4 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

The French woman in Phuket who shot herself and left everything to her maid, only for the government to snatch it (due to the corporate structure) comes to mind. 

Samui. 

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

 

No way is that an oversupply, which will effect the current values of condo's, right, newnative? 

     Spouse and I have moved on to houses but before we did we sold 18 condos of various sizes, in various locations, in Pattaya.  All at a profit, but some profits on the small size.  The one thing they all had in common was a seaview--which I think was key.  Almost all were in foreign quota, which I think was also important.  All were also in good locations, designed and decorated very well, in tip-top shape, and in good condo projects, all of which also helped.  They were also priced correctly and listed with as many agencies as we could possibly find, with a good description and photos.

     People have been talking about the supposed oversupply of Pattaya condos for years.  This supposed oversupply is supposedly going to result in some wonderful condo bargains, with everything practically being given away by desperate sellers.  We did not find that to be the case when we were buying, but we have not been Pattaya condo owners for a few years now. 

    Bargains, at least at the condo projects we were interested in, were few and far between.  That doesn't mean you can't pick up something cheap at a large project offering lots of cookie-cutter shoeboxes without seaviews.  Our bargains were mostly the condos we bought off-plan before they were built, plus some that sold cheaply, as they were shells or needed major renovations.  

     We never worried about finding a buyer because we know how the buying process usually works.  Let's use as an example the last Pattaya condo we bought.  A buyer will usually have, at a bare minimum, at least 3 criteria when starting a condo search:  size, price, and location.   We did, plus some other things we wanted.

     So, Pattaya has supposedly 130,000 condos.  Right off the bat, even before you start, you need to scratch off those that are not on the market for sale.  That eliminates a huge number. 

    Next, condo size.  We were looking for at least a 1 bedroom, and nothing less than 70 sqm. So, that eliminated everything not that size or larger.  Again, lots more eliminated.

    Next price.  We had, and most buyers do, a specific budget in mind.  We had X amount to spend on a condo.  So, again, everything on the market that was way over X was eliminated.  The list of condos for sale in Pattaya for us to look at was whittling down.

    Next, area.  As with most buyers, we had a specific area that we wanted to be in, and specific areas that we knew we didn't want to be in.  More condos off the list.

    With just those three search items, we were down to not a lot to look at.  And, we hadn't even put in other things we wanted that were potential deal breakers, such as seaview, a large balcony, foreign name, large pool, good gym, and good covered parking.  

    If I remember correctly, we ended up with about 6 Pattaya condos for sale that had most of the things we wanted, in the area we wanted, and at the price our budget could afford.  We ended up with so few because the area we wanted had fewer condo projects than some other areas. 

    We would have had more to choose from if our area had been Jomtien, but still not a lot.  In order to get closest to what we wanted, we had to give up buying in foreign quota, but it worked out ok as the project was in such high demand it was easy to resell.  I still recommend buying in foreign quota.  

    So, that's why we didn't worry about selling a Pattaya condo--we knew we were not competing with 130,000 other Pattaya condos for sale.   We were only competing with Pattaya condos on the market for sale in our area, about our same size, and at about our same price.  

    Eventually, a buyer always came along--sometimes 'eventually' was very quick, a couple of times it took a lot longer and we needed to be patient.  The same has been true for houses, where you have the same search criteria at play with buyers that eliminates a lot of listings.

    Having said all that, I think a Pattaya condo buyer should be buying because they prefer to own rather than rent, prefer to pay themselves, rather than a landlord, expect to be living in the condo for a number of years, and realize that the condo may not increase much in value, if any, and might more likely just maintain its value.  That's why we bought, and would have bought even if we might have lost some money--we like to own the space we live in.   If that's not you, stick with renting. 

     

On 7/12/2025 at 11:23 AM, Will B Good said:

 

Just been looking at Bangkok condos.......rents seemed to have crashed in places.....some amazing deals.

 

Where are you seeing that?

Generally speaking, the only worse idea than buying a condo in BKK is buying one in Pattaya

13 minutes ago, KhaoHom said:

Generally speaking, the only worse idea than buying a condo in BKK is buying one in Pattaya

It's a great idea to buy to live in, if you'd bought during covid you would have made decent profit already plus rents have increased in Pattaya, maybe same Bangkok

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

It's a great idea to buy to live in, if you'd bought during covid you would have made decent profit already plus rents have increased in Pattaya, maybe same Bangkok

There seems to be a lot of condo flipping in pattaya now. I don't think it's a normal turnover, but seems to be people who purchased then changed their mind rather quickly for some reason. Maybe people who could not find satisfactory rentals and decided to buy, or people who could not afford to buy and bought anyway.

 

A couple of the real estate agents asked if I wanted to buy when I asked about rentals which felt odd. Also, they did not have much to rent when I went in, like they were mostly just interested in sales. One never got back to me at all.

 

I still have not found anything I like and it's coming up on 3 weeks.

14 minutes ago, Mark1969 said:

There seems to be a lot of condo flipping in pattaya now. I don't think it's a normal turnover, but seems to be people who purchased then changed their mind rather quickly for some reason. Maybe people who could not find satisfactory rentals and decided to buy, or people who could not afford to buy and bought anyway.

 

A couple of the real estate agents asked if I wanted to buy when I asked about rentals which felt odd.

 

Every market has it's ups and downs.

 

Look for example at Spain (and in a lesser extent) Portugal.

In the years prior to 2008 it was a sellers market, and you could ask what you wanted, as prices seemed to increase daily.

In 2008 the crash started and investors in immo went bankrupt. That crash lasted about 6-7 years.

Have you looked lately at the market prices in those countries?

 

 

13 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

Every market has it's ups and downs.

 

Look for example at Spain (and in a lesser extent) Portugal.

In the years prior to 2008 it was a sellers market, and you could ask what you wanted, as prices seemed to increase daily.

In 2008 the crash started and investors in immo went bankrupt. That crash lasted about 6-7 years.

Have you looked lately at the market prices in those countries?

Not really. It seems kind of far away.

6 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

I still have not found anything I like and it's coming up on 3 weeks.

Have you looked on Facebook marketplace? Loads on there usually

13 hours ago, KhaoHom said:

Generally speaking, the only worse idea than buying a condo in BKK is buying one in Pattaya

So Hua Hin or Chiamg Mai then? (I just don't see Phuket as attractive). 

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Have you looked on Facebook marketplace? Loads on there usually

I'm worried about paying a deposit to someone I met on facebook. I would need to hand over a deposit upfront to reserve the room before I move in. If it was an agent with a physical office it would be Ok.

 

You can get people who are advertising their own rooms (then skip with a bunch of deposits), and/or other types of scams.

11 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

There seems to be a lot of condo flipping in pattaya now. I don't think it's a normal turnover, but seems to be people who purchased then changed their mind rather quickly for some reason. Maybe people who could not find satisfactory rentals and decided to buy, or people who could not afford to buy and bought anyway.

 

A couple of the real estate agents asked if I wanted to buy when I asked about rentals which felt odd. Also, they did not have much to rent when I went in, like they were mostly just interested in sales. One never got back to me at all.

 

I still have not found anything I like and it's coming up on 3 weeks.

      You're doing a good job of driving home the point I was making in my earlier post.  130,000 condos in Pattaya but once you put in even just 3 basic criteria, price, location, and size, the number shrinks drastically.  True for both rentals or sales.

     I have posted many times that I would hate being a real estate agent in Thailand--just way too lazy and with way not enough patience.  Being an agent forced to handle rentals, with no good, up-to-date rental listing service, would land me in one of Dante's circles of Hell.

    The topper, though, is the tiny payment for all the work and patience required, usually just the first month's rent, maybe  30 or 40,000 baht, or less.  That adds up to a big no thanks, from me.  I'd probably rather scrape chewing gum off the steps of the Washington Monument than do condo rentals--I'd be earning a regular salary for all the work, rather than income uncertainty.

    At least with sales, there is a much bigger payoff and you're doing roughly the same amount of work.  The agent who sold our last house a couple weeks ago earned over 400,000 baht in commission--and earned it.  Hmm.  Maybe 40,000 baht for a rental vs. maybe 400, 000 baht for a sale.  I can see why one of your agents asked if you might be interested in buying, instead.  I should mention that agents working in an agency also usually have to kickback part of what they earn to the agency, so that leaves even less for them. 

     You might need to be more proactive in your rental search.  I would check Facebook Marketplace daily.  I have used it looking for properties for sale and the times I have contacted the placer of the ad, the property was usually still available.  There should be some listings that are still available for rentals, too. 

    Another option would be to first narrow your search to the area you want to be in and then go to some of the condo projects in that area yourself and chat with the front desk staff/condo management.  They will often know if something is available for rent.  We sold our first Bangkok condo when the condo staff, who knew we were selling, directed someone to us who had wandered in looking for a condo to buy.  Good luck with your search.

     

     

     

1 hour ago, newnative said:

      You're doing a good job of driving home the point I was making in my earlier post.  130,000 condos in Pattaya but once you put in even just 3 basic criteria, price, location, and size, the number shrinks drastically.  True for both rentals or sales.

     I have posted many times that I would hate being a real estate agent in Thailand--just way too lazy and with way not enough patience.  Being an agent forced to handle rentals, with no good, up-to-date rental listing service, would land me in one of Dante's circles of Hell.

    The topper, though, is the tiny payment for all the work and patience required, usually just the first month's rent, maybe  30 or 40,000 baht, or less.  That adds up to a big no thanks, from me.  I'd probably rather scrape chewing gum off the steps of the Washington Monument than do condo rentals--I'd be earning a regular salary for all the work, rather than income uncertainty.

    At least with sales, there is a much bigger payoff and you're doing roughly the same amount of work.  The agent who sold our last house a couple weeks ago earned over 400,000 baht in commission--and earned it.  Hmm.  Maybe 40,000 baht for a rental vs. maybe 400, 000 baht for a sale.  I can see why one of your agents asked if you might be interested in buying, instead.  I should mention that agents working in an agency also usually have to kickback part of what they earn to the agency, so that leaves even less for them. 

     You might need to be more proactive in your rental search.  I would check Facebook Marketplace daily.  I have used it looking for properties for sale and the times I have contacted the placer of the ad, the property was usually still available.  There should be some listings that are still available for rentals, too. 

    Another option would be to first narrow your search to the area you want to be in and then go to some of the condo projects in that area yourself and chat with the front desk staff/condo management.  They will often know if something is available for rent.  We sold our first Bangkok condo when the condo staff, who knew we were selling, directed someone to us who had wandered in looking for a condo to buy.  Good luck with your search.

It's feeling different here then when I left a year ago...

 

The traffic is much worse and something is strange with the unavailability of rentals.

 

Last time I was here I found a place right away and enjoyed walking around.

 

I'm having thoughts about relocating back to Chiang Mai.

 

It could be a no, but I will try another month to see if I just need more time to settle in.

4 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

I'm worried about paying a deposit to someone I met on facebook. I would need to hand over a deposit upfront to reserve the room before I move in. If it was an agent with a physical office it would be Ok.

 

You can get people who are advertising their own rooms (then skip with a bunch of deposits), and/or other types of scams.

      Don't give a landlord any money until you have viewed the condo with the landlord and read carefully and made any changes you wanted to the rental contract.   Before signing the contract, do a walk-thru with the landlord and take photos of any damage or broken items you see.  If there's a tear or a stain on the sofa, take a photo.  You might also take photos of each room and what they contain.  You can also add anything you want to make sure it is noted as broken or damaged to the rental contract.  Take your time, you're in the driver's seat. 

    Once that is done to your satisfaction, ask for the condo keys as you then, and only then, hand over the initial rental payment.  No keys, no payment.  Only hand over money to the person named on the rental contract, after seeing that person's ID or passport and taking  a photo of it.  Get a signed receipt of your payment.  If a landlord does not want to do any of the above, move on.  You've likely dodged a bullet.

1 hour ago, newnative said:

      Don't give a landlord any money until you have viewed the condo with the landlord and read carefully and made any changes you wanted to the rental contract.   Before signing the contract, do a walk-thru with the landlord and take photos of any damage or broken items you see.  If there's a tear or a stain on the sofa, take a photo.  You might also take photos of each room and what they contain.  You can also add anything you want to make sure it is noted as broken or damaged to the rental contract.  Take your time, you're in the driver's seat. 

    Once that is done to your satisfaction, ask for the condo keys as you then, and only then, hand over the initial rental payment.  No keys, no payment.  Only hand over money to the person named on the rental contract, after seeing that person's ID or passport and taking  a photo of it.  Get a signed receipt of your payment.  If a landlord does not want to do any of the above, move on.  You've likely dodged a bullet.

That would work if I did all that when I paid the deposit to reserve and not later on the actual move in date. Then the keys being handed over on move in date with first months rent.

 

I would have the contract and all and if they ran with the deposit before I moved in it would just be a deposit dispute. Thank you.

19 hours ago, newnative said:

Spouse and I have moved on to houses but before we did we sold 18 condos of various sizes, in various locations,

This is exactly why your posts should be taken with a grain of salt.  You have a conflict of interests. 

 

You constantly talk up the property market here.  All you focus on is the peaks, never the troughs.  Over the years, not once have you posted of a stalling property market here, covid aside. 

 

Is property a long term investment, sure, but the days of "flipping" condo's here for a profit are long gone.  There's just too much oversupply in the market.

 

Conveniently, you did not post about the average Time on Market (TOM) for your properties.  It's one thing to boast selling for a profit, it's another thing having that capital tied up in a property that's sitting on the market here or years, yes, years.  That money invested elsewhere would have made more money than property in Thailand, which also attracts fees.     

 

 

22 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yes the authorities have allowed it to happen, lawyers and agents are complicit, I only expected them to start prosecuting when there was a shortage of condos and houses and Thais were complaining 

I suggest it will be the Chinese that turn a lot of the properties into daily rentals that may trigger some action. 

22 hours ago, flaming dragon said:

The French woman in Phuket who shot herself and left everything to her maid, only for the government to snatch it (due to the corporate structure) comes to mind. 

It's an easy sell for Thai politicians.  "Thailand for Thai people" and whip up a bit of anti farang sentiment and it's not beyond possibility that the properties "owned" by foreigners through an illegal structure could be seized.  

22 hours ago, norsurin said:

True.Its time to face it 

It's not if, just when. 

On 7/12/2025 at 8:19 PM, Celsius said:

 

It wasn't my report.

 

I was renting 7 million baht condos between 15-18k per month in Bangkok. Great deals to be had.

What's the location? I was also looking recently and the agents were mostly recommending 30-35 sqm boxes for low 20's up to 30,000. The older buildings have more space and lower prices but even so a 1 bedroom of 50 or 60 sqm would be 20,000 minimum and usually more. And they're hard to find because you have to do the legwork yourself.

 

I wanted to be close to a park. Most of the land around Lumpini has been taken up extravagant condo projects going for ridiculous prices and even the older buildings in the Rajadamri and Chitlom-Ploenchit areas have been or are in the process of being torn down to throw up more overpriced shoeboxes. (But they have great facilities!) I certainly didn't find any 7 million baht condos going for 15,000 a month.

6 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

I'm worried about paying a deposit to someone I met on facebook. I would need to hand over a deposit upfront to reserve the room before I move in. If it was an agent with a physical office it would be Ok.

 

You can get people who are advertising their own rooms (then skip with a bunch of deposits), and/or other types of scams.

So be careful, maybe only use well known agents or ones with a shop

On 7/12/2025 at 1:19 PM, Celsius said:

 

It wasn't my report.

 

I was renting 7 million baht condos between 15-18k per month in Bangkok. Great deals to be had.

This is exactly why I rent here. 

 

Banks in my home country, Australia, are paying around 5% interest. 

 

7,000,000 baht x 5% = 350,000 baht per annum. 

 

350,000 baht / 12 months = 29,166 baht a month in interest. 

 

The interest more than pays the rent in your example of 15-18k baht, and you have no fees, taxes, maintenance cost etc to worry about.  You also have freedom of movement, should a nightclub open up next door, for example. 

 

Then, there is life expectancy to consider.  Given most retire here in their late 60's, will one live long enough to see the benefit of putting that 7,000,000 baht into a property here? 

 

The old saying "rent is dead money" is not true in Thailand.  The income generated by the money that would be used to purchase a property here, if invested elsewhere, and not even an aggressive investment, more than pays for the rent here, so why buy?

8 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

This is exactly why I rent here. 

 

Banks in my home country, Australia, are paying around 5% interest. 

 

7,000,000 baht x 5% = 350,000 baht per annum. 

 

350,000 baht / 12 months = 29,166 baht a month in interest. 

 

The interest more than pays the rent in your example of 15-18k baht, and you have no fees, taxes, maintenance cost etc to worry about.  You also have freedom of movement, should a nightclub open up next door, for example. 

 

Then, there is life expectancy to consider.  Given most retire here in their late 60's, will one live long enough to see the benefit of putting that 7,000,000 baht into a property here? 

 

The old saying "rent is dead money" is not true in Thailand.  The income generated by the money that would be used to purchase a property here, if invested elsewhere, and not even an aggressive investment, more than pays for the rent here, so why buy?

Many people can't just let cash sit in a bank account. Similar to having a credit card, if it's liquid it gets spent. Buying property locks up the money.

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

It's not if, just when. 

Right.Two of my friends loosed their house in hua-hin.All papers was fake from the seller.Didnt owing the land and of course not allowed to build anything.

11 minutes ago, norsurin said:

Right.Two of my friends loosed their house in hua-hin.All papers was fake from the seller.Didnt owing the land and of course not allowed to build anything.

How about the land Office? They usually check everything 

15 minutes ago, Mark1969 said:

How would I do that if I had to put down a deposit to reserve the unit until the move in date?

 

Nobody would hold a unit without a deposit and there's no way I would just show up on the move in day with all my belongings  to sign and pay (It would likely already be taken and I would not have a place to stay).

 

Would you make the contract and do all of the above when just the deposit is paid? But the keys would not be handed over until actual move in.

     When we were landlords we aways had potential tenants who were ready to move in.  If you're not going to be moving in for months, you may need to wait until it's closer to when you are ready to move in to secure a rental without the risks you mentioned in your earlier post.  If you're in temporary lodging and you have a few weeks or a month before you need to move out, you can still follow what I outlined and secure your rental, with the keys, while still having some time left on your current rental--nothing wrong with some overlap to give you time to move your things.  

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

This is exactly why I rent here. 

 

Banks in my home country, Australia, are paying around 5% interest. 

 

7,000,000 baht x 5% = 350,000 baht per annum. 

 

350,000 baht / 12 months = 29,166 baht a month in interest. 

 

The interest more than pays the rent in your example of 15-18k baht, and you have no fees, taxes, maintenance cost etc to worry about.  You also have freedom of movement, should a nightclub open up next door, for example. 

 

Then, there is life expectancy to consider.  Given most retire here in their late 60's, will one live long enough to see the benefit of putting that 7,000,000 baht into a property here? 

 

The old saying "rent is dead money" is not true in Thailand.  The income generated by the money that would be used to purchase a property here, if invested elsewhere, and not even an aggressive investment, more than pays for the rent here, so why buy?

Rents generally go up, especially since covid, another reason to buy to hedge against high rents 

On 7/12/2025 at 4:47 AM, newnative said:

    This is my very first time to post a thread so please bear with me.  This morning I got an interesting email from one of the Pattaya real estate offices.  It was chock full of information on both the history of Pattaya condo projects and what's in store for the next few years.  I thought I would share some of the highlights with you.

   Pattaya has a staggering 293 condo projects, according to the report.  Just out of curiosity, I checked Reston, Virginia, the small city where I used to live in the US.  Reston has 67 condo projects.  Quite a difference.  293 projects gives lots of choice, both for buyers and renters. 

   Those 293 projects have over 130,000 condo units.  Even if you only count one person per condo, that's 130,000 Pattaya full or part-time residents, just in condos.  Likely many are not counted, along with many of those living in the thousands of houses, when census figures are drawn up.  Pattaya is a big city, and growing.

   The very first condo project, Garden Cliff, was built way back in 1980 and has 51 units.  Spouse and I actually owned at that project (of course you did, some of you are likely saying) and we always suspected that it was the first, or one of the first.  Thailand's prime minister at the time apparently came to the dedication.  Attending condo dedications these days would be a full-time job.  Nice project, right on the ocean. 

   Pattaya has 8 condo projects built in the 1980's and 33 built in the 1990's.  Contrary to the belief expressed by some that condo buildings go crashing to the ground here when they reach the age of 30, I believe all the ones on the list are still standing.  Certainly Garden Cliff is.

   Sticking with Garden Cliff, it is not only the first but one of the smallest condo projects on the list, with just 51 units.  The largest listed is Jomtien Beach Condo, with 3,700 units.  I counted at least 24 built projects with 1,000 units or more.

   Looking to the present and future, Pattaya has a, once again, staggering number of new projects either started this year or scheduled.  From 2025 to 2029, 17 major new projects were listed in the report.  That's a huge number of projects.  14 of the projects have 500 units or more.  To give you some idea of how big 500 units is, Zire Wongamat, a large 2-building project, has 480 units, according to the report.  So, multiply Zire by 14.   8 of the new projects have 1,000 units, or more.  That's 8 more projects the same size, or bigger, of the massive Riviera Jomtien.   Meanwhile, any massive road projects in the works?  Public transportation upgrades?

 

 

the magnetic power of hookers.

9 hours ago, jacko45k said:

So Hua Hin or Chiamg Mai then? (I just don't see Phuket as attractive). 

 

It's not. It's overrun with tourists 365, expensive and scammy

 

I'd recommend Bangkok. People see it as a massive sprawl and it is, but it's a patchwork of small neighborhoods. You certainly don't need to live on Sukhumvit!

 

CM is a wasteland and you'll never resell.

 

HH ... The beach is crap. Maybe southward.

 

As a single man why must you own a condo here? Guarantee buyer's remorse

 

*Wongamat is nicer, has European demand. Cleaner beaches.

35 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Rents generally go up, especially since covid, another reason to buy to hedge against high rents 

 

But they can only rise so much because everyone is broke and in debt