Is there a pricing index for residential property in Bangkok ? Do prices rise much - and property sell?

 

I follow a few guys on youtube, and they are always rather down on owning property in Bangkok as an investment. 

 

I plan to buy and live in a condo. I see many advantages over wasting money on rent. 

 

However, i have now been told to buy a property in a much more stable western country, and use the rent from that property to rent a property in Bangkok. Thoughts ?

If you want to live in one place for a long time and you want that that place is exactly like you want it and something like that is not available for rent, then buy it and renovate it the way you want it or build it new.

 

If you buy anything don't expect to rent it out constantly for a good price. And don't expect that you will ever be able to sell it in reasonable time for a reasonable price. It might happen, but don't count on it.

Here you can look up the price over many years.

Don't ask me how accurate that information is, but it is better than nothing.

 

https://www.fazwaz.com/

 

Thai property developers publish a monthly index on prices. I have no idea how the figures are calculated but in 2000 the index for Bangkok condos was 52, last month it was 63. Figures are published in a Thai business paper.

Another handy site is below.

https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Asia/Thailand/Price-History

17 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Is there a pricing index for residential property in Bangkok ? Do prices rise much - and property sell?

 

I follow a few guys on youtube, and they are always rather down on owning property in Bangkok as an investment. 

 

I plan to buy and live in a condo. I see many advantages over wasting money on rent. 

 

However, i have now been told to buy a property in a much more stable western country, and use the rent from that property to rent a property in Bangkok. Thoughts ?

All comes down to budget and long-term plans.

 

If you can afford to spend a million USD to buy a luxury riverside condo, that will probably appreciate and also - crucially - be easy to sell. Loads of wealthy Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Burmese looking to offshore cash in Bangkok property. But they want high-end. Houses can make even more money because of the underlying land value, but of course more challenging for foreigners to own.

 

If your budget is USD 200,000, you'll be able to buy very easily. But it could be hard work to sell. If that (or less) is your budget, then I would advise finding somewhere to rent that would sell for your budget, try living there for a year, and then offer to buy if you really like it.

 

Never forget that there is little to no planning / enforcement here. Last thing you want is to buy your dream condo and then, a year later, have the view blocked by another building erected next door. Beware condo buildings in streets with large family houses. Once the parents die, the kids invariably sell the property because they want the money. That's when a new condo on the location becomes distinctly possible. Lang Suan in the 1990s used to be virtually empty of condos; it was all private houses. Now look at it. 

 

I would generally suggest buying in older buildings: older buildings usually offer much better value in terms of cost / sqm and are often better built. Surrounding area may also have been developed already. However management of older buildings is sometimes pretty poor, and if the common fund has been run down, there's often no money for cosmetic or more major work to common areas.

 

Buying in Europe to rent would probably be an easier way to keep quick(ish) access to the capital investment. Of course buying to rent these days comes with high interest rates for mortgages unless you're all in for cash. And in case of UK, a slew of impending legislation that makes being a landlord much less attractive.

 

 

 

 

17 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Do prices rise much

On this specific point - not a representative sample but 10 years ago I bought a small one-bed condo in a 'good' soi in the Ekamai area. In 10 years I'd say it's 'officially' gone up in value maybe 30-35%; it cost 100,000 / sqm when I bought it. If I sold it now I'd be happy with 20-25%. But I suspect I might have to wait a long time to sell.

The Thai REIC have just announced their building cost index for the first quarter of 2023. The costs are based on a two story detached house with 160 sq. mts. including VAT but excluding all land costs, labour costs and taxes. Overall costs are up 3.5% after being flat for the whole of 2022. Sanitary ware prices increased 13.2%,  wood increased by 13% and tiles are up by 10%. All other rises were less than 10%. Rebar and concrete were up by 7% and 4.3% respectively. Using the base line house, concrete accounts for 4.4% and rebar is 5.8% of total construction costs.

Can't say about Bangkok but here in Pattaya i doubt prices have gone up at all. I bought in 2006 and if i sold now would be lucky to get the same, 17 years later. Prices in the condo next door have gone down !!

Thai REIC have announced the vacant land price index for first quarter of 2023. Inner Bangkok has seen a 13.2% increase from first quarter 2022. Land prices in the Bangkok suburbs have risen by between 25% and 65% due to low base starting prices from the same period. Future development will concentrate on the suburbs due to reduced land costs.

The condo opposite me in Bangkok still has 6 brand new units available from the initial release in 2017 at 2017 prices.

13 hours ago, stratocaster said:

The condo opposite me in Bangkok still has 6 brand new units available from the initial release in 2017 at 2017 prices.

 

Which condo is this ?