The Role of the Property Information Centre as a Think Tank to Safeguard the Property Industry and the Public

This paper describes property markets in Thailand before the 1997 crisis to 2007. Recent market movement are summarized as of early 2007 in order to grasp the nature of the boom and bust periods of property and the surviving developers and investors. Several warnings prior to the crisis is reviewed and are hard facts that beneficiaries involved tend to ignore the warnings. Lessons and experiences learnt are also elaborated in order to help avoid crisis in the future. Normally, after a crisis, some major adjustments and some structural changes are needed to pave way for a better guided and more favourable developments in the future. Data is proved to be available but the issue is how to deal with it as an efficient warning system and how to make an information centre as a think tank to safeguard the market and the public at large. One thing that should be done is the Property Information Centre - an intelligent unit as a public research arm. This would be a very powerful government apparatus to help prevent failure in the future. This paper is thus to deal with how to materialize this apparatus and its possible roles on forecasting, monitoring, information providing and training.