Bangkok Has 100,000 Empty Apartments. It Could Soon Have More

[xerostar]

Most condos are way over-priced for the average Thai worker who can only dream of such a place to live.  The builders still seem to build according to the shop-house concept- built according to standard roller door-width. They can not imagine a larger floor area.

The smallest condos are mostly studios (one room) or a glass partition used to make it a "one bedroom condo".  The 2 bedroom condos are often a studio with one more small bedroom (for the kid) attached. The 3 bedroom condos are squeezed into a floor area not big enough for a one bedroom condo. A "balcony" is often just a place for the aircon. compressor. It's all about making money by providing dog-boxes instead of providing places where people would want to live.  I guess that's why they're called Con-Dos. I have not seen a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo designed for two couples to share. They are all designed for one couple plus perhaps a teenager.  Of course if you have the dosh for a well planned space then you are looking at spending nothing less than 50,000 baht a month and upwards. 

Most of you acknowledge that the owners of such places can not imagine (God forbid) "lowering" the rental and getting tenants in.  I guess that was not really the intention in the first place, while there are taxes to be avoided with a nice little "investment".

[johnc925]

i suspect that number is closer to 500K unsold "Bangkok Boxes" 50 sqm or less... just 2 years ago it was reported 350K were unsold/un-rented... development has not stopped at all, in that time.

[SiSePuede419]

Condos < > Apartments.

 

Apartments you can move out any time you want for any reason.

 

Condos you are stuck with until you can find another sucker to buy, often requiring steep discounts to sell quickly, if you need the money back. ????

[Tops]

Thai, economics, calculations, calculators.... ????
 

[RandolphGB]

The city's sinking, in more ways than one.

[SteveK]

I would never, ever in a million years buy property in Thailand, even if it was half the price it is now. Not only do you have to worry about extremely shoddy workmanship, but with immigration tightening the thumbscrews ever further, it could potentially give you a massive headache further down the line. If, as posters on here have predicted, a future political event renders farangs persona non-grata in the most extreme sense, then if you are renting all you have to do is grab your belongings and head for the border. The landlord will figure it out and repossess the property, you lose the deposit, peanuts in the grand scheme of things. Start a new life somewhere else.

 

But if you have a 2-3 million baht condo (or even more) and you are not allowed in one day, get refused your extension of stay because you used the wrong colour ink, or someone with an axe to grind accuses you of a crime and dobs you into the police (thinking jilted ex-lover here report you for assault or something equally bad), then you're in a whole new world of grief. Selling a property in Thailand is a nightmare by any stretch of the imagination at the moment, imagine trying to do it from outside the country. It doesn't bear thinking about to me. You'd either spend a huge amount of time and money trying to deal with it by proxy, and possibly end up being shafted by a dodgy lawyer, or end up having to cut your losses and walk away.

 

Just remember that we are only ever guests in Thailand - for that very reason I refuse to buy anything that I wouldn't want to walk away from if the sh*t hits the fan one day. It reminds me of that PC game Second Life, where people were spending real world money to buy in-game land and buildings, yet they never know one day if they turn their computer on and the developer has stopped supporting the game and shut down the servers. Money gone.

 

You never know what is going to happen in Thailand. But one thing is for sure right now, Anutin felt emboldened enough to make his little rant against <deleted> farangs in front of a camera, so that gives us an insight into the kind of language he and his cronies are using behind closed doors in government offices. It certainly does not look good. The country appears to be becoming more and more nationalistic, xenophobic and undemocratic as the days roll by, which shouldn't be a surprise as they would appear to be cosying up to Mr Jinping. And given the extreme contempt with which ex-pats are treated in China, that should be a major concern for us all.

[Happy Grumpy]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

“We’ll need to rely on local buyers, but that won’t be easy.”

The sellers don't accept 100 year payment plans and 0% down? 

[Kinnock]

Just wait 'till One Bangkok opens, then we'll see what excess condos and office space really looks like.

 

My prediction is that One Bangkok will become a symbol of excess supply over demand.

 

[Vigilante]

1 hour ago, BobbyL said:

I reckon it is far, far higher than that. 

 

We have recently bought a house, but actually inquired about purchasing our rented two - bed condo near Asoke last year. There are two towers there with 917 units in total. Just over 200 of those were still unsold. 

 

I would guess the total number must be well into the hundreds of thousands with the amount they are building and trying to sell at ludicrous prices. I saw the other day the prices in that new Esse complex near Asoke are around 8M for a 38SQM hotel room ????

1997 is coming again

With a 'black swan' event still unfolding (Covid19), Chinese economy at a standstill ..last but not least ,political drama within the country

 

 

 

 

[Isaan sailor]

Hmmm...so Chinese condo buyers missing—-and USD/Baht has made a modest recovery in the last three weeks....

Could we have a correlation?  Did the flood of payments (perhaps in USD) cause the Baht to rise astronomically for the past three years?

[alex8912]

On 2/24/2020 at 3:21 PM, SteveK said:

I would never, ever in a million years buy property in Thailand, even if it was half the price it is now. Not only do you have to worry about extremely shoddy workmanship, but with immigration tightening the thumbscrews ever further, it could potentially give you a massive headache further down the line. If, as posters on here have predicted, a future political event renders farangs persona non-grata in the most extreme sense, then if you are renting all you have to do is grab your belongings and head for the border. The landlord will figure it out and repossess the property, you lose the deposit, peanuts in the grand scheme of things. Start a new life somewhere else.

 

But if you have a 2-3 million baht condo (or even more) and you are not allowed in one day, get refused your extension of stay because you used the wrong colour ink, or someone with an axe to grind accuses you of a crime and dobs you into the police (thinking jilted ex-lover here report you for assault or something equally bad), then you're in a whole new world of grief. Selling a property in Thailand is a nightmare by any stretch of the imagination at the moment, imagine trying to do it from outside the country. It doesn't bear thinking about to me. You'd either spend a huge amount of time and money trying to deal with it by proxy, and possibly end up being shafted by a dodgy lawyer, or end up having to cut your losses and walk away.

 

Just remember that we are only ever guests in Thailand - for that very reason I refuse to buy anything that I wouldn't want to walk away from if the sh*t hits the fan one day. It reminds me of that PC game Second Life, where people were spending real world money to buy in-game land and buildings, yet they never know one day if they turn their computer on and the developer has stopped supporting the game and shut down the servers. Money gone.

 

You never know what is going to happen in Thailand. But one thing is for sure right now, Anutin felt emboldened enough to make his little rant against <deleted> farangs in front of a camera, so that gives us an insight into the kind of language he and his cronies are using behind closed doors in government offices. It certainly does not look good. The country appears to be becoming more and more nationalistic, xenophobic and undemocratic as the days roll by, which shouldn't be a surprise as they would appear to be cosying up to Mr Jinping. And given the extreme contempt with which ex-pats are treated in China, that should be a major concern for us all.

Oh God. ....then when you get to the border the sky could fall in on Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar!! Then your only choice is back to Thailand!! What to do then??

[SteveK]

3 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Oh God. ....then when you get to the border the sky could fall in on Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar!! Then your only choice is back to Thailand!! What to do then??

Mexico, Portugal, Ecuador.  

[phantomfiddler]

The fact that the Immigration Department seems to be doing all it can to drive out the western expats is definitely not going to help, and to deny a tourist entry because "he has been here too many times" is ludicrous ! They come here to spend money, so any logical brain would encourage them to come here as many times as possible. One western tourist spend 5 times more than his Asian counterpart, especially from that big triangular country.

 

[CGW]

38 minutes ago, SteveK said:

I would never, ever in a million years buy property in Thailand, even if it was half the price it is now. Not only do you have to worry about extremely shoddy workmanship, but with immigration tightening the thumbscrews ever further, it could potentially give you a massive headache further down the line. If, as posters on here have predicted, a future political event renders farangs persona non-grata in the most extreme sense, then if you are renting all you have to do is grab your belongings and head for the border. The landlord will figure it out and repossess the property, you lose the deposit, peanuts in the grand scheme of things. Start a new life somewhere else.

Doom & gloom! reality is a little different, "I" have owned properties here for over 20 years, never lost money, never paid any rent, never made a lot on any of them either! No issues whatsoever or any regrets.

"extremely shoddy workmanship" only if you allow it, "my" house is built to "western standards" with minimal AC and filter units air is clean and cool inside year round, importantly to me, it is my home!

My immigration status has not changed one iota in the past fifteen years since I got my first retirement visa, everything is the same, money in the bank and 20 minutes a year to extend, 5 minutes four times a year for 90 day report, not a big deal.

The only p-lace in Thailand where people live in fear of being grated permission to stay is on TVF, do you truly believe they are going to throw everyone out, if they did all industry and tourism would shut down for starters!

 

[Vigilante]

7 minutes ago, SteveK said:

Mexico, Portugal, Ecuador.  

..and your money always in cash.

How many farangs are stuck here bc their money is tied up in properties etc.

Cash is king..everything else has a theoretical value only

It becomes real when it's liquidated.

...that could take weeks (in a 'hot' market) and years, out in the sticks

 

I would only invest in properties back home

You can figure out the reasons I suppose.

 

 

[rawaimike]

2 hours ago, Curmudgeon1 said:

 

Except locations like ocean front... they always hold value above commodity 

I lived in Rawai for almost 15 years and watched the construction of thousands of apartments, condo's, bungalows etc. and still building continues, THEY HAVEN'T SOLD THE ONES THEY BUILT 10 YEARS AGO, Which are now in decay!!!!!!!  

[SteveK]

11 minutes ago, CGW said:

Doom & gloom!

Indeed, I am thinking about a worst case scenario, but given what's going on right now, it doesn't seem that far fetched. And for people who are thinking about moving here for the rest of their lives, it would be foolish to not take a step back and look at the big picture. Thailand is very unstable politically, and would appear to be adopting some policies regarding foreigners from their new best friend.

 

I agree with what you say, had I come here 20 years ago to retire, I would have almost certainly bought my own place. Right now, no way would I ever consider doing so. Things have changed here for foreigners quite dramatically even since my first visit here in 2007.

Edited February 24, 2020 by SteveK

[Mikeasq60]

I'm thinking in the not to distant future retirement restrictions will start to ease up! 

[CGW]

1 minute ago, SteveK said:

Things have changed here for foreigners quite dramatically even since my first visit here in 2007.

Indeed! but from what I see the whole world has changed - not for the better in recent years, globalism, world Police are closing in, freedoms are being eroded, financially I could walk away from here, but where would I go, your requirements change with age!

Thailand has been good to me, I lived tax free throughout my prime earning years, obviously I see things differently than you do through younger eyes, not sure what i would do now, possibly we had more choices before?

[SteveK]

On 2/24/2020 at 4:24 PM, CGW said:

Indeed! but from what I see the whole world has changed - not for the better in recent years, globalism, world Police are closing in, freedoms are being eroded, financially I could walk away from here, but where would I go, your requirements change with age!

Thailand has been good to me, I lived tax free throughout my prime earning years, obviously I see things differently than you do through younger eyes, not sure what i would do now, possibly we had more choices before?

What you say is true. However, if you were retiring in Thailand today as opposed to 20 years ago, would you still be willing to chuck down a huge chunk of your savings to purchase a property with so many potential risks on the horizon? I suspect that someone who is obviously intelligent such as yourself would think long and hard about doing so in the current climate, there are just so many unknowns for ex-pats in Thailand today and in the short/medium-term future.

 

Just because you did well in the last 20 years or so, presumably because you were cautious and careful as shown by your supervision of your property construction, does not mean that someone coming here now and building a house will have the same fortunes, far from it in my opinion.

 

20 years ago you could open a bank account on a visa-exemption. Try doing that now. And you could come in and out as many times as you wanted without getting the third degree or even sent back home. And 20 years ago I doubt very much that you would have seen a very senior government minister on the TV talking about "<deleted> farangs" - things have changed a great deal in what is a relatively short period of time, and these are but a few examples.

[Dan123]

40 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Oh God. ....then when you get to the border the sky could fall in on Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar!! Then your only choice is back to Thailand!! What to do then??

Rent of course,  if any point of that measured (good) advice you disagree with,  then argue the point(s)

[Ketyo]

Actually, the Tourism Ministry has confirmed that he is just waiting for Songkran. After that, the virus is going to die.

 

Maybe he needs to tell the Ministry of Condominiums.

[Peterphuket]

3 hours ago, Gracas said:

I'm just waiting for the 2 for 1 sale.

No, buy 1, get 1 for free.

[Peterphuket]

2 hours ago, sahibji said:

economy does have a role but more important for the domestic buyers is whether the pricing is for the "foreigners" or fairly priced for the local consumers.

It won't take long or for this we also have a 2 prize system.

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

“We’ll need to rely on local buyers, but that won’t be easy.”

Over-priced concrete boxes in a smog city... good luck trying to sell to the home market.

Chinese had too much money to throw around..

Thais will wait for the realistic prices to come!

[bkk6060]

They could turn the entire real estate market around pretty quickly if they allowed foreigners to buy land, houses, and get mortgages. But, no way no how.

 

[bkk6060]

2 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Over-priced concrete boxes in a smog city... good luck trying to sell to the home market.

Chinese had too much money to throw around..

Thais will wait for the realistic prices to come!

And what price is that?

100's of condos in Pattaya also for 1 million b and less.

Sitting and sitting.

Edited February 24, 2020 by bkk6060

[bkk6060]

59 minutes ago, Mikeasq60 said:

I'm thinking in the not to distant future retirement restrictions will start to ease up! 

Actually, I see them getting stricter.

I believe we are seen as old low money burdens who come here for a cheaper life.

Retirees are not whatsoever a priority.

They probably would prefer we all go.

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by bkk6060

[ChasingTheSun]

I did notice back on a visit in August 2019 that there were allot of brand new completed buildings in bangkok that have few, if any, lights on Inside at night.

 

Way overbuilt and way overpriced. ghost towers.

[newnative]

4 hours ago, Curmudgeon1 said:

 

Except locations like ocean front... they always hold value above commodity 

Yes, they do!