Thai condo market dominated by Chinese and Russian investors

[sambum]

1 hour ago, CANSIAM said:

Tourism 12% of GDP ? Come on spit it out…..more like 40-50%. 

 

7 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Gosh, 65.78%-56.19%, hmm, that's tiny! I suppose that means Thailand really does only export almost next to nothing by way of Customs Exports goods, no agricultural produce, no cars, no electronics, no gold jewellery, wow, that's amazing. I wonder what they do with all the stuff they make, I suppose they must put them in a landfill somewhere and grow rice over it!

 

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) in Thailand was reported at 65.78 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Thailand - Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on April of 2024.

https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/exports-of-goods-and-services-percent-of-gdp-wb-data.html

 

 

Sarcasm does travel!

[sambum]

1 hour ago, CANSIAM said:

Tourism 12% of GDP ? Come on spit it out…..more like 40-50%. 

Before Covid, the Government were quoting tourism % of GDP in single figures.

Now, according to Google:-

"Meanwhile, the total tourism receipts increased 71.7% from the same quarter of 2022. Thailand's tourism industry, which accounts for around 18% of GDP, began recovering in the second half of 2022, when Bangkok lifted all entry restrictions, and the recovery picked up strongly in the last quarter.Aug 21, 2566 BE"

But, depending on whose statistics you look at, figures range from about 11% to 20%, and if you take the services sector as a whole, according to Statista, as quoted in a previous post:-

"... the share of agriculture in Thailand's gross domestic product was 8.81 percent, industry contributed approximately 35 percent and the services sector contributed about 56.19 percent."

 

[Mike Lister]

6 minutes ago, sambum said:

Before Covid, the Government were quoting tourism % of GDP in single figures.

Now, according to Google:-

"Meanwhile, the total tourism receipts increased 71.7% from the same quarter of 2022. Thailand's tourism industry, which accounts for around 18% of GDP, began recovering in the second half of 2022, when Bangkok lifted all entry restrictions, and the recovery picked up strongly in the last quarter.Aug 21, 2566 BE"

But, depending on whose statistics you look at, figures range from about 11% to 20%, and if you take the services sector as a whole, according to Statista, as quoted in a previous post:-

"... the share of agriculture in Thailand's gross domestic product was 8.81 percent, industry contributed approximately 35 percent and the services sector contributed about 56.19 percent."

 

Ah, yes, but that 18% includes domestic tourism, at around 7% of GDP.

[sambum]

1 minute ago, Mike Lister said:

Ah, yes, but that 18% includes domestic tourism, at around 7% of GDP.

So, your point being?

[NativeBob]

why are them being called "investors"?

as far as understand they just buyers on real-estate market. Investor is the person that makes money by "investing" them into certain projects: real estate, agriculture, IT or [better] into war and regional conflicts.

friend at Phuket runs real-estate shop said almost all clients-turn-customers are from RU, KZ and UA buy condos to live, not to "park money" or "speculate". 

[Mike Lister]

9 minutes ago, sambum said:

 

 

Sarcasm does travel!

Sorry, couldn't resist. 🙂 

 

You understand that the GDP model can be sliced several ways so that when components from one slicing are combined with a different slicing, they will total more than 100%. The three ways are Income, Expenditure and Production, Thai GDP is measured using a combination of the three. Manufacturing is measured using Production, Tourism is measured using Expenditure whilst Consumer Spending is measured using Income (it's the only trustworthy reliable method for this). Exports total 100%, of which Services Exports are indeed around 58% whilst Customs Exports equal 42%, OF THE EXPORT MODEL. But in terms of monetary value, exports EQUAL around 60% (actually it's about 65% currently), of which 12% is international tourism.  

[Mike Lister]

8 minutes ago, sambum said:

So, your point being?

No point, just useful trivia to throw out at cocktail parties to impress people. 🙂

[sambum]

3 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

No point, just useful trivia to throw out at cocktail parties to impress people. 🙂

 

You should get yourself a job at TAT - you'd do rather well! 

[Mike Lister]

Just now, sambum said:

 

You should get yourself a job at TAT - you'd do rather well! 

My contract at BOT wont allow it, conflict of interest.

[sambum]

1 minute ago, Mike Lister said:

My contract at BOT wont allow it, conflict of interest.

 

My understanding/definition of "BOT" is obviously different to yours!

[Irish star]

3 hours ago, Mavideol said:

and yet they came 4th on the buyer's list, one has to wonder where the money came from

Chinese or Junta 

[Gknrd]

Housing market was the number one investment for Chinese for 30 years. Now the market in China has collapsed. Bingo, Thailand has a surge in Chinese buying condos... hahaha.  

Then of course Thailand tourist authority has to get their two cents in with how the tourist market is expected to be back to normal. 

 

"Joke of the day" 

[nobodysfriend]

3 hours ago, Mavideol said:

and yet they came 4th on the buyer's list, one has to wonder where the money came from

 

Corrupt Myanmar military is losing their war , it seems .

Members of the regime who made their money exploiting Myanmar's resources ( or else ... ), want to prepare for a situation that they are not welcome any more in their own country .

They know what they did , and they fear the consequences .

Better to stay in Thailand then , many may think ...

[MrPancake]

Buy 1 unit, get a free Satya Nadella BJ.

[IAMHERE]

3 hours ago, Mavideol said:

and yet they came 4th on the buyer's list, one has to wonder where the money came from

"Myanmar and the United States buyers trailed in the third and fourth positions, respectively."

[retarius]

2 hours ago, Marco51 said:

The problem for many expat apartment owners or interested parties who actually intend to live in one will be that most of at least the chinese owners buy these as investment using them as Air BnB apartments with constant in and out and party and noise and and and. This in Thailand completely unregulated market is already fact in almost all apartment buildings in the low and medium priced section in Chiang Mai and even Thai owners being not so touchy about their peace and quiet are completely unnerved meanwhile. And the question is here : making money in this way in Thailand, then Air BnB transfering it out to a Bank, probably in Hongkong or Cyprus or Malta: no tax, ey? Not like the petty pensions of the unshowered farang, right ? Those Must be taxed 1 way or another.

Yeah why do the Chinese talk so loud? Why do the hawk and spit? Why do they slam doors? Why do they act like locusts at the breakfast buffet? 

I had the misfortune once to rent an apartment in Tokyo for 3 months. The Japanese don't like foreigners and so you have to get permission of the current residents even if you are the owner of the apartment to rent to gaigins (farangs). Anyway I couldn't;t believe my luck when I got a 4th floor apartment (no elevator) for about $1800 a month...at 55 sq meters it was way bigger than anything else I had seen. I think every other apartment was rented to Chinese? Ugh, the dried spit in the stairwells, the slammed doors, the furniture being moved around next door, the yelling from next door. It was <deleted> awful. Never again will I willing live next door to a Chinese.

[Sophon]

1 hour ago, siddv said:

I'm shocked. The two countries most involved with world wide money laundering. Thailand the new Switzerland of  East Asia.

 

Thailand is not part of East Asia.

[john donson]

expats who live and spend here all year will get to pay 25% - 35% when they buy a condo, but not chinese and russian maffia's dirty money if they are not resident... logic... right ?

[aseanfan]

Maybe the headline does not match the content.  The reality is that Thais are buying condos and that all foreigners are a very small percentage based on the seriously dodgy data in this article.  Who in ThaiVisa - sorry, AseanNow ( that reports virtully no Asean news) is writing this misinformation and what country are they influenced by?

[frank83628]

6 hours ago, LALes said:

When I bought my condo 17 years ago, There was not a chinese, russian or indian in sight.  This is the brave new world.  I wouldn't buy anything in Thailand now without first living in the building for 6 months.

sounding  subliminally xenophobic or racist,,you choose 

[Caldera]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

The report disclosed a total of 14,449 units, valued at 73.2 billion baht, were purchased by international buyers, marking a 25% increase from 2022.

 

That doesn't really amount to a lot, considering that it's for an entire country and for the whole year. That increase looks impressive, but there were still Covid restrictions in place in 2022.

 

In reality, foreigners seem to have very little interest in buying property in Thailand, and the vast majority of condo units sold in 2023 went to Thai buyers.

Edited April 5 by Caldera

[DonniePeverley]

Visa free access for Chinese. They're going to be moving here now in the millions.

 

What happens when Russians go back ? 

[Jaggg88]

On 4/5/2024 at 6:08 PM, Sophon said:

 

 

On 4/5/2024 at 6:08 PM, Sophon said:

On 4/5/2024 at 4:15 PM, siddv said:

I'm shocked. The two countries most involved with world wide money laundering. Thailand the new Switzerland of  East Asia.

 

Thailand is not part of East Asia.

Correct it is in Southeast Asia but how does that affect the context of the statement?

[rexpotter]

Investors=Criminals

[rexpotter]

22 hours ago, frank83628 said:

sounding  subliminally xenophobic or racist,,you choose 

Sounds rather intelligent to me,

[csmith]

Benchmark for prices in Chiangmai

 

https://bit.ly/chiangmaihouse

[micmichd]

On 4/5/2024 at 8:49 AM, impulse said:

 

I doubt many of the people hiding their dirty money in Thai real estate are going to be tax residents.

 

What is "dirty money"?

[Will B Good]

If they are buying to rent (in BKK at least) they are in for a shock......there are 1000's on the market going for a similar price to that during covid......B6.5 million condos renting B15K/month and very little capital growth....crazy.

[jaideedave]

On 4/5/2024 at 4:00 PM, newnative said:

      At this point in time everyone knows, or should know, about the big problems that Airbnb and the like cause with some condo projects.  I say 'some' condo projects because it is not a big problem for every project.  Those that seem to have the most problems are: #1.  new or newer projects.  #2.  large projects with 500 units or more.  And #3, the trifecta:  new or newer large projects in popular tourist areas with most of the units in the 30 to 35 sqm range.

     Someone doing illegal daily rentals will love #3.  A new project in a tourist area with a large number of small units will allow this type of investor to easily purchase multiple new units all at one time, to maximize profits and staff economics.  And, the popular tourist area will, hopefully, provide a steady stream of illegal short-term tourist renters.  The small units now being built are cheaper to buy than larger units and work well as illegal hotel rooms.

      Speaking from experience, I owned condos at three different, new at the time, large projects in Pattaya in prime tourist areas.  All three projects had around 1000 units or more, with most of the units in the 30 to 35 sqm range.  All three projects became plagued with illegal short-term rentals.  I no longer own any of the condos.  On the plus side, the projects were popular and I was able to sell all at a profit--I just didn't want to live long-term at any of them.

      When I finally smartened up, the last condo I owned before moving to a house was at an older condo project with less than 100 units, with the smallest unit size at 64 sqm.  Quite a difference--I felt like I was living in a residence rather than a very busy,noisy, unpleasant hotel.  

     At this point, it's really a case of the old saying, buyer beware.   Check very carefully before buying.  What is the project's attitude towards illegal short-term rentals?  What specific measurements are in place to deter owners from doing illegal short-term rentals?  How effective are they and how is the enforcement--good or bad?   Spend time observing at a project you are interested in and talk with residents and staff.

    Although I no longer own there, I still get the newsletter of the last condo project I owned at.  Even though short-term rentals were not a big problem, the project is still being proactive by putting in facial recognition technology.  Each condo is limited to 6 facial scans and to be scanned into the system you need to show either condo ownership or a rental contract of at least 6 months.  This is the sort of thing to be looking for, technology that will make it more difficult to do the illegal rentals, and a project that is not ambivalent about cracking down, due to too many investment owners.

A few months ago I moved into a condo complex in Jomtien.I did a lot of research 1st and visited the place a couple times and spoke to the jurisdic staff. I'm well aware of the Air B&NB issues.This place has posters on every entrance in 3 languages about the place NOT being a hotel.After 3 months I've not notced any folks with suitcases coming and going.

Only issue I have is with whoever lives above me likes to drag the furniture around day and night. Also a lot of long faced Ivans who are the least friendly folks I've ever met in my 73 years. A "good morning" in the lift only produces a look that says "who the f are you" 555   

[Will B Good]

On 4/5/2024 at 5:26 PM, retarius said:

Yeah why do the Chinese talk so loud? Why do the hawk and spit? Why do they slam doors? Why do they act like locusts at the breakfast buffet? 

I had the misfortune once to rent an apartment in Tokyo for 3 months. The Japanese don't like foreigners and so you have to get permission of the current residents even if you are the owner of the apartment to rent to gaigins (farangs). Anyway I couldn't;t believe my luck when I got a 4th floor apartment (no elevator) for about $1800 a month...at 55 sq meters it was way bigger than anything else I had seen. I think every other apartment was rented to Chinese? Ugh, the dried spit in the stairwells, the slammed doors, the furniture being moved around next door, the yelling from next door. It was <deleted> awful. Never again will I willing live next door to a Chinese.

I had one Chinese resident in our condo.....mid 30's, well dressed, smart business type.....I got him banned from the swimming pool as he thought it was okay to spit in it.......he was not even swimming, he was stood up at the side of the pool...????