the campaign will continue but shift its focus to the upper-price segment, with unit prices starting from 5 million baht.
"After launching the campaign a few months ago, we found most civil servant buyers preferred pricier units," said Mr Manu.
"This year, we will shift our focus to the upper-priced segment, targeting those in the C6-7 ranks."
For other segments, Seacon plans to introduce home designs with the same size, but at lower prices by cutting out non-essential features to match reduced purchasing power.
The price per square metre drops to 15,000-16,000 baht, down from 18,000 baht for entry-level, 20,000 baht for mid-level and 23,000-30,000 baht for upper-level homes.
The company aims to achieve 1.69 billion baht in sales this year, growth of 10-12% from 1.5 billion last year, the same amount as in 2023.
Of the 2024 sales, 48% came from units priced 8-50 million baht, with a usable area of 351 sq m or more; 35% from units priced 5-7.9 million baht (200-350 sq m); and 17% from units priced 1.39-4.5 million baht (less than 200 sq m).