Top ten nations for condo ownership in Thailand revealed - Chinese make up over half, Brits in fourth

[webfact]

REUTERS FILE PHOTO for reference only

 

Thailand business media decided to take a look at where foreigners are likely to come from for the much awaited plan to entice well heeled professionals from four groups to buy property in the kingdom. 

 

The plan is to get up to a million foreigners in spending a trillion baht. They will be able to work, pay less tax and not need a permit, so long as they invest in bonds or property and have qualifications and work for substantial enterprises. 

 

They'll get a ten year visa thrown in. Those plans are in the discussion phase.

 

With this in mind the media published a list of the top ten nations for condo ownership over the last three years. 

 

Far out in front at the top of the list was the Chinese who represent 51.8 percent of all foreign condo owners with 729,972 properties. 

 

In second were Russians with 76,624 (5.4%), French with 57,541 (4.1%) UK (though they used the flag of England) with 56,337 (4%).

 

The USA rounded out the top five with 41,767 condominiums. 

 

The rest of the top ten with ownership in the 30,000 range were Germany, Japan, India, Taiwan and Australia. All these nations held between 2 and 3% of foreign owned condos. 

 

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[Excel]

Strange no reference to anything to support those claims or numbers, but then TIT so any numbers should be treated with a high level of caution and doubt.

[WineOh]

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

They'll get a ten year visa thrown in. Those plans are in the discussion phase.

and they probably won't ever get passed the discussion phase...

 

Maybe they will reach the 'let's have a good laugh about this' phase around the lawmakers table, but that is only a maybe! 

[RotBenz8888]

10 minutes ago, webfact said:

The plan is to get up to a million foreigners in spending a trillion baht.

Hell, why not make it a zillion? 

[John Drake]

So there you go, guys. Buy a condo and the odds are almost a certainty you will have Chinese neighbors. Some people are going to have problems dealing with that.

[Ron jeremy]

That’s why they are looking at the Chinese market, by far the biggest players! Fasted growing middle class in the world. Looking to get their money out of China.

 

[holy cow cm]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Far out in front at the top of the list was the Chinese who represent 51.8 percent of all foreign comndo owners with 729,972 properties. 

That is so overkill being at 9.5 times higher than any other country.

 

Potential buyers should need to be aware that if they do buy during a quiet time and all is wonderful, that once tourism opens back up they might just find themselves overwhelmed by busloads of people from one country being brought in using the joined bought units like a hotel. I have nothing against a single buyer renting out their unit for say like Airbnb or something similar, but the line should be drawn at tour groups being bussed in.

 

Besides seeing it in CM just while passing or the so many time when people from the USA would visit me and rent online units, once upon a time years ago my daughter was reception at a condo building near a popular mall. She can speak and write the language and even she would come back with stories of the noise and OMG. Officials just took a blind eye and deaf ear on it. So if their plan does work, it will probably fall back into investment groups being the major investors and not probably not single people on their own. 

 

Chinese 729,972 (51.8%)

Russians with 76,624 (5.4%)

French with 57,541 (4.1%)

UK 56,337 (4%).

USA 41,767 

Germany, Japan, India, Taiwan and Australia. Aprox 30,000 each

[bkk_bwana]

I'd be interested to know where this data comes from. The hundreds of land department offices around the county? Is this based on purchase of a new unit or transfer, or both? What if a foreigner sells to another foreigner is that counted too?

In 2020, there were approx 633k condo units in Bangkok TOTAL (data from Knight Frank). In Pattaya, over the last 10 years, an average of 7-8,000 condo sales a year of which 30% were foreigners (Knight Frank, again).

 

I think the numbers that they are talking are BS. WAAAY over estimated. They might be talking square metres.

[peterdarby]

1 hour ago, The Cipher said:

Interesting. You'd think it'd be easier to find good Chinese food in the city then, but I guess not. ????‍♂️

They don't actually live in the condos, just bought them for investment and as a potential escape if things go pear shaped back home.

[Rampant Rabbit]

33 minutes ago, Ron jeremy said:

That’s why they are looking at the Chinese market, by far the biggest players! Fasted growing middle class in the world. Looking to get their money out of China.

 

I can concur, Wife  just rented out a  House for 400k baht  a month to Chinese  family, they also want a second  house for a friend at a similar  price and want to buy at up to 170  million baht.

[VocalNeal]

1 hour ago, John Drake said:

So there you go, guys. Buy a condo and the odds are almost a certainty you will have Chinese neighbors. Some people are going to have problems dealing with that.

 

Doesn't mean the Chinese live there?

[John Drake]

7 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Doesn't mean the Chinese live there?

 

Probably right. Back before the plague hit, people on this forum were always complaining about airbnb and Chinese de facto hotels being run in many condos. 

[MRToMRT]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The plan is to get up to a million foreigners in spending a trillion baht. They will be able to work, pay less tax and not need a permit, so long as they invest in bonds or property and have qualifications and work for substantial enterprises. 

Well thats a completely new spin on the rumours we have heard thus far.

[mtls2005]

Probably more of a case of cash seeking a safe(r) haven.

 

I though it was hard for Chinese citizens to move cash outside of the country.

 

 

But a lot of properties in the U.S. get snapped up by Chinese citizens, as do EB-5 visas.

 

Also a great way for anyone to launder money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[EricTh]

Russians and French overtook the British and Americans? That's surprising.

[Sir Dude]

The property deal here in Thailand just sucks and this does little to change it really. Personally, I wouldn't go near a condo purchase unless spending/frittering cash is no object plus the neighbours are likely to turn out to be hellish. As for any other land/house purchase on this front, if I can't actually own something and decide its fate once I'm gone, then what's the point?

 

I understand guys being married and buying a home for himself and his wife in her name, like a 3 bedroom bungalow etc., as that sorts out lots of potential issues... but anything else just seems a little reckless to me as the goal posts are constantly moving and who knows what direction this "government" will go in next or where it's headed. Thailand has been sold out to China and is rapidly heading, like the other countries around here, towards being little more than a southern province of the overlords in Beijing. The law is pretty flakey here too and all this sort of stuff is subject to sudden 180s at short notice... no way.

 

The authorites here are constantly thrashing around with hair-brained unrealist ideas that get dreamt up and then quietly cancelled because they are not in touch with reality. Thailand needs to nurture confidence and positive sentiment about living/investing here and you do that by not screwing people over and giving them fair treatment, rather like Thais recieve in the US, EU or UK for instance, if they are legal.

 

As an aside, for any Thai officials reading this, confidence/sentiment is grown through things like strengthening the law and make all those in the country equal before it... not just whimsically applying it selectively to suit individuals or groups when some nationalistic fat controller feels like it or gets ordered to do so by nefarious dark forces.

 

Invest in Thailand? You've got to be joking until a truck load of stuff changes. The right to property is one of the fundamental rights that underpins any society and without it, plus the protection of, there is little point in doing anything positive. What's the point of playing the game if there's nothing in it for you?

[Fex Bluse]

No surprise. China and Russia 

 

Capital controls evasion 

Money laundering 

Other crime

 

It was always obvious. Thailand does not care where the money comes from. 

[Rampant Rabbit]

32 minutes ago, Sir Dude said:

who knows what direction this "government" will go in next or where it's headed

Alhough probably  not as  likely to change rules as the Thais I remember being told to buy a diesel car back in the UK  15-20  years  ago by the then  govt, now of course they want to tax them to  hell n  back and get rid of them. Decide if my 16 year old diesel mobile I bought new is  more enviro friendly than me trashing it with just 50k  miles on it and the carbon footprint of a manufacturer constructioing  a  new one is  better, the world has gone mad.

[bradiston]

2 hours ago, peterdarby said:

They don't actually live in the condos, just bought them for investment and as a potential escape if things go pear shaped back home.

Same story in the UK, and probably elsewhere in the world. Chinese and other overseas buyers buying whole floors in new developments in London's property market. Then let out. Wait for price rises and offload. It happens everywhere.

[connda]

"Pffftttt." 
"Hey, don't Bogart that man, pass it over to me.  Pfffttt."
"Ya, so like I was saying, we'll get a million rich farang, Jin, and Kerk - only the filthy rich ones you see - and they'll fall over themselves to buy over-priced condos and dump their excess money in low-yield Thai bonds for the privilege of being issued a ten-year visa.  Pffttt"
"Phewwwww.  Yeah great plan.  How much should we make them invest."
"How about 1 million USD?"
"Yeahhhhhhh.  We'll be rich rich rich. I bet we can make trillions!!! Pffftttt"

^{A pipe dream perhaps?}  ????

 

[RichardColeman]

Personally I think the Thai condo market might be in for  shock as the average Chinese people - who are not that stupid with money  - decide they don't want a condo in a country that can stop them coming to stay in it for several years !

[inThailand]

Add another porky to this week's LOS news? 

[Fex Bluse]

6 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Personally I think the Thai condo market might be in for  shock as the average Chinese people - who are not that stupid with money  - decide they don't want a condo in a country that can stop them coming to stay in it for several years !

 

I would say the same, but the Chinese in particular are heavy-handed. If the Chinese government sees Thailand exploiting Chinese buyers who are not illegally filtering money outside China or running away from crimes they've committed in China, the CCP will protect its people. Thailand knows this and will be a little more careful with Chinese buyers than Farangs as we get almost no support from our governments. For everything I dislike about China, they do protect their own...

[Katipo]

Looks like the Chinese invasion of Thaiwan is underway.

[Destiny1990]

This plan : Condo 30 sqm only 10 M bht + free visa.? ????

[bloodyholly]

All hail the Chinese condo owners????????????????????????????????????

[CALSinCM]

3 hours ago, Ron jeremy said:

That’s why they are looking at the Chinese market, by far the biggest players! Fasted growing middle class in the world.

Got a point there.  For all the China bashing that Westerners love to engage in, it's pretty much a fact that China's middle class is growing as the Western middle classes are dissolving into poverty.  There might actually be something to Chi-Com Capitalism.  They seem interested in building their middle class as opposed to tearing it down as is happening in the West.  And here come those Chinese upper-middle class with cash in hand to buy condos.   If I had kids they'd be learning Mandarin. Follow the money.

[sanuk711]

1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:

It was always obvious. Thailand does not care where the money comes from. 

Like all the other countries really do care  Fex??

 

Chinese--They are the biggest real estate buyers "World wide" not just Thailand. In fact more funds would have gone into Oz, America, EU  etc then into Thailand-- Last time I was there between the Arabs & the Chinese they had nearly brought out London.

 

The Buffer the Thai's have is that they can only buy Condo's here not like in Oz etc where they buy up the farms etc as well.

[Henryford]

1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:

No surprise. China and Russia 

 

Capital controls evasion 

Money laundering 

Other crime

 

It was always obvious. Thailand does not care where the money comes from. 

Can't really blame the Thais. I am sure the multi million Pound properties sold in London are mostly from black money. The UK doesn't care either.

[bkk_bwana]

1 hour ago, Sir Dude said:

Thailand has been sold out to China and is rapidly heading, like the other countries around here, towards being little more than a southern province of the overlords in Beijing.

 

Interesting point. Do you have any examples of where Thailand has been sold out to China?