‘Bangkok’s Hamptons’: why Thailand’s elite are buying beach properties in Hua Hin

[webfact]

Thailand’s resort town of Hua Hin has increased in popularity as more wealthy Bangkok residents opt out of city life, with a property boom driven largely by Thais. Photo: Handout

 

● Property prices have soared in the town, about three hours south of Bangkok, which offers sandy beaches and good restaurants without Pattaya’s sleaze

 

● As with the New York getaway, many Bangkok residents want to escape the traffic and pollution, with the coronavirus pandemic nudging them to make a move

 

Vijitra Duangdee

 

Worn out by coronavirus restrictions, pollution and traffic gridlock, wealthy Bangkok residents are buying up bolt-holes in the southern beach retreat of Hua Hin as the pandemic sparks a lifestyle pivot away from the big city. 

 

Famed for its long white sandy beach and rolling green hills, and without the sleazy reputation of the eastern resort of Pattaya, Hua Hin has been a cool-air retreat for Thailand’s royals since the early 20th century. About three hours’ drive from Bangkok, it has become increasingly popular as an upscale weekend getaway destination.

 

The old town is known for its seafood restaurants on wooden stilts over the sea, and bars mostly owned by Western retirees. But there are signs of change as slick beach clubs spring up further along the beach for the Bangkok party set, while luxury condos and golf courses dot the surrounding hills.

 

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Full story: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3152316/bangkoks-hamptons-why-thailands-elite-are-buying-beach

 

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[Destiny1990]

Also Hua Hin doesn’t have a proper beach-road so they cannot renovate and or remodeling it yearly as is the situation in Pats.

[GeorgeCross]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Property prices have soared in the town, about three hours south of Bangkok, which offers sandy beaches and good restaurants without Pattaya’s sleaze

so you are saying that if you take an average beach city with average beach and get rid of the sleaze.. the rich will flock there?! hmmmm..

 

maybe they not so crazy after all ????

 

[henry213]

Some how i don't believe a word of it, Why now? covid? think not, I rekcon they say this sh_t hoping foreigners will rush there to buy buy buy! I'd call it  B S...............

[Zack61]

After 2 years of covid no one else has any money to buy property. The gap gets wider.

 

Have$------------------------------------------------------------------Have Nots

[4MyEgo]

3 minutes ago, henry213 said:

Some how i don't believe a word of it, Why now? covid? think not, I rekcon they say this sh_t hoping foreigners will rush there to buy buy buy! I'd call it  B S...............

Yep, Know Hua Hin well and property prices are not on the rise IMO.

 

As soon as I started reading it, sounded like an add as if it was on the move, I would know, as I have my nose in the air waiting to catch that smell.

[baansgr]

They have copied and pasted most of this and all the properties I see are 30% down

[Greg O]

They're talking about beach front properties of which availability is slim to nearly none and the prices of these few properties are horrendously expensive and definitely on the rise. 

[Ian C HH]

Nate as of “ pooh pooing” from far away I would suggest posters leave their various paradises and come take a look now rather than rely on ads by estate agents s. 
I live here and I’m amazed at the amount of new construction amd renovations underway at the moment. Started only on the last four to 6 months mostly “ up

on the hills” ( around Banyan) but also plenty of others out at Hin Lek Fai, someone knows something about increased demand. 
when Bangkok went into lockdown Hua Hin offered a weekend getaway, the flocked down every weekend - easily noticeable because during Covid the weekdays were traffic free indeed. So they tried it, liked it, and started buying land and building EVEN during this record high price steel and concrete period!  It’s a great place to stay, I also know that Pattaya has the same kind of opportunities in places , but rightly or wrongly it’s reputation isn’t the best and may be putting the aristocrats off? I just hope Hua Hin doesn’t get changed into something more commercial. 

[tonray]

6 minutes ago, Ian C HH said:

Nate as of “ pooh pooing” from far away I would suggest posters leave their various paradises and come take a look now rather than rely on ads by estate agents s. 
I live here and I’m amazed at the amount of new construction amd renovations underway at the moment. Started only on the last four to 6 months mostly “ up

on the hills” ( around Banyan) but also plenty of others out at Hin Lek Fai, someone knows something about increased demand. 
when Bangkok went into lockdown Hua Hin offered a weekend getaway, the flocked down every weekend - easily noticeable because during Covid the weekdays were traffic free indeed. So they tried it, liked it, and started buying land and building EVEN during this record high price steel and concrete period!  It’s a great place to stay, I also know that Pattaya has the same kind of opportunities in places , but rightly or wrongly it’s reputation isn’t the best and may be putting the aristocrats off? I just hope Hua Hin doesn’t get changed into something more commercial. 

I agree....GF and I enjoy a getaway to Hua Hin when we can.,...and all during the pandemic, the nicer resort/hotels were packed to the gills with Thais every time we visited. Makes sense those that can would buy a place there...i would consider it too but not if prices soar out of control. My real plan is to convince the GF to try  and relocate her job, sell the house in Nonthaburi and buy a slightly larger place around Hua Hin. But failing that...maybe a small condo as a second residence for getaways would be OK.

 

[Phuketshrew]

Hampton Wick's buying up property in Hua Hin .....  

[LarrySR]

No doubt, the Summer Palace of the Royal Family located here attracts the Hi-So demographic.

(Google Images has photos of the lace. Very nice.)

[ezzra]

Yeah right, and Pat Pong is like Las Vegas, i have been to the Hamptons and to HH, nothing to compare, but horses for courses and the in the eye of the beholder...

[bkk6060]

Hamptons?  Obviously, they have never been there.

I have found HH to be a total bore of a place with horrible traffic on the weekends. And the beach is big yes, but full of plastic and garbage and horse <deleted> surrounded by all those small flies.  A very uninteresting place but if fits their idea of a weekend getaway,  good for them and good luck.

[Catoni]

Foolish rich people.  Beach front property prices climbing?  Rich people buying for resorts and to build and live in expensive luxury homes with beach property?  
     Don’t they realize that pretty soon their beach front properties are all going to be underwater from catastrophic sea level rise from Global Warming?  Those beaches are all going to be gone soon, and they will have sea water and waves in their bedrooms.  
  Mush smarter and safer to build nice homes in the mountains north of Chiang Mai. 

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Worn out by coronavirus restrictions, pollution and traffic gridlock, wealthy Bangkok residents are buying up bolt-holes in the southern beach retreat of Hua Hin as the pandemic sparks a lifestyle pivot away from the big city. 

Weekend holiday properties, wealthy Thais are investing just before the opening up and price hike.

Normal behaviour of the wealthy, buy at the bottom of a low and reap the rewards later.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, henry213 said:

Some how i don't believe a word of it, Why now? covid? think not, I rekcon they say this sh_t hoping foreigners will rush there to buy buy buy! I'd call it  B S...............

Good time for the wealthy to make investments in property, prices in Bangkok are high, they're not interested in Pattaya, so go to Hua Hin with a fist-full of money and make a cash offer.

3 hours by road or maybe even a quick flight, nice holiday retreat.

 

[newnative]

1 hour ago, Greg O said:

They're talking about beach front properties of which availability is slim to nearly none and the prices of these few properties are horrendously expensive and definitely on the rise. 

Rule #1.  Always buy seaview in a beach town.

[tonray]

42 minutes ago, Catoni said:

Mush smarter and safer to build nice homes in the mountains north of Chiang Mai. 

How would they get the oxygen in during burning season ?

[newnative]

1 hour ago, Ian C HH said:

Nate as of “ pooh pooing” from far away I would suggest posters leave their various paradises and come take a look now rather than rely on ads by estate agents s. 
I live here and I’m amazed at the amount of new construction amd renovations underway at the moment. Started only on the last four to 6 months mostly “ up

on the hills” ( around Banyan) but also plenty of others out at Hin Lek Fai, someone knows something about increased demand. 
when Bangkok went into lockdown Hua Hin offered a weekend getaway, the flocked down every weekend - easily noticeable because during Covid the weekdays were traffic free indeed. So they tried it, liked it, and started buying land and building EVEN during this record high price steel and concrete period!  It’s a great place to stay, I also know that Pattaya has the same kind of opportunities in places , but rightly or wrongly it’s reputation isn’t the best and may be putting the aristocrats off? I just hope Hua Hin doesn’t get changed into something more commercial. 

   Pattaya is also getting lots of Bangkok people on weekends.  The north Pattaya Beach area is busy with those staying at the nice hotels there, with Terminal 21 steps away.   Jomtien and Wong Amat are also busy with Bangkokians who own getaway condos in those areas--in projects like Lumpini Park Beach and Baan Plai Haad.  

[Keesters]

1 hour ago, Phuketshrew said:

Hampton Wick's buying up property in Hua Hin .....  

I had property in Hampton Wick some time ago but will never be buying in Hua Hin. 

[Caldera]

Strange, all the wealthy Thais I know have had "bolt-holes" in Hua Hin for decades, yet they make it sound like this is news or Covid related. Replace "Covid" by "flooding" and this article could have been written in 2011 - there have always been reasons why getting out of Bangkok for a while looked like a good idea.

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, henry213 said:

Some how i don't believe a word of it, Why now? covid? think not, I rekcon they say this sh_t hoping foreigners will rush there to buy buy buy! I'd call it  B S...............

There has been a big push for the properties in HuaHin by the real estate sales folks.  I get weekly FazWaz,  , and a few more e-mailing me that the market is hot and I better buy soon before the properties are all gone.  I actually looked at some properties that were for sale a few months back and they were in pisspoor shape and the money requested was ridiculously over priced.  Real Estate in Thailand needs to have a real estate board and licensed appraisers so that properties are valued correctly and not for what one wishes they can get for their property.  Over priced homes also sit on the market for a very long time here and are also vacant which causes other issues.

[Webfoot]

I have been to Hua Hin several times before covid and it is not exactly the quaint small beach town the article suggests.  There is plenty of traffic on the main road going through town but the stoplights work making it easier to cross the street.  There is some naughty nightlife in a couple small areas but not on an endless barrage of nightspots like Pattaya.  Or so I have heard.

[mrjohn]

Hua Hin owes its very existence to the fact that Bangkoknies have always bought properties there.

 

So, the story is a bit like:

"Londoners Buy Flats In Brighton. Shock."

[Dart12]

you mean the the reason why they have pushed the false plague worked?  

Who could have seen this coming...

[Charlie Halliday]

Hua Hin is not about its beaches which are very average. But having lived here for 10 years, I can say its safe, got all the amenities such as good intl school, intl hospital, great shopping, fantastic golf courses and great variety of restaurants. Add that all together and its hard to find a better place to live well in Thailand. And the Thai people in Hua Hin are some of the best people about. Really friendly and helpful. Don't knock it til you've tried it. 

 

[Pravda]

I don't mind Hua Hin, but I find it sleazier than Pattaya with cr@p restaurants and sub par malls. A few months before covid I stayed at Hilton Hua Hin and it was the filthiest beach I've ever seen in Thailand or anywhere.

 

 

[jvs]

I used to live in Hua-hin,nice place but getting too crowded.Hard to park a car any where.

moved to just outside Cha-am,cheaper everything,closer to Bangkok and close enough to HH

if i want or need to go there.

The new Phetchaburi imm office is being build very close to where i live.

Yes Cha-am does not sound as upscale as HH but i like it here a lot better.

[rickthompson]

Have to call BS on this article. I've lived in Hua Hin for the past 5+ years. While it's a nice, less hectic place to live, it certainly isn't where you would go if you really want the beautiful beaches Thailand is known for. Beach here is average at best and is in need of frequent cleanup. As far as real estate booming, another BS call. Everywhere you look here house prices are being lowered.  I have had a house for sale for 2 years and still not many buyers despite dropping the price to what are now the lower competitive levels.  Real estate for the average home seller here is not booming.