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Buying a house via the company route - is it still possible?

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24 minutes ago, newnative said:

Spouse and I do Option 3: Buy property and also invest in the US stock market. So far it is working well. We don't have all our financial eggs in one basket, which we like. We know we are in Thailand long-term, like to own our own space to do what we want with it, and have our own furnishings, art, appliances, electronics, etc. Life is short and we just don't want to live in someone else's space--ever. Owning works for us but for others renting could certainly be the better option. There's no one size fits all.

Buying real estate--here and in the US--has been both a place to live in and also an investment, as we have sold up in both places numerous times and made a profit every time. We get the advantage of living in our own space, the advantage of saving on rent, and the advantage of our property appreciating while we are enjoying it.

We buy even if it's short-term. For example, last July, after we sold the house we were living in, we bought a new 3-bedroom pool villa, in Thai name, to live in for a year while we were planning and building a larger new house on the Darkside of Pattaya. We got a good buy and negotiated the builder to make some house changes to the house, itself, plus adding a separate laundry room and a saltwater pool. We did all the furnishings, art, and decoration.

The new house is done and we put the 3-bedroom on the market for sale at the beginning of July, got lucky, and it sold on the 31st, to a Thai buyer. Being such a short period, we only netted a modest profit but we did save about the same amount, 500,000 baht or so, in rent for the year, had we rented a similar 3-bedroom/3 bath pool villa in that area. And, we had the enjoyment of living in our own space--important for us.

You flip properties here, therefore, you have a conflict of interests.

You do not represent the average retired expat weighing up buy v rent.

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11 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

No guarantee of an appreciating market. There's that much oversupply here it's a depreciating market over 5 years, and I haven't touched on any future government policy surrounding visas and foreign ownership of property laws.

It may appreciate over the longer term, say 20 years, but TiT, and we don't know what will happen next year, let alone 20 years from now.

These can not be ignored. They are real, and ongoing. They should be factored in.

That's why I chose Option 2.

There are condo's in my block that are similar to the one I live in. I know how much they sold for. I ran the numbers and the purchase price cash, left back in my home country, at 5%, more than covers the rent, with no ongoing costs, and no risk, with my money at call. Why would I bother buying here?

That's the beauty of choices ... what ever works for you. As stated above, 'one size doesn't fit all'

On topic, buying house via nominiee company (if not real) ... well, you can't fix stupid.

1 minute ago, KhunHeineken said:

You flip properties here, therefore, you have a conflict of interests.

You do not represent the average retired expat weighing up buy v rent.

Yea, he does, as 1st house here, TH, planned on living there, till divorce, then it turned into an investment. 2nd house, also planned on living there, till change my mind, and preferred different location.

3rd house, will die here, or the game planned.

1st house help finance 2nd house. 2nd house & extra lots, financed 3rd house, solar & EV. Along with living here, basically rent free for 25 yrs. Wife has 3rd house to live out in, or sell.

Whatever works for you.

Back in ol' USA, every purchase was an investment, as had no intention on living in any of those neighborhoods. So again, lived 17 yrs there, basically rent free. Tenants paid mortgages, if having.

Edited by KhunLA

I don't think there's much risk. You buy the house you know you don't have the majority vote but the odds of you losing your house is infinitesimally small. But yes, anything can go wrong--while you own the house you're not paying rent so if, by some very rare chance, you lose the house you could have saved enough money where it doesn't hurt so bad.

Everybody's case is different. In my case I have double the amount of the house saved up plus a decent pension. In 5 years I will have saved approx 35% of what I paid for the house. But my case is the loner case your mileage may vary.

Maybe do a risk management assessment to see where you stand?

Edited by Furioso

31 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

You flip properties here, therefore, you have a conflict of interests.

You do not represent the average retired expat weighing up buy v rent.

There's absolutely no conflict of interest. Anyone--living anywhere--can also do Option 3. Or not. The poster I responded to presented 2 options: #1. Investing in a property to live in, saving rent. #2. Investing in things other than property, while renting. I merely pointed out that there is a third option.

Remember, Option 3 is simply investing in both property to live in and also other investments. It never has to be either or--you can do this or you can do that. No, you can do both. My spouse and I have chosen the US stock market for the majority of our other investments but we also have 2 mutual fund accounts, as well as cash.

The fact that we hold property we buy and live in for sometimes short periods is totally irrelevant. Whether we own and live in a property for 1 year or for 30 years, we still get the benefits I mentioned: an investment that is increasing in value while we live in it, monthly savings on rent, and, for us and many others, the joy of living in our own space, with all our own high quality things, and with the freedom to make minor or major changes to what we own.

Nobody, and certainly not me, is forcing anyone to do Option 3. My post was to simply say that there is this third option. Anyone uncomfortable using any of the investment options, not just real estate, should definitely find something else they are comfortable with.

2 minutes ago, newnative said:

There's absolutely no conflict of interest.

Rubbish.

You constantly talk up the property market here because you buy and sell properties here.

Go peddle your fantasy somewhere else.

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

No guarantee of an appreciating market. There's that much oversupply here it's a depreciating market over 5 years, and I haven't touched on any future government policy surrounding visas and foreign ownership of property laws.

It may appreciate over the longer term, say 20 years, but TiT, and we don't know what will happen next year, let alone 20 years from now.

These can not be ignored. They are real, and ongoing. They should be factored in.

That's why I chose Option 2.

There are condo's in my block that are similar to the one I live in. I know how much they sold for. I ran the numbers and the purchase price cash, left back in my home country, at 5%, more than covers the rent, with no ongoing costs, and no risk, with my money at call. Why would I bother buying here?

100%.....no brainer.....plus, if it truns out you have the neighbours from hell you have the option to move on.

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Every rent don't buy falang thinks they are George Soros 🤣🤣

8% pa is no biggy

Edited by MIke B Bad

22 hours ago, MIke B Bad said:

100%.....no brainer.....plus, if it truns out you have the neighbours from hell you have the option to move on.

Having the ability to move is definitely one advantage, but there are many others. It's not just the neighbors from hell, it's also about owners in the block not paying their dues and / or dodgy management siphoning off money, so the building gets run down.

No maintenance, no fees / taxes, no paperwork, no legal responsibility, no risk with foreign ownership of property concerns. One's money stays liquid. No future issues if the visa criteria is changed. No foreign quota issues. Not owning a depreciating asset. No leaving a mess behind for my kids when I pass away. These are just off the top of my head. I am sure there are more advantages to renting.

On 8/2/2026 at 2:24 PM, KhunHeineken said:

Rubbish.

You constantly talk up the property market here because you buy and sell properties here.

Go peddle your fantasy somewhere else.

Talking about something and talking up something are two completely different things. I talk about real estate sometimes when it comes up, because I know something about it. In any case, you must have stopped reading my post before you got to my last paragraph. Here it is again:

"Nobody, and certainly not me, is forcing anyone to do Option 3. My post was to simply say that there is this third option. Anyone uncomfortable using any of the investment options, not just real estate, should definitely find something else they are comfortable with."

I have never in any post encouraged anybody to buy real estate in Thailand--or anywhere else in the world. I've said numerous times--which you always conveniently overlook--that renting can be a good option for many, especially if they are just here short-term, if they are not certain how long they will be here, or if they are not sure what area they might end up wanting to live in. And also, of course, if they simply prefer to rent and not own here, for whatever reasons. Rents are very reasonable in Thailand, which I've also said many times.

In your post above this one, you extolled all the various reasons that you prefer to rent. And, absolutely nothing wrong with that--that's exactly what the forum is here for, to get diverse opinions and information from members on various topics.

The problem, though, is you seem to think it's ok to repeatedly give your point of view on real estate in Thailand but you don't seem to want to hear anybody else's view--and, especially if it's different from yours.

So, you can say in post after post in great detail why you prefer to rent but when I post why I prefer to own, I'm spewing 'rubbish'. You can relate your experiences renting but if I relate my experiences owning suddenly I'm 'talking up the property market'. No, I'm not. I'm giving my point of view, just as you are.

Yes, my spouse and I buy and sell property because we prefer to own rather than rent--and I sometimes post about our experiences. I recently initiated a thread--only my second--on selling a house in Thailand today, because we had actually done just that--sold a house in Thailand today. Again, it wasn't to encourage anybody to buy property in Thailand. Rather, it made some points on the property market and relayed some of the things we did to help facilitate the sale of our house in today's market. Readers contemplating a property sale or in the midst of one might find some of the information useful--or not.

P.S. I better not mention that the house sold to the first buyer in less than a month or you'll have a coronary.

11 hours ago, newnative said:

The problem, though, is you seem to think it's ok to repeatedly give your point of view on real estate in Thailand but you don't seem to want to hear anybody else's view--and, especially if it's different from yours.

I look at the data, not listen to someone who flips properties here.

Just a few from the first page of Goggle.

Oversupply.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/62386/thailand-faces-1-64-million-vacant-homes-experts-urge-government-action/

"Thailand has 1.64 million vacant homes, largely due to speculation, mortgage defaults, and slow economic growth."

Four years of a declining housing market.

https://oceanwwp.com/thailand-housing-market-fourth-year-decline/

"Thailand Housing Market Faces 4th Year of Decline"

"According to Kasikorn Research Center, Thailand’s residential market is expected to contract for a fourth consecutive year in 2026, with nationwide transfers projected to fall 5.1% year-on-year to around 300,000 units, the lowest level in years."

Foreign purchases down by 17%, and the value of their purchases also down 17%.

https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/asia/thailand/price-history

"Foreign condominium demand, on the other hand, weakened during the quarter. Foreign buyers purchased 3,241 units, down 17.3% year-on-year, while the total value of transfers fell by 17.9% to THB 13.46 billion."

Once again, you don't have to buy a property just to be able to use your own furniture or hang a painting on the wall. 😂

38 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

I look at the data, not listen to someone who flips properties here.

Just a few from the first page of Goggle.

Oversupply.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/62386/thailand-faces-1-64-million-vacant-homes-experts-urge-government-action/

"Thailand has 1.64 million vacant homes, largely due to speculation, mortgage defaults, and slow economic growth."

Four years of a declining housing market.

https://oceanwwp.com/thailand-housing-market-fourth-year-decline/

"Thailand Housing Market Faces 4th Year of Decline"

"According to Kasikorn Research Center, Thailand’s residential market is expected to contract for a fourth consecutive year in 2026, with nationwide transfers projected to fall 5.1% year-on-year to around 300,000 units, the lowest level in years."

Foreign purchases down by 17%, and the value of their purchases also down 17%.

https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/asia/thailand/price-history

"Foreign condominium demand, on the other hand, weakened during the quarter. Foreign buyers purchased 3,241 units, down 17.3% year-on-year, while the total value of transfers fell by 17.9% to THB 13.46 billion."

Once again, you don't have to buy a property just to be able to use your own furniture or hang a painting on the wall. 😂

Thank you for another example of your take on real estate, with renting as the way to go. Which is fine, as I've said, giving your take on a subject. But, allow someone else to give their take, as well--and not call it 'rubbish'. To me, that's what makes the Forum interesting to read--different takes on a subject. Here's an example of what I'm talking about: a response to your post, with a different point of view.

Let's start with all those citations you mentioned with data pointing to a slowing economy, an oversupply of housing, declining numbers of buyers, and so on. I didn't pay too much attention to any of it as I was reading your post. Why? Because I have heard it all before and it doesn't change my decision to buy or not. Remember--my decision. My point of view. I've said many times that I buy even knowing I might lose some money on my purchase. The risk is worth it to me to own. For others, the risk could easily be too great or they simply prefer not to own, risk or not--nothing wrong with renting. I prefer the joys of owning to the anxieties of renting and living in someone else's likely inferior space. Remember, it's just my point of view--which can be different from yours.

No matter what the market is--good or bad--I always know that I only need to find one buyer. So far, I have been able to--in America during economic downturns and here, as well--as recently as last week.

Your '1.64 million vacant homes' gives me no pause, either. The somewhat more important statistic, for me--how many are vacant near where I am selling my property? I've relayed in detail several times before how the buying process whittles down the number of property choices a buyer has from thousands to a manageable amount so I won't go over that again. In my experience, vacant properties haven't meant much.

I understand how the buying process works so I know a buyer will eventually come along who is looking for what I am selling--in location, price, size, features, etc. Once again, I am relaying my point of view, with my experiences with real estate. It doesn't mean I am 'talking up' buying real estate--here or anywhere else--or encouraging anyone to buy, as I am not. I'm just showing another side.

Next item. It's certainly true that if you rent you can, as you say, 'use your own furniture or hang a painting on the wall.' Some people, though, including my spouse and me, like to do a whole lot more than that with the space we are spending our precious lives in. Owning gives you the freedom to do what you want, with you gaining the benefit, not the landlord.

We've been known, for example, to tear out a brand new kitchen in a just-built condo we bought because, although it was new, it didn't work for us--bad layout, cheap cabinets, bad counters and poor backsplash, too small refrigerator with no automatic ice maker or water dispenser, electric rather than induction cooktop, no undercounter lighting, etc., etc. We ended up with what was perfect--for us.

We've also grown fond of 85-inch tvs, quality king-size mattresses, big, comfortable electric recliner sofas, oversized bedside tables with lots of storage, good dining chairs that are comfortable for long, relaxed dinners, good lighting, carpets, drapes, and so on. You only go around once--we want to be comfortable, in a space we love. Again, that's just us. That's just our point of view.

I'm always reading that one of the big pluses of renting is being able to move frequently--not sure I would want to drag around all of the above that I mentioned from rental to rental--even if the landlord would agree to remove all his furniture, appliances, electronics, etc. When we sell, we leave all of that in place for the new owner, mostly just taking our art, antiques, and personal stuff.

So, for us, renting doesn't work. That doesn't mean I'm against renting--it's great for many--especially here.

And, that concludes my alternate take from yours. Although you seem to think the only correct answer is renting, there's actually no right or wrong answer--it's whatever works the best for a person or family's situation.

14 minutes ago, newnative said:

Thank you for another example of your take on real estate,

It's not "my take on real estate." It's statistical data, and that data does not back up your claims.

6 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It's not "my take on real estate." It's statistical data, and that data does not back up your claims.

Yes, it's statistical data, but only statistical data, not really relevant to an individual transaction. Your data says there are 1.64 million vacant homes. Yes, that's data but data that had absolutely no bearing on the sale of the house we made last week.

I can't think of anything that I 'claimed' in my post. I did say I prefer to own rather than rent. Would that be a 'claim'? If so, statistical data actually supports that 'claim'--with AI telling me that 70 to 88% of the world's population also prefers to own.

20 hours ago, newnative said:

Yes, it's statistical data, but only statistical data, not really relevant to an individual transaction.

So, it's a lottery, is it? You have to be the lucky one that is able to sell. 😂

20 hours ago, newnative said:

Your data says there are 1.64 million vacant homes. Yes, that's data but data that had absolutely no bearing on the sale of the house we made last week.

The data clearly shows your sale is not the norm. Many can not sell.

Now, with 1.64 million vacant home, tell me there is no oversupply here. 😂

20 hours ago, newnative said:

I did say I prefer to own rather than rent.

You prefer to own so you can sell.

20 hours ago, newnative said:

AI telling me that 70 to 88% of the world's population also prefers to own

I own a few properties in Australia. I can own them in my name in Australia. I have rights in Australia. I am an Australian citizen, so no visa needed. Big difference to Thailand.

2 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

So, it's a lottery, is it? You have to be the lucky one that is able to sell. 😂

The data clearly shows your sale is not the norm. Many can not sell.

Now, with 1.64 million vacant home, tell me there is no oversupply here. 😂

You prefer to own so you can sell.

I own a few properties in Australia. I can own them in my name in Australia. I have rights in Australia. I am an Australian citizen, so no visa needed. Big difference to Thailand.

Not a lottery, which I have never won. I like much better odds, thank you. I prefer to own for all the reasons I've mentioned so many times--and won't list again here. For others, renting is a good option, especially here.

I wondered about your figure of '1.64 million vacant homes' so I checked Google for figures. Google has 360,000 unsold new residential units and 240,000 resales in Thailand. 600,000 total. I think you got tripped up with 'vacant'--which doesn't necessarily mean actively for sale. Our Bangkok condo is currently 'vacant' as we are in Pattaya. But, as you will soon see, it doesn't really matter if it is 1.64 million or 600,000.

When I am selling a property, I am only competing with properties actually for sale, so let's use the 600,000 figure. That's for all of Thailand. This past month I was selling a 3 bedroom/3 bath house with a pool for 5.95MB in Pong municipality, Pattaya.

Since I was selling a house, not a condo, let's check Google for those numbers. Google says from 1,600 to around 12,000 houses. Let's use the higher figure, 12,000. I was selling in Pong municipality--how many there? Google says 1,000 to 1,600. How many with at least 3 bedrooms? 296 to 413. How many under 6 million baht? No exact numbers, Google said 'dozens', with an estimate of 30 to 50. With a pool? 1 to 3. We've gone from 600,000 properties for sale in Thailand to around 3 in the municipality where I was selling. Would 3 competing houses for sale be considered an 'oversupply'? Not in my book--and I like those odds.

So, are you finally understanding the 'whittling down' process that I am always talking about? Tossing out a figure of 1.64 million--or 600,000--is meaningless. When I am selling, I am only competing with like properties in my area--not what's for sale all over Thailand. And, with this exampe of whittling, we had only put in type of property, house; number of bedrooms, at least 3; price, under 6MB; with pool; and Pong municipality. Most buyers will have other criteria, as well, such as single-story only, at least a 2 car garage, age/condition of property, distance to certain schools, etc., that will do more whittling.

You seem to think I am doing something unusual, but I am not. The whittling process works the same way for everyone. Someone putting a non-seaview studio condo on the market in Jomtien for 3MB is not competing with a 12MB 2-bedroom seaview condo in Wong Amat. And, the whittling process, with other criteria, will reduce the number of competitors for both condos, just as it did for my house, as each is punched in.

This whittling process is how my spouse and I have always found buyers for 20-some properties, both condos and houses, in Rayong, Pattaya, and Bangkok. And, in the US. It works the same every time--no magic or special tricks involved.

What I may do a bit out of the 'norm' is to make sure my property shows really well, is priced correctly, and I market it as much as I can, with a lot of help from local realtors, whom I value greatly--things anybody else can also do.

18 hours ago, newnative said:

What I may do a bit out of the 'norm' is to make sure my property shows really well, is priced correctly, and I market it as much as I can, with a lot of help from local realtors, whom I value greatly--things anybody else can also do.

Do you mind telling us what sales commission percentage % you offer the local realtors to take or to send people your way.

5% may be well deserved if the agents are wasting their time taking customers to view a property that does not show as well as yours or is not priced correctly.

However, it seems to me that 5% is excessive for properties such as yours, especially if with a sought-after excellent location. In such situations it is tempting for a seller to try selling on their own first, and to turn to realtors only when, for whatever reason, the pressure to sell makes one a "motivated seller".

I, and I suspect a large number of Thais, would not buy a house that is owned by a company where there is a possibility it was set up by a farang to circumvent Thai laws. Not because I am Mr law abiding, but simply because the risk of Thai enforcement coming down on that company and thus making the purchase invalid is a headache I can do without.

Yes, we all know that setting up a company to own a house and then have it owned by nominee Thai shareholders who do the job for cash is illegal, and yes, we know that enforcement in Thailand is imperfect and sporadic, however, why run that risk?

If you buy a property, why not buy it from a legitimate seller where no shell company or Thai nominees are involved? I would automatically disqualify houses owned in such a way from a purchase, and so would many Thais surely. So the value of those houses is bound to be less.

Edited by Cameroni

20 hours ago, newnative said:

I wondered about your figure of '1.64 million vacant homes' so I checked Google for figures. Google has 360,000 unsold new residential units and 240,000 resales in Thailand. 600,000 total. I think you got tripped up with 'vacant'--which doesn't necessarily mean actively for sale.

The information came from the chairperson of the Thai Real Estate and Valuation Center.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/62386/thailand-faces-1-64-million-vacant-homes-experts-urge-government-action/

Are you saying he / she is lying? Are you saying it's fake news? Are you saying the publication is not reliable?

20 hours ago, newnative said:

So, are you finally understanding the 'whittling down' process that I am always talking about?

You can whittle down all you want, but property is on the decline in Thailand, and has been for about 4 years.

Yes, that's right, your property in Thailand is steadily losing its value.

1 hour ago, OneZero said:

Do you mind telling us what sales commission percentage % you offer the local realtors to take or to send people your way.

5% may be well deserved if the agents are wasting their time taking customers to view a property that does not show as well as yours or is not priced correctly.

However, it seems to me that 5% is excessive for properties such as yours, especially if with a sought-after excellent location. In such situations it is tempting for a seller to try selling on their own first, and to turn to realtors only when, for whatever reason, the pressure to sell makes one a "motivated seller".

We do try to sell a property on our own, and we have with a few, but the vast majority have sold with the help of an agent finding and bringing a client to our property. We start with the standard 5% commission, and in a couple of cases we have also offered an agent bonus on top of the commission when we felt a little extra incentive was needed with a property, due to various factors.

With a few of the sales, the agency reduced their commission in order to make the numbers work on a deal. When we get a serious buyer we like to do everything we can to try to make the deal work and we have found that most agents we have worked with feel the same.

2 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

The information came from the chairperson of the Thai Real Estate and Valuation Center.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/62386/thailand-faces-1-64-million-vacant-homes-experts-urge-government-action/

Are you saying he / she is lying? Are you saying it's fake news? Are you saying the publication is not reliable?

You can whittle down all you want, but property is on the decline in Thailand, and has been for about 4 years.

Yes, that's right, your property in Thailand is steadily losing its value.

No, I didn't say anybody was lying. Read my post again. What I--tactfully--said was: "I think you got tripped up with 'vacant'--which doesn't necessarily mean actively for sale." A property can be 'vacant' and not listed for sale and a property can be either occupied or vacant and actively listed.

When we drive through the Bangkok housing project where my spouse's sister lives, I see at least 3 or 4 houses that are vacant and abandoned, with tall weeds--lord know's why as it is a nice project in a good location. If I was selling a house in that area, those 'vacant', but not actively for sale, houses would not be in competition with me. Got it?

But, once again, you are entirely missing the point, laser-focusing on what is not important. As I said in my last post, it doesn't matter to me, with a local property to sell, if the national figure is 600,000 or 1.64 million. What matters to me is the local competition when the whittling down has been done. As we saw with my last post, that came to just a handful, and a buyer was found.

Years ago, on the old Thai Visa, a poster asked how anybody could ever sell a condo in Pattaya because, I believe he put it, there were 'thousands and thousands' of condos for sale. I answered his post, explaining to him the same whittling down process that I just explained to you. At that time, I think we had already sold 2 condos in Rayong, one in Bangkok, and about a dozen in Pattaya. The whittling down process worked every time and, yes, we were able to find buyers, despite the supposedly large numbers of condos for sale.

None of this is complicated--it's how the process works--and certainly not just for a house or condo. You go into Power Buy to purchase a tv. There are many, many to choose from. But, you likely have at least tv size and price as two search criteria. That whittles down the choices quite a bit. Then maybe you add 'smart tv' as a feature and limit the brands to only ones you trust and you're left with a much smaller number of choices. We actually just bought an 85-inch tv for our new house and I think we ended up with maybe 2 or 3 viable choices--for us--from the many tvs on display.

I doubt we are going to change each other's views so I suggest you continue to enjoy renting the roof over your head and I'll continue to enjoy owning mine. Whether to buy or rent, there's no right or wrong answer; there's no one size fits all.

Despite your claiming that I am always 'talking up' owning property, the reality is that I am only relating my experiences, nothing more. Occasionally, I will use that experience to pass along advice, such as, if you buy a condo, only buy in foreign quota. Note the 'if'. I've also gone into some detail on how I market a property--which is all very standard--no genius at work for any of this.

Owning works for me because I enjoy owning but also because I have a Thai spouse that I want to leave property to. A single person or couple with no Thai family connection, uncertain plans, Thailand property purchase reservations, or other considerations, etc., likely might prefer to rent, with the added bonus of rents being very reasonable here. Whatever floats one's boat.

20 hours ago, newnative said:

No, I didn't say anybody was lying. Read my post again. What I--tactfully--said was: "I think you got tripped up with 'vacant'--which doesn't necessarily mean actively for sale." A property can be 'vacant' and not listed for sale and a property can be either occupied or vacant and actively listed.

Nice try, but I am sure the Chairperson, who does not speak English as their first language, not only meant vacant, but also for sale, hence mentioning the Thai government should buy some of the housing stock for low income earners.

20 hours ago, newnative said:

What matters to me is the local competition when the whittling down has been done.

Once again, you are missing the point that the data sets out clearly, and is irrefutable, and that is, there are not many "whittlers" in the market now. 😂😂

I expect there will be a long list of new properties coming up for sale now. Yesterday I noticed that one luxury project had removed the ownership options from its ad. They used to explain the variety of ownership possibilities, but now ownership is not mentioned at all.

32 minutes ago, Hummin said:

I expect there will be a long list of new properties coming up for sale now. Yesterday I noticed that one luxury project had removed the ownership options from its ad. They used to explain the variety of ownership possibilities, but now ownership is not mentioned at all.

I'm not sure even naive Russians and money laundering Chinese will buy in thai company name now

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I'm not sure even naive Russians and money laundering Chinese will buy in thai company name now

Can it be visa agents is up next ?

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

Nice try, but I am sure the Chairperson, who does not speak English as their first language, not only meant vacant, but also for sale, hence mentioning the Thai government should buy some of the housing stock for low income earners.

Once again, you are missing the point that the data sets out clearly, and is irrefutable, and that is, there are not many "whittlers" in the market now. 😂😂

I doubt that is the case, and Google doesn't support it, but it doesn't matter what the chairman meant--national numbers are irrelevant. As I keep saying, on an individual level, what matters is locally. When I am selling a product, how much competition do I have locally? If I'm selling BMWs, is there a Mercedes dealer nearby, too? Or, even worse, another BMW dealership? Doesn't matter to me if, nationally, there are 60 BMW and Mercedes dealerships. Is there one near my dealership?

If I'm selling a 3 bedroom 3 bath house with a pool in Pong, how many others like it are also for sale in my area, for about the same price? That's what is important. Again, it doesn't matter how many there are for sale nationwide. Could be 50 in Chiang Mai. Irrelevant--I'm not selling in CM. Relevant? Google telling me there were 3 in my area.

When I am selling, I don't need 'many' whittlers. I just need one. In a growing Pattaya, that one buyer I need--sometimes a foreigner, sometimes a Thai, has so far turned up, usually with the help of a realtor.

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

Can it be visa agents is up next ?

They seem less interested in that because Immigration etc are getting a cut anyway. Seizing property and land is presumably very lucrative

On 7/23/2026 at 4:51 PM, scubascuba3 said:

My cleaner has a farang friend he panicked and transferred his house to her, better gamble. I wouldn't touch thai company name houses or condos

There is an Arab man in our complex that has about 10-12 properties all under the Company Name scheme, been here for twenty years………he is selling the lot. I wouldn’t touch one with a ten foot pole at the moment. I would only entertain buying anything now, if it could be put entirely in my own name. Today its International Schools, Yesterday was Businesses, tomorrow Private Condominiums, once the BIB smell blood in the water, it will be a feeding frenzy. Keep your eyes open for the ‘flash property auctions’ sponsored by the BIB in a Moo Banh near you. Peace

20 hours ago, newnative said:

it doesn't matter what the chairman meant--national numbers are irrelevant.

There within lays your denial.

20 hours ago, newnative said:

When I am selling a product, how much competition do I have locally?

If no one wants to buy the product, it doesn't matter how many, or how little, competitors are near.

20 hours ago, newnative said:

If I'm selling a 3 bedroom 3 bath house with a pool in Pong, how many others like it are also for sale in my area, for about the same price? That's what is important. Again, it doesn't matter how many there are for sale nationwide.

It does matter. It's called consumer confidence. Whether Thai or farang, it's down right now, just like Thai tourism.

20 hours ago, newnative said:

When I am selling, I don't need 'many' whittlers. I just need one.

You mean fools, don't you? You just need one. 😂

Since you like Google, here's a website from the first page of a Google search.

1086 properties for sale in Pattaya. No typo, over 1000 properties in Pattaya for sale.

https://www.siamrealestate.com

Competition for that one fool seems to be fierce. 😂

18 hours ago, Explorator en Action said:

There is an Arab man in our complex that has about 10-12 properties all under the Company Name scheme, been here for twenty years………he is selling the lot.

He'll be lucky to sell them over the next 20 years. 😂

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