How long does it take to find a buyer and sell a condominium (in normal times, not now)

[OneMoreFarang]

I am thinking about buying a condominium in the middle of Bangkok. And probably I will live there for the next 10 years or even longer.

But let's say in 10 years I want to sell it and use the money to buy another condominium somewhere on the beach.

How long does it normally (maybe in average) take to find a buyer and sell a condominium? Let's assume for this thread we talk about a good location and a condominium in good condition.

 

Does it take maybe 3 to 6 months to sell it? Or possibly a lot longer?

I guess it's always possible to sell something fast if the price is very low. That is not what I am asking for. I think about a reasonable sell price according to the market condition at that time.

[FritsSikkink]

How long is a piece of string.

[worgeordie]

How long is a piece of string...looking 10 years into the future

the way things are at this time, is virtually impossible, BUT if

your Condo is in a good location, the most important thing in

buying or selling any property, really you should have no

problem in selling it,(maybe they will have sold off most of

the glut of Condominiums by then).  ????  good luck.

 

When the 1997 melt down started,and interest rates started

to drop substantially,I moved from cash into property,and

was lucky to buy a few properties  cheap,that I have done well with,

Cash is no longer King, with interest rates so low, your money is just

melting away as inflation is higher than returns..on deposits

Regards Worgeordie

 

 

[Peterw42]

As you say, it all comes down tp price. Any property will sell immediately, for the right price. Sellers dont often realise, that in the current market, they dont dictate the price, the buyers do.. 

Supply and demand is a dynamic thing, therefore time taken to sell is a dynamic thing. 

If the seller thinks its a reasonable price and nobody is buying, its not a reasonable price, its too high.

Selling is waiting for demand to meet your price, unless you are willing to meet the demand,  it may take 3 days, it may take 3 years

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

Put me in a straitjacket and take me away if I ever think of buying a condo in Bangkok. A city that's 1 metre above sea level?

Not a direct answer to the OP's question, but this may be a guide.

My former landlord in Chiang Mai has three condo units. He bought them about 12 years ago, farang quota, 1 million baht each.

He's had them on the market for three years now, 1.6 million baht each. No takers, even pre-COVID.

[Peterw42]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Put me in a straitjacket and take me away if I ever think of buying a condo in Bangkok. A city that's 1 metre above sea level?

Not a direct answer to the OP's question, but this may be a guide.

My former landlord in Chiang Mai has three condo units. He bought them about 12 years ago, farang quota, 1 million baht each.

He's had them on the market for three years now, 1.6 million baht each. No takers, even pre-COVID.

Thats a simple equation, the condos are not worth 1.6 million baht. 

If something doesn't sell in 3 years, the asking price is too high, It's not an indication of the market, it's an indication of someone asking too much.

[bkk6060]

I suggest you educate yourself before you buy your question cannot truly be answered as it is a totally non transparent market here.  No MLS or easy online access to historical information on properties as in many western countries.

But, your dream of being near water may come true without moving as many experts say Bangkok is sinking and will be underwater in the future.  So, make sure you buy on a high floor.

 

Between climate change and land subsidence, the Thai National Reform Council predicts that the city of Bangkok could be under water in less than 15 years.

 

Good luck.

[Lacessit]

23 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Thats a simple equation, the condos are not worth 1.6 million baht. 

If something doesn't sell in 3 years, the asking price is too high, It's not an indication of the market, it's an indication of someone asking too much.

You may be right. However, as the going price at that condo is between 1.6 million and 2 million, to me it indicates there are a dearth of buyers in Chiang Mai. There are whole gated communities around CM sitting empty of tenants and homeowners.

[richard_smith237]

Wife & I bought a 7MB, 2 Bedroom condo in central Bangkok 10 years ago (not on a sky train route. About 1km from BTS)

After 3 yrs decided to sell or rent out & move to a larger place. 
 

It took 2.5 yrs to secure a tenant. Then within a few months someone purchased for 7MB as an investment. 

 

(thus we effectively lived rent free for 5.5 years). But waiting to sell a place for so long was a pain in the backside. 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Thanks for all your posts.

I know there is not a fixed answer, that's why I added some conditions.

I am sure we have lots of people on TV who sold their condominium (or have a friend who did that or tried that). So we should have some statistical information here.

Obviously nobody knows what will happen in 10 years. But I am pretty sure Covid won't be a problem anymore at that time.

[OneMoreFarang]

59 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Bangkok. A city that's 1 metre above sea level?

Maybe that will be an issue in 50 years. I hope people will live happy at that time but I am sure I won't live that long. So I don't worry about that problem now.

[tinca tinca]

how long is a piece of string ......

your point is very hard to answer......

[cmarshall]

Beats me why any foreigner would ever consider owning property in Bangkok.  It's not at though rents are climbing.  We now have twice the apartment for a lower rent than we paid ten years ago thanks to the depopulation of our very nice building by Covid.  The fact that our permission to continue living in Thailand can be revoked at any time by the government means that I would never make any investment here from which I could be alienated.  The value of apartments here is unlikely to increase much over time since there is no restriction on building.  Add to that the lack of a culture of building maintenance along with the prevalence of thirty-year leaseholds and Bangkok looks like an ideal place to rent.

 

As a retiree with assets in dollars and a cost of living in baht I am acutely aware that one of my biggest assets is the flexibility to relocate as conditions change, which would not be enhanced by owning property.

[Lacessit]

4 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe that will be an issue in 50 years. I hope people will live happy at that time but I am sure I won't live that long. So I don't worry about that problem now.

It will certainly be an issue in 50 years, that's a given. Even the most optimistic projections are saying so.

What is unknown is the possibility of a Black Swan event in the environment, such as the albedo of Greenland decreasing on a negative exponential scale. Or a xenophobic Thai government deciding all farangs are polluting their racial purity, and ordering everyone out, longest tourist stay two weeks.

In April, who would have thought the price of oil would go into negative territory for a brief time?

Of course, there's also nothing to say the Thais won't take a leaf out of the Dutch playbook.

[xylophone]

As others have said, your question is a difficult one to answer, however I do have some experience here in Phuket where I have lived for about 14 years, and have bought and sold a couple of houses and a condo.

 

I also know several people in the real estate business, and also several people who have bought apartments and lost heavily (paid 18 million baht, sold for 11 million baht and so on).

 

My experience here has seen apartments and condos on the market for as long as eight years plus, and although the prices have been dropped, not much has sold, unless the prices have dropped to a previously unimagined level by the owner, and therefore someone can snap up a bargain – – but very few and far between I am afraid.

 

Again, I would throw something into the mix which a couple of friends have experienced, and that is that once one has bought something, and neighbours or new owners move in next to or nearby and are creating problems, then there's not much you can do about it.

[OneMoreFarang]

10 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

Beats me why any foreigner would ever consider owning property in Bangkok.  It's not at though rents are climbing.  We now have twice the apartment for a lower rent than we paid ten years ago thanks to the depopulation of our very nice building by Covid.  The fact that our permission to continue living in Thailand can be revoked at any time by the government means that I would never make any investment here from which I could be alienated.  The value of apartments here is unlikely to increase much over time since there is no restriction on building.  Add to that the lack of a culture of building maintenance along with the prevalence of thirty-year leaseholds and Bangkok looks like an ideal place to rent.

 

As a retiree with assets in dollars and a cost of living in baht I am acutely aware that one of my biggest assets is the flexibility to relocate as conditions change, which would not be enhanced by owning property.

I live and work in Bangkok. And there is a reasonable chance that I will apply for an get residency in the forseable future.

If I would have had the money and bought a condominium 20 years ago then I wouldn't have to pay any rent anymore. And because there is a reasonable chance that I will live another 20 years or even longer that is why I think about it. And the important word here is "think". I haven't made up my mind until now.

[Airalee]

Location, location, location is realtorspeak.  Pay no attention to it.  If you look at the P/E ratios of those areas, you’ll see that they are extremely overpriced.  Look at all the Thonglor and Ploenchit condos that are asking 300+ times monthly rent and 3-400k per sqm.  What makes Thonglor worth double or triple what a Phra Khanong or Onnut condo costs?  It’s 2/3 BTS stops away.  
 

What makes Nana and Asok so special?  The red light areas nearby?  Please.

 

After considering the P/E ratio of a building, then look at the different lines within the building.  There might only be one line in that building worth buying as the rest may or may not have the wonky floor plans I referred to in your other thread.  You can improve/upgrade a condo with the right floor plan.  Trying to improve a bad floor plan is impossible.  No matter what you do, it’s putting lipstick on a pig.

 

So...what makes a floor plan good vs bad?  Bad, to me, are the ones where the living room has no windows.  Too many units have the bedroom and kitchen on the outside of the unit and the living room tucked back in the condo next to the front door.  Good, to me, are corner units where the living room is in the corner and has windows on two walls.  Too many corner units have the bedroom in the corner.  I’d rather sit on my sofa and enjoy the view than have it in the bedroom.  Make sure that the kitchen has a designated spot for the refrigerator so it’s not just sitting against a wall.

 

Understand that just about every condo needs to be upgraded.  Even the new ones.  Do it tastefully and neutrally and with quality materials.  It doesn’t have to be grossly expensive.  I can’t tell you how many remodels I’ve seen that look like they were done by the kind of person who would buy a Vegas mansion decked out in leopard print motif, gold lamé and galaxy black granite.

 

What’s your budget?

[Ventenio]

Maybe a zillion years ago I heard someone say rhetorically, "How long is a piece of string?"  It's quite funny....

 

I need to be smart and come up with something like that.....

 

1.  How heavy is a rock?   

2.  How light is air?

3.  How dark is the moon?

4.  How sharp is the knife?

 

OK OK I'm not very smart!!!!  

[bodga]

2 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

How long is a piece of string.

It depends how much your piece of string costs, you can always  find a  buyer at the right price not the overpriced  rubbish thats often out there. Still  buyers if the discount is  good.

[cmarshall]

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I live and work in Bangkok. And there is a reasonable chance that I will apply for an get residency in the forseable future.

If I would have had the money and bought a condominium 20 years ago then I wouldn't have to pay any rent anymore. And because there is a reasonable chance that I will live another 20 years or even longer that is why I think about it. And the important word here is "think". I haven't made up my mind until now.

 

Investing in real estate can payoff, but there is a high degree of risk.  And when we enter retirement our ability to cope with risks and specifically to recover from losses become severely constrained, because there isn't enough time left.  So, the ideal investments to fund retirement are the least risky, but you have to have a rather larger pot to be able to afford to avoid risk.  If I could derive enough income to meet my cost of living entirely with low-paying US Treasury Bills I would do so in a heartbeat, but I can't, so I accept a somewhat higher level of risk than that.  The key point is that while earlier in our investment career we might have had the goal of maximizing return, once we enter retirement we are usually better advised to reduce risk as much as we can.  That means minimizing the worst case rather than maximizing the expected case.  

 

If you have been working in Bangkok will your retirement assets be in baht or your home currency?  If the latter, then you, like most of us expat retirees, will constantly face exchange rate risk which is likely to dwarf inflation, the usual terror of retirees.  My assets are in USD.  As it happens the USD/THB rate right now is back where it was 10 years ago, so tolerable.  But sometime during the coming decades of my retirement the exchange rate could change decidedly against USD.  I wouldn't want to be stuck trying to sell off property so that I could get out at that time.  Exchange rate risk is the big risk for expat retirees for which the only fix is likely to be relocating, but there are others such as civil war, for example.  I don't have to believe that any of these outcomes is particularly likely to be unwilling to assume the risk for all of them.  As we see from the Covid epidemic around the world misfortunes are likely to come not solo, but in packs.

[wombat]

anything is only worth what someone will pay you for it

[wombat]

2 hours ago, Ventenio said:

 "How long is a piece of string?" 

twice the distance from its middle, at a guess

[OneMoreFarang]

8 minutes ago, wombat said:

twice the distance from its middle, at a guess

It seems there is a reason why you call yourself wombat... 

[RichardColeman]

To me, Covid has shown the fragility of foreigners living in Thailand, and a big warning of not to buy what you cannot afford to lose

[condobrit001]

Is this a serious question? The OP needs a few basic life skills before venturing into  this market.

[richard_smith237]

Just now, condobrit001 said:

Is this a serious question? The OP needs a few basic life skills before venturing into  this market.

 

You mean like perhaps asking people who have experience on a forum designed for those living in that specific area?

 

 

 

I would suspect the person needing basic life skills is not the Op, but the person suggesting that someone asking a perfectly reasonable question needs life skills !!!! 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

36 minutes ago, wombat said:

anything is only worth what someone will pay you for it

 

Genius... pure genius this... never heard it before and the information provided is surely of monumental use for the Op and the specific topic at hand..... Such valuable contribution... 

[TheFishman1]

Never surprise me Some of the questions that are asked I would suggest going to a fortuneteller that has a big crystal ball why don’t you ask an expert and see what they would tell you you know somebody who buys and sells real estate in your area I’m sure they will have a great answer for you and if they would know in 10 years what the interest-rate would be and etc. etc. for these questions are getting unbelievable it’s beer time TIT

[Kinnock]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I live and work in Bangkok. And there is a reasonable chance that I will apply for an get residency in the forseable future.

If I would have had the money and bought a condominium 20 years ago then I wouldn't have to pay any rent anymore. And because there is a reasonable chance that I will live another 20 years or even longer that is why I think about it. And the important word here is "think". I haven't made up my mind until now.

I bought in Bangkok for similar reasons - to save on rent, and also so I had a permanent address.  We're also building a house for future retirement.  Any seller of either property in future is likely to be wife or family - though they would probably rent them out - so selling price was not a factor.

 

The condo I bought had been on the market for months pre-COVID, and other properties I viewed at the time (early this year) are still for sale.  With or without a pandemic, selling property is tough due to over-supply, and it needs to be a bargain to sell.  I recommend a plan that does not rely on selling, if possible.

[iJustWanttoKnow]

I have a great condo in Rimpning Condo (Chiang Mai) 5M baht completely remodeled and all western.  Pool, gym, parking.

 

Another in Baan Krut on the beach 5M baht - 5 years old completely western. Pool, gym, parking.

 

If interested take a look.