Hong Kong unrest sees interest in Thai condo market rise

[webfact]

Hong Kong unrest sees interest in Thai condo market rise

By The Nation

 

 

Several Hong Kong citizens have bought condominiums among Sukhumvit Road, eager to take advantage of its central location and ease of travel for foreigners who aren’t familiar with Bangkok.

 

The most demanded units are priced between Bt5 – Bt10 million and have one or two bedrooms, Wongsakorn Prasitwipat, managing director of Property Perfect, said.

 

Even though the actual number has yet to be assessed, customers appear more interested in buying condominiums than usual and developers should prepare for a potential increase in demand.

 

Hong Kong is not a big market but buyers want to live in the centre of the city, unlike mainland Chinese buyers who willingly buy condominiums in the outskirts of Bangkok to take advantage of cheaper prices. 

 

Piya Prayong, chief executive of Pruksa Real Estate, has said that real estate agents from Hong Kong are tending to contact the larger agencies in Thailand, as demand is likely to increase over the long term due to limited residential spaces.

 

Hong Kongers interested in buying condominiums in the centre of Bangkok via agencies have increased by 20 per cent. They are eyeing units priced between Bt3 million and Bt5 million and Pruksa Real Estate’s The Privacy on Sukhumvit 101 could meet this demand, Piya added. 

 

Wasan Kiangsiri, president of the Housing Business, noted that the ongoing unrest in Hong Kong was not the key factor in the increased interest, as residents were waiting to see what will happen next.

 

Yasushi Yamada of Sotheby's International Realty, disagreed, expressing the view that the crisis in Hong Kong could well result in new investment in other countries, especially those in the ASEAN region.

 

Thitiwat Teerakulthanyaroj of Century 21 (Thailand) noted that some investors and real estate agencies in Hong Kong have already initiated agreements in Thailand, such as Fortune Hand Ventures from Hong Kong which has collaborated with BTS Group Holdings to develop real estate projects valued at Bt5 billion.

 

Moreover, small investors are likely to choose Thailand as a second residence due to the crisis while those who have more buying power choose England, Canada, or Singapore for their geographic familiarity to Hong Kong. 

 

Customers from Hong Kong will buy condominiums in Thailand for investment, ownership, or residence if an unexpected situation arises but the number of those really interested in living in Thailand is still small, he said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30377638

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-10-22

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[legend49]

dreaming !

[yellowboat]

Have a friend who was looking at living Bangkok.  She almost fell for this, but her middle class Thai friends talked her out of it, say Thailand just is not that great anymore.  They are looking at Malaysia, or they will rent in Bangkok for a spell.   

Edited October 23, 2019 by yellowboat

[kevin612]

Thailand depends on foreigners too much, how can the Thais afford the condominiums if prices increase 

[VocalNeal]

How can locals afford condos/houses in Vancouver?

[lonewolf99]

Hong Kong people with money would not come to an over crowded over polluted city that has puppet strings leading back to Beijing ? They already have that where they are now.

 

I saw recently saw on the Japanese news channel NHK that over 2,500 Hong Kong citizens have appled to move to Taiwan in the last couple of months.