On 3/1/2026 at 6:35 AM, georgegeorgia said:

The owner of my studio Airbnb met me yesterday and told me he was selling

1,5 million baht

I have had to do a study research analysis on what apartment would suit me long term

I am calling it apartment/ unit / flat because in Australia if I said the word "Condo" no one would understand and they would think I said condom

Anyway my Airbnb that he is selling It's on the ground floor, the balcony facing the big swimming pool

So just metres away from your balcony you have people on banana lounges making noise ,so if you open your balcony door on a weekend you will hear their conversation.

Not only that , as it's on the ground floor I caught two east European guys leaning over the balcony railing to try to take the plastic table and chair to put near the pool for their group., then drinking loud only metres away from the bedroom window so I don't want ground floor

1.5 million baht is cheap for this apartment 24sqm that he he wants , BUT the negatives,ground floor, close to noisy groups of drunks , swimming pool splashes

..looking now at real estate in Pattaya,it's very difficult to get a Apartment under 2 million baht even studios ,they have risen dramatically

I also need to take into consideration transport, close to baht bus routes , grocery shopping ,

And my age , I still have 20 years left of life if I retire , so rent would be a waste for 20 years

It does sound as if a sound comprehensive statistical analysis would be an eminently sensible first step. Notebook, pencil and phone; probably no need for a hi visibility vest in that environment, there again perhaps one should take no chances, those Eastern European guys on banana loungers...

I wouldn't worry about calling it a "condo" - few will assume that you are living in a rubber johnny - after all, it is not even the rainy season!

5 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Are you one of the don't buy rent people? those people missed out on the gains since covid

And, gains before covid, as well. Spouse and I did well from 2010 to 2019.

6 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

This is a very common statement mainly from people in the west, living in council/housing commission housing.

After being royally fleeced by that oh so dumb farm girl. Now their only purpose in life is trying to blame Thailand for their own stupidity, without acknowledging their stupidity.

15 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Arcadia international

There is not an 'Arcadia International' condo in Pattaya. At least, not that I could find, and none listed on Hipflat, which has a number of Arcadia projects. I'll take a guess that the project you are interested in is Arcadia Beach Continental. Hipflat shows a number of 26 sqm units for sale there from 1.59MB to 2.4MB. It's a large project with a lot of units so there should also be a number for sale that are not on Hipflat. You might check with the Juristic. Units without a pool view were the cheaper ones listed on Hipflat in the 1.5MB range. Pool view units seemed to be around 2MB, from my quick look. Remember, those are asking prices for all of them and they could sell for less.

If you are wanting to live in Jomtien there are lots of choices for small condos under 2MB so I would not limit myself to just that project. Instead, I would check out other projects, as well.

26 sq m?! I thought the last thing you wanted to do was live in a 'shoebox'!

I'm currently living in Siem Reap in a high-ceilinged 'condo' brick-built bungalow, 60 sq m and shaded by trees so air-con use is absolutely minimal, swimming pool 10 metres away of course.

$100 USD rent/month.......no long-term rental commitment or deposit needed.

2 minutes ago, simon43 said:

26 sq m?! I thought the last thing you wanted to do was live in a 'shoebox'!

I'm currently living in Siem Reap in a high-ceilinged 'condo' brick-built bungalow, 60 sq m and shaded by trees so air-con use is absolutely minimal, swimming pool 10 metres away of course.

$100 USD rent/month.......no long-term rental commitment or deposit needed.

It's shocking, the amount they are asking for lower tier, tiny condos in the back of beyond.

it’s a massive buyers market.

Never buy off plan, you may lose your money.

Never by new, always overpriced.

Buy from motivated sellers, offer a lot less than asking price, someone will accept.

I do not see anyone mentioning that foreigners can only purchase an apartment/condo etc on the 5th or higher levels.

8 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

it’s a massive buyers market.

Never buy off plan, you may lose your money.

Never by new, always overpriced.

Buy from motivated sellers, offer a lot less than asking price, someone will accept.

Interesting, I was considering buying off-plan (Once Wongamat) it's from a major developer with a decent track record of delivering & after watching Arom Wongamat go up and the price for 2Br units more or less doubled from 1st pricing to completion (Covid may have had something to do with this) I feel it will cost at least 50% more if I wait until the building is completed.

Also considering existing units around the 12-15Million THB mark, it's very hard to find previous selling prices in Thailand so I was thinking of going in 15% below asking with a view to settling at 10%. Do you think this is too agressive or am I not swinging hard enough?

6 hours ago, emptypockets said:

After being royally fleeced by that oh so dumb farm girl.

Yeah, but that can happen to anyone.

Guys who haven't been screwed sing the praises of ownership as though that's not a risk.

2 hours ago, simon43 said:

26 sq m?! I thought the last thing you wanted to do was live in a 'shoebox'!

I'm currently living in Siem Reap in a high-ceilinged 'condo' brick-built bungalow, 60 sq m and shaded by trees so air-con use is absolutely minimal, swimming pool 10 metres away of course.

$100 USD rent/month.......no long-term rental commitment or deposit needed.

I thought you were living in the English village?

You left again

2 hours ago, simon43 said:

26 sq m?! I thought the last thing you wanted to do was live in a 'shoebox'!

I'm currently living in Siem Reap in a high-ceilinged 'condo' brick-built bungalow, 60 sq m and shaded by trees so air-con use is absolutely minimal, swimming pool 10 metres away of course.

$100 USD rent/month.......no long-term rental commitment or deposit needed.

What happened to your UK rental contract ?

2 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

I do not see anyone mentioning that foreigners can only purchase an apartment/condo etc on the 5th or higher levels.

That's probably because it's not true.

3 hours ago, SamSpade said:

Interesting, I was considering buying off-plan (Once Wongamat) it's from a major developer with a decent track record of delivering & after watching Arom Wongamat go up and the price for 2Br units more or less doubled from 1st pricing to completion (Covid may have had something to do with this) I feel it will cost at least 50% more if I wait until the building is completed.

Also considering existing units around the 12-15Million THB mark, it's very hard to find previous selling prices in Thailand so I was thinking of going in 15% below asking with a view to settling at 10%. Do you think this is too agressive or am I not swinging hard enough?

Be more aggressive, someone will take 33% off a resale at that price.

15 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

I do not see anyone mentioning that foreigners can only purchase an apartment/condo etc on the 5th or higher levels.

That is a regulation I have not heard mention of for some time. I guess it is incorporated early on in the allocation of 'foreign 49%'?

15 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

I do not see anyone mentioning that foreigners can only purchase an apartment/condo etc on the 5th or higher levels.

Interesting, i bought on the 4th floor foreign quota, case closed

16 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

it’s a massive buyers market.

Never buy off plan, you may lose your money.

Never by new, always overpriced.

Buy from motivated sellers, offer a lot less than asking price, someone will accept.

I hate people like this. Waste everyone's time then offer a stupid low amount.

21 minutes ago, henryford1958 said:

I hate people like this. Waste everyone's time then offer a stupid low amount.

And someone will accept.

A condo is worth what someone will pay. If you ask too much, your condo will be listed for many years and never sell.

There are thousands of condos on the market and only a handful of buyers.

45 minutes ago, henryford1958 said:

I hate people like this. Waste everyone's time then offer a stupid low amount.

When you see the same place for sale for years, it's safe to assume the seller should accept less. Amazing Thailand.

16 hours ago, SamSpade said:

Interesting, I was considering buying off-plan (Once Wongamat) it's from a major developer with a decent track record of delivering & after watching Arom Wongamat go up and the price for 2Br units more or less doubled from 1st pricing to completion (Covid may have had something to do with this) I feel it will cost at least 50% more if I wait until the building is completed.

Also considering existing units around the 12-15Million THB mark, it's very hard to find previous selling prices in Thailand so I was thinking of going in 15% below asking with a view to settling at 10%. Do you think this is too agressive or am I not swinging hard enough?

Many people lost millions on the project at Bali Hai pier by buying off plan from a well respected developer.

17 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

I do not see anyone mentioning that foreigners can only purchase an apartment/condo etc on the 5th or higher levels.

I owned half the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors and all the 6th floor in an 8 story condo building. All sold now and all in foreign name. There is no restriction on floor level for foreigners.

New condos are usually sold for double what they are really worth.

17 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

it’s a massive buyers market.

Never buy off plan, you may lose your money.

Never by new, always overpriced.

Buy from motivated sellers, offer a lot less than asking price, someone will accept.

I'm looking to buy in Phnom Penh. Massive oversupply incoming. Spent two days with a real estant agent being chauffeured around looking at recently completed, soon to be completed, off plan sites and resales (mostly in the BKK1 area). Was a great way to get a feel for the locations and general info on how things work there - apparently all condos pay electric to the juristic at a marked up price of about 25c US per KWh. $1 per Sqm per month common area fee. We looked at a 60sqm recently completed unit at $168k. Well overpriced but quality and location was pretty good. A couple of weeks later, same unit was offered to me at $135K. Our plan is to wait 3-5 years before contemplating a purchase and hoping for a bargain resale unit. Also, no foreign quota issues in Cambodia, only restriction is that foreigners cannot own first (and I believe) second floors.

On 3/1/2026 at 3:24 PM, scorecard said:

By now accountant is pesent in handcuffs, also the admin. manager who tries to insist she was authorised to commit the ofense of paying insurance premium to a private citizen.

It would be nice if this happened in Australia, insurance fraud is rife here with the corporate managers often paying inflated insurance claims and skimming off the top for administration fees (at least there is insurance), it's one of the reasons I wont buy a "condo" in Australia again that has a building manager.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-10/body-corporates-urged-to-be-cautious-after-alleged-strata-fraud/106300380

https://www.accomnews.com.au/2024/09/australias-strata-industry-under-fire/

As to the OP definetly not a place I would buy, sure a condo but a but higher up, with some cooling breeze et

7 minutes ago, BumGun said:

It would be nice if this happened in Australia, insurance fraud is rife here with the corporate managers often paying inflated insurance claims and skimming off the top for administration fees (at least there is insurance), it's one of the reasons I wont buy a "condo" in Australia again that has a building manager.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-10/body-corporates-urged-to-be-cautious-after-alleged-strata-fraud/106300380

https://www.accomnews.com.au/2024/09/australias-strata-industry-under-fire/

As to the OP definetly not a place I would buy, sure a condo but a but higher up, with some cooling breeze et

I'm paying $3142 a quarter in Australia currently because of high strata expenses

Tell the owner what a sh+t hole it is and offer him 2 pork sausages, because that's about all any of them at worth. Rent never buy then the world is your oyster

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

I owned half the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors and all the 6th floor in an 8 story condo building. All sold now and all in foreign name. There is no restriction on floor level for foreigners.

New condos are usually sold for double what they are really worth.

You didn't own the ground floor as a foreigner though !

14 minutes ago, SGD said:

You didn't own the ground floor as a foreigner though !

I have 2, ground floor, pool view.

On 3/2/2026 at 3:29 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Are you one of the don't buy rent people? those people missed out on the gains since covid

On 3/2/2026 at 8:57 AM, newnative said:

And, gains before covid, as well. Spouse and I did well from 2010 to 2019.

Rent versus buy is always pretty nuanced and compelling arguments can be made for both sides. Before we get too carried away, though, just think about what that condo money would have done in the market over the same period of time - S&P 500 versus Thai (BKK) condo appreciation, for example. For gains there is a clear winner and it is not the condo market. Not saying there aren’t compelling reasons to buy here, just that the “gains” argument may not be the best one to make.

16 minutes ago, TimBKK said:

Rent versus buy is always pretty nuanced and compelling arguments can be made for both sides. Before we get too carried away, though, just think about what that condo money would have done in the market over the same period of time - S&P 500 versus Thai (BKK) condo appreciation, for example. For gains there is a clear winner and it is not the condo market. Not saying there aren’t compelling reasons to buy here, just that the “gains” argument may not be the best one to make.

Sure, many Thai people are fixed in their thinking on this; they would never buy a second hand house or condo because .there's no status value in such properties.

I put my very big (3 bed, 3 baht full kitchen high level floor) condo on the market, 1 yr old, fully repainted etc., in downtown nice green area of Bkk.

A Thai couple arrived, I opened the door and they were arguing, she came in, husband stayed in the hallway.

She liked the property, and she shared that her husband was adamant he would not come in because he had told his wife 'I am not going to tell my family or friends that I bought a second hand poperty, there's no status value in second hand.'

50 minutes ago, SGD said:

You didn't own the ground floor as a foreigner though !

The ground floor was all car parking!