Are There That Many Buyers In Hua Hin

[monkeytunes]

Everywhere you go in and around Hua Hin there are new developments from Housing projects, Condos and townhouses there new property for sale popping up all over the place, I cant believe there are that many buyers, how will all the developers survive? or is property really selling so well it warrants the amount being built?

[stander]

There is a small core of wealth Thai families in HH who have encouraged most if not all of these developments and are a “partner” in most of them.

Their philosophy is that the farang developer needs a quick return and they are in it for the long haul and sooner rather than later they can squeeze the farang out

[johnnyk]

Much of it is pre-sold not built on spec.

[hhfarang]

Squeezing the farang builders out might not be a bad thing. Most of the dishonest dealings I am aware of in the real estate market here involve farang builders; plus, from what I've seen personally, the Thai builders have better finish quality.

My wife is in the business and sales have been very slow for the last few months because of low season and the economic uncertainty in the world. Ask me again in February and I can tell you whether houses are still moving or not. Last high season the wife sold one or more per month.

[monkeytunes]

Is there anyone in the Hua Hin real estate business that can give us an honest view or even people that have or are trying to sell there property, hows it going? have you had luck selling your property?are there serious buyers out there?

[hhfarang]

My wife is an agent and our house is on the market and to answer your question, no, there are very few serious buyers at the moment. The economic crisis plus the trouble in Bangkok seems to have scared a lot of people off. Right now, my wife is only getting bargain hunters that will offer half what a house is worth, or that want the owner to give them a mortgage because they want a house but don't have any money! Also, in the current market location is even more important. The few serious buyers with money want a house on the beach or on a golf course. All others are out of luck.

High season starts next month and if it doesn't pick up then it may be the death knell for a while for Hua Hin real estate.

[stander]

I agree with hhfarang and if you are looking for a bargain there are a lot to be had via house and/or land bank repossessions, I pick a real good deal last month.

[monkeytunes]

My wife is an agent and our house is on the market and to answer your question, no, there are very few serious buyers at the moment. The economic crisis plus the trouble in Bangkok seems to have scared a lot of people off. Right now, my wife is only getting bargain hunters that will offer half what a house is worth, or that want the owner to give them a mortgage because they want a house but don't have any money! Also, in the current market location is even more important. The few serious buyers with money want a house on the beach or on a golf course. All others are out of luck.

High season starts next month and if it doesn't pick up then it may be the death knell for a while for Hua Hin real estate.

I have heard the same view from a few friends, but Ive also had the feeling that its been the case for quite some time, but still everyday I drive around there new buildings going up and I see another new housing project,

do you think the bubbles ready to burst here in HH, or is it just a blip and once the Political Issues are sorted and world economy settles down sales will start up in abundance as they were 2-3 years ago? or are we going to see what I call dead projects, developers that have run out of cash and cannot find an alternative but to close up shop. Oh for a crystal ball.

[johnnyk]

Friends sold their house a few months ago for 1.5X what they paid two and a half years before.

[hhfarang]

Good news and bad news,

The good news is that I think this is just a blip. Hua Hin will remain one of the most desirable places to live in Thailand because of the climate, plethora of things to do, and central location with proximity to Bangkok while retaining that small town atmosphere. When (if?) the economy ever returns to normal and when (if?) the over publicized violence in Bangkok is settled I think things will return to normal and buyers will return, especially if the Thai government ever loosens the foreign ownership laws.

The bad news is that since I've been living here, Hua Hin has already become too crowded, too much traffic, no place to park and the growth over the last four years has taken away some of the charm of the town in my humble opinion. It has also made it the most expensive place in Thailand in general because of the infusion of foreign currency. It is becoming another Phuket. Maybe a temporary slow down in growth is a good thing to give the infrastructure time to catch up with the burgeoning population.

[whynot?]

all I know is there are a score of houses for sale in my hood and the sales office is empty every time I go by-theres a couple house being built for customers but the spec places just sit-and I cant believe all the condos being built will sell

Edited October 12, 2008 by whynot?

[monkeytunes]

all I know is there are a score of houses for sale in my hood and the sales office is empty every time I go by-theres a couple house being built for customers but the spec places just sit-and I cant believe all the condos being built will sell

same here, new and old, plus more just starting to be built, but good for new buyers I guest, the one thing that is interesting is the amount of private sales, there are 2nd hand home everywhere. I wonder why?

[johnnyk]

On my estate there are houses for sale but they are currently owned by punters, not the developer.

There are many empty houses as well but they are owned by people who plan to retire in HH but they come for a month or so in winter at this time.

[stgrhe]

Right now, my wife is only getting bargain hunters that will offer half what a house is worth, or that want the owner to give them a mortgage because they want a house but don't have any money!

A property is never worth more than what someone is prepared to pay for it at any given time! Your wife is in the RE business and you ought to know that hhfarang. The fact is that RE prices go up and drop in cycles but for RE in prime locations the long-term gain is in most cases pretty good.

[johnnyk]

Right now, my wife is only getting bargain hunters that will offer half what a house is worth, or that want the owner to give them a mortgage because they want a house but don't have any money!

A property is never worth more than what someone is prepared to pay for it at any given time! Your wife is in the RE business and you ought to know that hhfarang. The fact is that RE prices go up and drop in cycles but for RE in prime locations the long-term gain is in most cases pretty good.

100% true.

Some people confuse the price they paid with what it is actually worth in the market. Because someone paid 6 million does not mean he can get 6 million in today's market. If the best offer is 5 million then that's what its worth, the rest is bleating.

[pothai]

Land + Build + 30% = value.........not Land + Build + 500%....realistcally priced land/property is still selling but over valued developments arnt. Check out the estate agents on Koh Samui....they are all now advertising "Distressed Sales..room for more negotiation"...just about sums it up really.

[taxexile]

Is there anyone in the Hua Hin real estate business that can give us an honest view

seeing the words real estate and honest in the same sentence always makes me laugh.

the falang walled ghettos seem to be suffering badly , most of the half finished bungalow villages that have spread like a pox around the periphery of the town over the past few years look forlorn and empty , and with the economic situation getting worse in europe i expect the tumbleweed look to spread.

with the recent firebombing and then shooting of an owner (who dared to complain about his house and its polluted water supply) making the news i think buyers are becoming very aware of just how careful they have to be before buying a house or bungalow here , and that is before having to deal with the agents and lawyers and ownership requirements.

there are one or two agents here who distance themselves from the rest , and maybe they do offer quality in their service and in the products they sell ,and if so i hope they are successful.

the 30 page argument / discussion between the victim , other owners , developers and agents and the accused that ran on the monsters and critics blog for months until the victim was shot told readers a lot about the kind of people operating in the business here. despicable doesnt even come close to describing the situation here.

a local thai lawyer told me that he refuses to do any property work for foreigners here , in spite of the money to be made from such work. he feels sorry for foreigners buying into the wrong project here and wishes the authorities could do something about it. but , he said , it is all controlled by important people that are too powerful to cross , even powerful falangs he said.

he would not give details and would not discuss it further when i asked more questions. he went all quiet and started to shuffle the papers on his desk.

there are many high end footballer style homes with big for sale or rent notices pinned on the gates , those that have been completed that is. ridiculously priced by greedy owners or developers they will surely remain empty for some time to come.

the falang market seems to be dying on its knees , and about time too. too many developments , too many pointy roofs and too many midget sized swimming pools. enough is enough. hopefully many of the foreign developers will go under and be forced to give up their cocktail parties and their tooth whitening and their self congratulating junkets that are so well reported in the local news sheets. they may have made money for themselves and their thai partners , but they are ruining the town with their awful handiwork and false promises.

just like they have done everywhere else they wash up in thailand. i just wish they would take their money and GO.

thais buyers of course would not be seen dead in any of these developments , unless they happen to be the wives of foreigners.

the middle class thais who want a weekend retreat or second home in hua hin will have more sense than to buy into these poorly set up , poorly managed , disneyland designed ghettos mostly run by foreign sharks in league with local sharks whose only aim is to maximise profits and provide minimal return.

thais know how things work in this country and they stay clear.

they buy condos , usually off plan , and if any foreigner wants to buy safely and securely in hua hin , then buy into a thai condo built by a thai company with a good history that has a majority of thai owners .... and stay away from the foreigners here involved in the business.

i'm sure there are some happy buyers in hua hin , and it would be nice to hear from them and hear which developments they have bought into.

heres hoping for a partial collapse and complete shakeout of the housing market and those who run it in hua hin.

[hhfarang]

As everyone knows, the real estate market is suffering everywhere now and with the economic situation worldwide, a second home or vacation home (which most are here) is probably the last thing anyone is thinking of buying. Most are struggling to pay the mortgage for their first home.

Add to that the well publicized political troubles in Thailand (airport closure in November, etc.), and the bad press in the real estate market in Hua Hin in particular over the last year or so and you end up with the "perfect real estate storm" where homes are not selling at any price, even reduced 50%.

Memories are short and anyone who is prepared to wait a couple of years until all this (hopefully) blows over will be able to sell and will get a much better price. Hua Hin will always be a desirable place to live or vacation for people from frozen Europe and elsewhere so it will become popular again and the market will return. The only question is when and will the people needing to sell a house because of economic woes now be able to make it through this downturn.

Hopefully, the real estate crooks won't be able to ride out the storm and will move on to another town or another business. There are already signs of that with some of the most notorious out of business. Unfortunately, some honest developers and Real Estate companies will also run into cash flow problems and get caught up in the storm with the flotsam and jetsam.

[maccaroni man]

Is there anyone in the Hua Hin real estate business that can give us an honest view or even people that have or are trying to sell there property, hows it going? have you had luck selling your property?are there serious buyers out there?

I have several plots of land some towards cha am and some behind the Grand and more 10 min south of town centre. I have gotten phone calls on all locations in the last week, so there must be some thing going on up in HH because this is more action than i have had in 6mos.

Edited February 5, 2009 by maccaroni man

[tominchaam]

Is there anyone in the Hua Hin real estate business that can give us an honest view

seeing the words real estate and honest in the same sentence always makes me laugh.

the falang walled ghettos seem to be suffering badly , most of the half finished bungalow villages that have spread like a pox around the periphery of the town over the past few years look forlorn and empty , and with the economic situation getting worse in europe i expect the tumbleweed look to spread.

with the recent firebombing and then shooting of an owner (who dared to complain about his house and its polluted water supply) making the news i think buyers are becoming very aware of just how careful they have to be before buying a house or bungalow here , and that is before having to deal with the agents and lawyers and ownership requirements.

there are one or two agents here who distance themselves from the rest , and maybe they do offer quality in their service and in the products they sell ,and if so i hope they are successful.

the 30 page argument / discussion between the victim , other owners , developers and agents and the accused that ran on the monsters and critics blog for months until the victim was shot told readers a lot about the kind of people operating in the business here. despicable doesnt even come close to describing the situation here.

a local thai lawyer told me that he refuses to do any property work for foreigners here , in spite of the money to be made from such work. he feels sorry for foreigners buying into the wrong project here and wishes the authorities could do something about it. but , he said , it is all controlled by important people that are too powerful to cross , even powerful falangs he said.

he would not give details and would not discuss it further when i asked more questions. he went all quiet and started to shuffle the papers on his desk.

there are many high end footballer style homes with big for sale or rent notices pinned on the gates , those that have been completed that is. ridiculously priced by greedy owners or developers they will surely remain empty for some time to come.

the falang market seems to be dying on its knees , and about time too. too many developments , too many pointy roofs and too many midget sized swimming pools. enough is enough. hopefully many of the foreign developers will go under and be forced to give up their cocktail parties and their tooth whitening and their self congratulating junkets that are so well reported in the local news sheets. they may have made money for themselves and their thai partners , but they are ruining the town with their awful handiwork and false promises.

just like they have done everywhere else they wash up in thailand. i just wish they would take their money and GO.

thais buyers of course would not be seen dead in any of these developments , unless they happen to be the wives of foreigners.

the middle class thais who want a weekend retreat or second home in hua hin will have more sense than to buy into these poorly set up , poorly managed , disneyland designed ghettos mostly run by foreign sharks in league with local sharks whose only aim is to maximise profits and provide minimal return.

thais know how things work in this country and they stay clear.

they buy condos , usually off plan , and if any foreigner wants to buy safely and securely in hua hin , then buy into a thai condo built by a thai company with a good history that has a majority of thai owners .... and stay away from the foreigners here involved in the business.

i'm sure there are some happy buyers in hua hin , and it would be nice to hear from them and hear which developments they have bought into.

heres hoping for a partial collapse and complete shakeout of the housing market and those who run it in hua hin.

There are various ways to say it – but I think Taxexile has done it pretty well!

We are still in the beginning of a sick market situation and more bad news are likely to turn up for quite some time to come. One of the reasons we are not aware of difficulties to buyers is because they are spread out all over the world and hereby have difficulties in making themselves heard.

Longsighted I am pretty sure the house market will recover but not within the next few years.

[taxexile]

I have gotten phone calls on all locations in the last week, so there must be some thing going on up in HH because this is more action than i have had in 6mos.

...... and just how many of those phone calls do you honestly think will result in sales.

with asking prices of 5 mill to 10 mill a rai for average plots in the bo fai between the railway and the hills i honestly cant see lots of action coming anybodies way.

[maccaroni man]

I have gotten phone calls on all locations in the last week, so there must be some thing going on up in HH because this is more action than i have had in 6mos.

...... and just how many of those phone calls do you honestly think will result in sales.

with asking prices of 5 mill to 10 mill a rai for average plots in the bo fai between the railway and the hills i honestly cant see lots of action coming anybodies way.

that may be why I am getting the calls all my land is priced from 1.2 to 3.8 per rai.

[taxexile]

where is your land ?

[khundon]

As everyone knows, the real estate market is suffering everywhere now and with the economic situation worldwide, a second home or vacation home (which most are here) is probably the last thing anyone is thinking of buying. Most are struggling to pay the mortgage for their first home.

Add to that the well publicized political troubles in Thailand (airport closure in November, etc.), and the bad press in the real estate market in Hua Hin in particular over the last year or so and you end up with the "perfect real estate storm" where homes are not selling at any price, even reduced 50%.

Memories are short and anyone who is prepared to wait a couple of years until all this (hopefully) blows over will be able to sell and will get a much better price. Hua Hin will always be a desirable place to live or vacation for people from frozen Europe and elsewhere so it will become popular again and the market will return. The only question is when and will the people needing to sell a house because of economic woes now be able to make it through this downturn.

Hopefully, the real estate crooks won't be able to ride out the storm and will move on to another town or another business. There are already signs of that with some of the most notorious out of business. Unfortunately, some honest developers and Real Estate companies will also run into cash flow problems and get caught up in the storm with the flotsam and jetsam.

HHfarang

I agree, things are bad at the moment but will pick up in a year or two.

I feel sorry for the farangs who are forced into distressed sales but I'm sorry to say, that's life.

If you can pick up a good cheap plot, in good location, hang onto it. They are not making land anymore.

[PeaceBlondie]

I thought the Dutch had been making land for centuries......

[MysteryPlane]

NOTHING IS SELLING, SURPRISED?

World economic meltdown.

Currency depreciation.

Third World Country.

Land House purchase criteria.

Come back in 3 years, do not believe the bull.

[khundon]

I thought the Dutch had been making land for centuries......

Yes they are, but the North sea could wipe that out in one night.

[Burgernev]

The market is very very slow for obvious reasons.

Talking about small developers, ie: upto 30 no. house projects, there are sales, mainly wealthy cash-rich Scandanavians, whose currencies have not been hit too hard over the past year, the other buyers are expats working in the Mid-East, China, Singapore and Hong Kong and again are cash-rich due to their jobs, many get paid in Dollars too so not affected by Sterling crash.

But they are few and far between compared with before, the developers that established themselves here 4-5 years ago and went through the boom period will not be too affected, also many, like ourselves, have a backlog of upto a year of construction works where many buyers bought off-plan but did not want to complete for a year or more.

Some of the late arrival developers are suffering and there may be bargains to be picked up there or sadly they may be falsed to stop work and have half-build developments until it picks up again in a few years time.

Re-sales where owners are forced to sell for whatever reason will also see bargains , unless you're sending Sterling over, as you can get a 30% discount on a house now and still be 5% down due to the crap rate.

We're looking at land at the moment and Thais will not drop 1 Baht, they do not understand or care less about global recession (why should they they're in no rush to sell), so when things recover in a few years prices will not go down much, building materials and labour costs are not dropping and fixed, only scope for price drops is what developers will cut from their margins.

Honest opinion, take it or leave it

Burgernev

Edited March 8, 2009 by Burgernev

[MSingh]

We're looking at land at the moment and Thais will not drop 1 Baht, they do not understand or care less about global recession (why should they they're in no rush to sell)

Burgernev

Again, proof that the Global Economy Crisis has no impact whatsoever on the Land of Smiles...

[Marvo]

The market is very very slow for obvious reasons.

Talking about small developers, ie: upto 30 no. house projects, there are sales, mainly wealthy cash-rich Scandanavians, whose currencies have not been hit too hard over the past year, the other buyers are expats working in the Mid-East, China, Singapore and Hong Kong and again are cash-rich due to their jobs, many get paid in Dollars too so not affected by Sterling crash.

But they are few and far between compared with before, the developers that established themselves here 4-5 years ago and went through the boom period will not be too affected, also many, like ourselves, have a backlog of upto a year of construction works where many buyers bought off-plan but did not want to complete for a year or more.

Some of the late arrival developers are suffering and there may be bargains to be picked up there or sadly they may be falsed to stop work and have half-build developments until it picks up again in a few years time.

Re-sales where owners are forced to sell for whatever reason will also see bargains , unless you're sending Sterling over, as you can get a 30% discount on a house now and still be 5% down due to the crap rate.

We're looking at land at the moment and Thais will not drop 1 Baht, they do not understand or care less about global recession (why should they they're in no rush to sell), so when things recover in a few years prices will not go down much, building materials and labour costs are not dropping and fixed, only scope for price drops is what developers will cut from their margins.

Honest opinion, take it or leave it

Burgernev

Re the materials side of things, between 18 months and 6 months ago the price of steel, transport and many materials skyrocketed as commodities and oil went through the roof. If retail prices are not going back down now, then someone in the trade is making a huge pile are they not? Also I guess in Thailand there is not much room for labour costs to drop much.