Real Estate Sale

[TRIPxCORE]

I was seriously considering selling my condo upon my next trip to LOS in late December-early January. First, does anybody know if there are people you can get to appraise the value of your property and if so, any recommendations?

Second, can anybody recommend a good firm to go with to try and sell the property through?

Appreciate any info. If you know anybody looking for a 1 BR condo in BKK right near the river, contact me. Thanks!

[TRIPxCORE]

Nobody has info on this? Surely some of you have dealt with Real Estate people in BKK?

[OldAsiaHand]

Nobody has info on this?  Surely some of you have dealt with Real Estate people in BKK?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, I have, and I can't recommend any of them to you.

This isn't the US. It isn't even the UK. There's no liquid market for residential property here and no listing system at all. There are also no listing agents in the western sense. The name agencies all deal exclusively with major developers who are now desperate to sell their incomplete buildings. You unit will be in competition with those projects (on which they get bonus commissions) so they will make no effort at all to sell it. The little local agents that don't have deals with developers are generally both lazy and stupid, so you can forget them as an alternative. All they will do is tell you 'no one want used property.' Which, at least as applied to Thais, is true.

Call them all up and they will put you apartment in their books. Then if anyone comes in and demands to buy it, they will sell it to them, but that's all they will do. Do you have any idea how many abandoned residential units there are in Bangkok that foreigners have just walked away from because they can't sell them? Now you do.

[samran]

OldAsiaHand,

Whats your opinion of the liquidity at the upper end of the market. Specifically, I am thinking of your All Season Place type establishments, or your more 'nice' places circa 60's that seem to be solidly built and that you find up some of the quieter Suk sois, or even out Ari way?

[OldAsiaHand]

OldAsiaHand,

Whats your opinion of the liquidity at the upper end of the market.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Zero. Nada. Forget it.

Several months ago you would hear around the traps that ... maybe ... there were a few sales taking place involving small units (one bedroom and studio) at the upper end of the market, but no more. The general view now is that anything above, say, six million is dead dead dead. And it's going to get deader. (That may not be a real word, but in this context at least, it should be.)

There's a current thread somewhere around here -- in the General section, I think -- about a planted piece that turned up recently in the IHT claiming that the residential market apartment was booming in Thailand and that condos were selling like hotcakes. Read the posts there in response to that considerable load of &lt;deleted&gt;. You'll get a feel for how deep the real negativity runs.

[OldAsiaHand]

Just found that other thread I was talking about right below this one. Look at...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=21774

[TRIPxCORE]

Well, let me tell you this, my condo is not high-end or large. Its a small one-bedroom that I would ask around 2-2.5 million Baht for. Is there no market for this at all?????

[OldAsiaHand]

Well, let me tell you this, my condo is not high-end or large.  Its a small one-bedroom that I would ask around 2-2.5 million Baht for.  Is there no market for this at all?????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I really don't have any experience with that specific sort of property in the neighborhood where you are, so I'm not sure my opinions should be given much weight here.

You should understand, however, that the residential property market in Bangkok is very, very weak right now as an overall matter. That's partly because of the large number of new buildings coming on stream over the next twelve to twenty-four months, and partly because there is a perception afoot in the land that prices will be falling soon. Maybe by a whole heck of a lot.

[pedro01]

Well, let me tell you this, my condo is not high-end or large.  Its a small one-bedroom that I would ask around 2-2.5 million Baht for.  Is there no market for this at all?????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A lot of my friends that live here part-time have sprung for condos up to 3.5 million Baht.

The notice board at reception of the building is a good place to start - anyone that an agent brings to look at a condo on their books will see it, might not bring in a sale though. You could expect 1 or 2 people a month to turn up if you do this, also expect a lot of agencies to come & see you, but don't expect them to actually do much for you.

Keep the girls in the building office management sweet & you may find that this pays dividends more than an agency. This can be an initial contact point for anyone calling for availability. Current renters wishing to buy in that building will also inquire here.

There's a lot out there though - so the facilities of the building, state of the appartment are really important.

You need to be very patient - to be honest, you may be better off renting the place out, again - the building notice board is a good place to advertise.

You can advertise in newspapers/magazines but most of the calls will be from agencies. They also probably won't tell you that they are an agency until the viewing.

Good luck

[ZOVOX]

I'm no property expert, but i've just bought my first house and my wife informed me that most thai people keep their property for their whole lives, and then pass it on to their children - much like family businesses. iF they do sell, they sell to other family members - owning property and land seems to be like a status symbol to thai people, and the more they can get, the better their social standing. Also, thais like to buy new houses. Consequently, the thai property market is very slow compared to western countries. I think you would be better off renting out.

[OldAsiaHand]

I'm no property expert, but i've just bought my first house and my wife informed me that most thai people keep their property for their whole lives, and then pass it on to their children - much like family businesses. iF they do sell, they sell to other family members - owning property and land seems to be like a status symbol to thai people, and the more they can get, the better their social standing. Also, thais like to buy new houses. Consequently, the thai property market is very slow compared to western countries. I think you would be better off renting out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, that's exactly right. Thais who claim to be real estate agents as a rule only make an effort to sell new condos, and when you bring up the need to sell your unit before you buy another, will tell you the same thing over and over: 'No one want used property.' For westerns that sounds so silly that we tend to shrug it off. Don't. It's absolutely true.

As for the rental market, it's just about as weak as the sale market. There is simply so much inventory and so much talk that the market is terrible and getting worse that no one is doing much of anything but waiting for it to hit bottom. When will that be? The convential wisdom now is several years. That may be nonsense, of course, but people tend to believe what they hear over and over, so it may turn out that way regardless.

[pedro01]

Trix

I forgot one thing - there are 3 or 4 huge property magazines (in Thai) that have thousands of properties in them.

You should try advertising in there.

Be careful of advice that "all Thais do this...." - get the property as much exposure as possible. There's no reason why someone will not buy your property if it is attractively priced.

One word though - low-end brand-new appartments are going up in Thailand - there's a nice one near On-nut station with units starting at 600,000 Baht.

Cheers

Pedro