Tighter Bank of Thailand monetary policy in 2005 and softer domestic activity growth have dampened house prices of late, but interest-rate cuts this year ought to lead to some improvement, especially as Thailand does not have the after-effects of a bubble to weigh on the residential property market.
Although housing markets have had common global drivers in recent years, this does not mean that the US housing slump will be repeated elsewhere. There are global problems enough to worry about, as US consumption slows and credit markets exhibit volatility. Adding a global housing slump to the list of world economic problems seems unnecessary.
