Andara and Phuket Scoop Thailand Property Awards

After a long and thorough judging process, the winners of the 2009 Thailand Property Awards were announced at a lavish five-star Gala Dinner at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. Over 450 attended the Gala Dinner and awards presentation to find out who were this year's best-of-the-best.

Now in their fourth year, the Thailand Property Awards recognise not only the winners of each award, but they also assist in promoting the high level of quality of Thailand's real estate, construction, architectural and interior design as well as industry professional services, and through a professionally-run awards system helps put Thailand real estate on the world stage.

“We received more than 1,000 nominations this year – a 300% increase on last year. And then from the entries, the judges had to draw up a short-list for each category, and from that short-list select the winner. The judging process was more rigorous than ever this year, having a central Bangkok panel make the initial short-lists and provincial teams undertake site inspections for the condo and villa categories. The final list of winners was delivered by the central panel to BDO for safe-keeping, with the winners being announced at the Gala Dinner,” commented Duncan Worthington, Managing Director of Ensign Media, organisers of the awards and publishers of Property Report publications.

After a long and arduous process of nomination, entry and judging, the winners of the 2009 Thailand Property Awards are:

• Best Developer – TCC Capital Land.
• Best Boutique Developer – Dhevatara Properties.
• Thaizeit Best International Agent – CB Richard Ellis (Thailand) Co. Ltd.
• Best Thailand Agent – Indigo Real Estate Co. Ltd.
• Prestige Thailand magazine Best Villa Development (Thailand) – Andara Villas by Andara Phuket.
• Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Best Condo Development (Thailand) – The Heights Phuket by Raimon Land PLC.
• British Chamber of Commerce Thailand Best Housing Development (Bangkok) – The Royal Residence by TCC Capital Land Ltd.
• Phuket Post Best Villa Development (Phuket) – Andara Villas by Andara Phuket.
• Best Villa Development (Eastern Seaboard) – The Village at Horseshoe Point by Horseshoe Point Co. Ltd.
• Best Villa Development (Samui) – The Mandalay Villas by Ban Mandalay Co. Ltd.
• Best Villa Development (Hua Hin) – Nishaville by KIJ Development.
• The Wall Street Journal Asia Best Condo Development (Bangkok) – The Address Chidlom by Asian Property Development Public Company Limited.
• Limcharoen Hughes & Glanville Best Condo Development (Phuket) – Andara Residences by Andara Phuket.
• Best Condo Development (Eastern Seaboard) – The Sanctuary Wong Amat by Daika Estate Co. Ltd.
• Best Condo Development (Samui) – Infinity Samui by Vertuz Development Co. Ltd.
• Best Condo Development (Hua Hin) – Baan Ing Phu by Baan Ing Phu Co. Ltd.
• Signity Thailand Green Development Award – Horseshoe Point by Horseshoe Point Co. Ltd.
• Gaggenau Best Architectural Design – Andara Phuket by Andara Phuket.
• Studio Gypser Best Interior Design – The Sukhothai Residences by HKR International Ltd.
• Deluxe Property Vietnam magazine Best Agent Website – www.cbre.co.th.
• I-Marketing Best Development Website – www.sukhothairesidences.com.
• Luxury Properties magazine Best Print Advertisement – W Koh Samui Retreat & Residences.
• Property Report Thailand Real Estate Personality of the Year – Settha Thavisin, President of Sansiri PLC.

“The awards grow in stature every year and we are happy to see many new winners this year and a good number from around the country. While we don't announce second or third place, all entries that made the short-lists and the top three in each category that were announced at the Gala Dinner should be very proud of their achievement as the number and quality of entries this year were exceptional,” added Worthington.

“We have been involved in the awards since the beginning and again this year our role was to oversee the process - to ensure the nomination and entry stages were carried out within the rules and that all entries met the eligibility criteria for the respective awards. We were present in all the central judging panel meetings to ensure all was carried out fairly and transparently. We received the final list of the winners from the judges, verified scores and that winners again met the eligibility criteria and informed the organisers of the chosen winners. Neither ourselves or the organisers allocated any points or influenced any judging and we are confident that the awards were indeed thorough and fair," said Paul Ashburn, Senior Partner of BDO.

This year there were 23 awards – two new additions were Best Villa Development (Thailand) and Best Condo Development (Thailand). These two awards were eligible only to completed developments, distinct from the provincial awards which are eligible to developments under construction. In total, there were 7 winners from Bangkok, 3 from the Eastern Seaboard, 6 from Phuket, 4 from Samui and 2 from Hua Hin.

The Property Report Real Estate Personality of the Year award is decided and presented by Property Report Thailand magazine. There is no nomination and entry procedure for this award and the decision for the winner is made by the Property Report Thailand team. This year, the award was presented to Khun Settha Thavisin, President of Sansiri PLC. Khun Settha has long been a leading light in the Thailand real estate industry, and this year Khun Settha has guided Sansiri's growth with the launch of numerous new condominium and housing developments in these challenging times.

“We'd like to offer our congratulations to all deserved winners. So many people are involved in making the awards a success and in these difficult times we are proud to see so many people take part in the awards and join us at the Gala Dinner to celebrate with the winners and to acknowledge the successes of the industry at large,” concluded Worthington.

Resource : Property Awards media release

November 09, 2009