The winners of the 2007 Thailand Property Awards were announced on Saturday, December 1 at a lavish Gala Dinner held at the Royal Orchid Sheraton in Bangkok. Over 350 of Thailand's real estate elite were in attendance to celebrate the 13 award winners on the night.

Now in their second year, the annual Thailand Property Awards have grown from 80 entries in 2006 to 112 entries in 2007.

Thailand Property Awards, introduced 2006 with the aim to create awareness and showcase the best of Thailand's real estate and promote the quality of Thailand’s real estate, construction, architectural and interior design as well as industry professional services, has in a short span of time, achieved a commendable reputation, attracting the cream of the country's property industry to the awards night function.

“The 2007 awards saw a very high level of competition and the winners truly deserve this recognition. There was a good spread of winners from around Thailand, with strong showings from both Phuket and Samui, as well as Bangkok,” said Duncan Worthington, Managing Director of organisers Ensign Media Co. Ltd.

This year, a number of a award categories were sponsored by major organisations, again reflecting the high standard and the popularity of the awards. Among the list of sponsors for various award categories are : the British Chamber of Commerce, McEvily & Collins, Vivaldi PR, Lighthouse Club Bangkok and Gaggenau

The most popular award categories by number of entries this year were Gaggenau Best Architect, Best Agent Website and Best Resort Condo Development – incidentally, both won by contestants from Phuket. Organisers add that in a number of award categories the results were very close.

The 2007 Thailand Property Awards introduced an innovative process of entry and judging. The organisers took a three phase approach:

Phase I – The real estate industry were invited to nominate companies in the 12 categories. Nominees could not nominate themselves, nor nominate in a category where there may be a conflict of interest. This phase closed on 31st August with over 260 nominations received.

Phase II – All nominees were then contacted by the organisers and invited to enter. The entry procedure was done online with each entrant having secure password-protected access to ensure privacy. There was no entry fee. This phase closed on 31st October with 112 entries received.

Phase III – A team of 22 judges selected from different disciplines in the industry, were given secure password-protected access to their private judging areas online. Different Judges were selected to judge on different awards to ensure no bias and conflict of interest, and Judges were selected from around Thailand (Bangkok, Phuket, Samui, Pattaya and Hua Hin) to ensure fair representation of different market segments. This phase closed on 18th November.

To ensure the process of nomination, entry and judging was transparent and fair, an Ethics Committee was appointed. The Ethic's Committee were tasked with ensuring the end results were reached in a transparent and fair manner, and comprised Michael Belmont Murray, Attorney at Law (USA), the law offices of McEvily & Collins; Paul Ashburn, Senior Partner Tax & Legal Services, BDO Richfield Advisory Limited; Dr. Sopon Pornchokchai, Ph.D. MRICS President, Thai Appraisal Foundation.

A charity auction was held during the Gala Dinner with all the proceeds going towards building a school for orphans at the Mercy Centre (www.mercycentre.org). The auction raised 764,000THB with Raimon Land offering to donate the balance needed to reach the 1.5 million THB target.

Mr. David Simister, Chairman of CB Richard Ellis Thailand commented after receiving the Best International Agent award on behalf of the company: “The CB Richard Ellis team is delighted to have been recognised by the industry to receive this award. Despite some uncertainties, the market in Thailand has remained buoyant in 2007 so much so that CB Richard Ellis has opened two new offices in Koh Samui and Pattaya in response to market demand.”

For Royal Phuket Marina, winners of the ‘Best Condo Development’ award, the latest recognition has come hot on the heels of the ‘Best Interior Design’ award that Royal Phuket Marina won at the CNBC International Property Awards held in London in September for the designs of their Aquaminium condos and Royal Villas.

“This is added confirmation of the fantastic job we have done in developing the condos at the marina,” said Gulu Lalvani, owner and developer of Royal Phuket Marina. “All the condos sold quickly and we are receiving the same enthusiastic response to the Aquaminium condos currently under construction,” he added.

“Thailand's real estate industry has faced a number of challenges this year with growth being slower than previously expected,” said Mr. Worthington. “However, the success of the 2007 Thailand Property Awards and acknowledgement of the winners by their peers here tonight is a good indicator of the underlying quality and dynamism of the industry throughout the country.

“Last year 210 attended the Gala Dinner and this year 350 plus were in attendance – we are pleased to see so many in the industry taking part in the awards. We are looking forward to next year and already have some new ideas. We're considering adding more categories and possibly having province-specific awards,” revealed Mr. Worthington.

The winners:

McEvily & Collins Best Developer, won by Raimon Land PLC. (Bangkok)

Best Boutique Developer, won by Dhevatara Properties Co. Ltd. (Samui)

British Chamber of Commerce Thailand Best International Agent, won by CB Richard Ellis (Thailand) Co. Ltd. (Bangkok)

Best Thailand Agent, won by Samui Villas & Homes Co. Ltd. (Samui)

Best Resort Villa Development, won by The Yamu. (Phuket)

Vivaldi PR Best Urban Condo Development, won by The Legend. (Bangkok)

Best Resort Condo Development, won by Royal Phuket Marina. (Phuket)

Lighthouse Club Green Development Award, won by: West Sands. (Phuket)

Gaggenau Best Architect, won by Woods Bagot (Thailand) Ltd. (Bangkok)

Best Interior Designer, won by S.O.D.A. Sachdev ODell (Thailand) Co. Ltd. (Bangkok)

Best Agent Website, won by www.siamrealestate.com. (Phuket)

Best Development Website, won by: www.theriverbangkok.com. (Bangkok)

Real Estate Personality of the Year is awarded each year by the publishers of Property Report Thailand magazine, and this year was awarded to Robert Collins, Managing Director of Savills.

For more information, visit www.thailandpropertyawards.com.