House Price Not Down Much

[Marksamui]

The wife and I have been looking for a budget property in Phuket. We found one at 2.4m Baht on a small development.

The best discount that the developers are willing to offer is 60,000 Baht and 1 A/C unit.

Even though I am a serious buyer and cash buyer that could purchase and pay within 4-6 weeks are they ask they are not willing to come down any further on the price.

Given todays global market I thought that Phuket would be a buyers market??? Does not appear so for me!

[chiang mai]

The wife and I have been looking for a budget property in Phuket. We found one at 2.4m Baht on a small development.

The best discount that the developers are willing to offer is 60,000 Baht and 1 A/C unit.

Even though I am a serious buyer and cash buyer that could purchase and pay within 4-6 weeks are they ask they are not willing to come down any further on the price.

Given todays global market I thought that Phuket would be a buyers market??? Does not appear so for me!

It is technically now high season and whilst the tourist numbers are not what they should be there are still more people here than before. Developers will no doubt be holding their prices to see how the season goes. If you wait until March I have no doubt you will get a much bigger discount.

[laffingsun]

I would have assumed that the developers would want access to hard cash and would be beyond playing games.

Is the tourist season really bad or are there still decent chances of a late upsurge in arrivals?

[Marksamui]

My last offer was discount cash 100,000 Baht and 3 A/C (For each bedroom).

Now if the A/C are around 18,000 each I am looking for a total discount of 154,000, to which they stick with 60,000 + A/C which is 78,000.

Therefore we are 76,000 away for doing a deal. These guys just cannot be desparate to sell if they are willing to hold out for 76,000!

They are offering 3% of the list price and I counter with 6%.

Given all the negative news I would have thought they would bite mind hand off at 6% discount but they offer only 3%.....Does not look enough to me...

[Rimmer]

You are right they are not desperate for cash. At the end of the day the house and land will stand them in at very little. Cost to build the house 500,000 plus the land it stands on, maybe 200,000 'cos it was bought a number of years back or maybe been in the family for ever. Is the house fully finished? If not the cost of the shell and roof is very small and they maybe prepared to just let it sit.

Can only suggest find a developer that is hurting, if there are none around now there will be in six months.

[LennyW]

The reason they will be saying 3% discount is because that is what they would have had to pay an agent perhaps?

[Colonel_Mustard]

Low end, new properties in Phuket still shift fairly easily and quickly. My brother in law has just bought one in the North of the island and on that estate of about 80 houses they were all gone in a couple of months.

High end is supposedly selling ok too, it's the middle priced properties that don't seem to be selling and those developers are offering reasonable discounts and terms.

[trajan]

even in this down cycle, not all projects/developers are in the same exact boat....some may be desperate and some not...(also if you are really keen on this particular project it might show).... bargain hunters cant obsess on one project..you may need to walk away and look for another deal...wait for the right deal and circumstances right?

[in any event...you are talking about a B76K difference!...if this is a unit you really like you might also want to consider the cost of your time and effort]

.....patience and research (lots of it), timing (and ready cash of course) are needed because even though its a buyer's market at the moment, not all seller's are desperate...

[trajan]

Low end, new properties in Phuket still shift fairly easily and quickly. My brother in law has just bought one in the North of the island and on that estate of about 80 houses they were all gone in a couple of months.

High end is supposedly selling ok too, it's the middle priced properties that don't seem to be selling and those developers are offering reasonable discounts and terms.

yeah, thats a very good point...I just re-read the OPs question...its a B 2.4 million unit.... I thought he meant a B 24 million unit!

[sendbaht]

If you really like the place, then get them to split the 76k....your final offer.... a win win and everyone is happy.

[chiang mai]

It's madness I know but sellers here in Phuket start dropping their prices at the start of low season on the basis that the home didn't sell during high season. Then as high season approaches the prices are revised upwards on the basis that it will sell. I have tracked a couple of places that started off last low season at 8.9 mill and this month they are back around 11.0mill! All farang sellers I might add.

[torrenova]

The big hit is coming next year, likely 2nd quarter. Businesses are hanging on hoping for a high season that is not coming. Support and tangential businesses will feel the knock on effects next year and when they look forward to a new climate, some people are going to have to drop prices to maintain cashflow.

At the moment, people are not prepared to drop prices significantly but they will have to or they will have no buyers at all.

[trajan]

well if thats the case, come shopping in the low season

they probably figure that the people here at normal high seasons (not this particular disaster of a high season) are here on holiday..want to buy (or at least deposit) on emotion during their brief time-pressed stay (and are less prone to bargain hard)... (and dont have the ability or the will to come during low season)

[MeetJohnDoe]

Maybe that is already a fair price. You don't give any information on the size of the house/land, location, and build-grade level. Without that information, who is to say if it's a good deal or not. What is the price per sq. meter of house and is it about 150 times what it would rent for?

[torrenova]

well if thats the case, come shopping in the low season

they probably figure that the people here at normal high seasons (not this particular disaster of a high season) are here on holiday..want to buy (or at least deposit) on emotion during their brief time-pressed stay (and are less prone to bargain hard)... (and dont have the ability or the will to come during low season)

I liken it to the sale of businesses. It is perfectly clear that a lot of tourist orientated businesses are worth far less than they were 6 months or 12 months ago. However, people trying to sell businesses are asking 2007 money which is crazy. Come 2009 these values will have fallen further but it will not be until the time when the owner has to get something for his business or lose it all that prices will rationalise.

Sure some developers can just mothball a development but many will need to turn over sales to keep going and they are going to have to be more realistic come 2009.

[LaoPo]

The wife and I have been looking for a budget property in Phuket. We found one at 2.4m Baht on a small development.

The best discount that the developers are willing to offer is 60,000 Baht and 1 A/C unit.

Even though I am a serious buyer and cash buyer that could purchase and pay within 4-6 weeks are they ask they are not willing to come down any further on the price.

Given todays global market I thought that Phuket would be a buyers market??? Does not appear so for me!

The global slide in real estate didn't hit Thailand in full force yet.

In 2009 and 2010 (if you can wait that long) many owners will come down or will be forced down.

Cash is king, don't forget that and if I were you, I wouldn't buy from a developer but a house directly from the owner.

The ASKING prices are the result of steady growing prices throughout the past 3 decades.

Developers and owners think (thought) the sky was the limit....they will find out it's not.

LaoPo

[mijan24]

The wife and I have been looking for a budget property in Phuket. We found one at 2.4m Baht on a small development.

The best discount that the developers are willing to offer is 60,000 Baht and 1 A/C unit.

Even though I am a serious buyer and cash buyer that could purchase and pay within 4-6 weeks are they ask they are not willing to come down any further on the price.

Given todays global market I thought that Phuket would be a buyers market??? Does not appear so for me!

The global slide in real estate didn't hit Thailand in full force yet.

In 2009 and 2010 (if you can wait that long) many owners will come down or will be forced down.

Cash is king, don't forget that and if I were you, I wouldn't buy from a developer but a house directly from the owner.

The ASKING prices are the result of steady growing prices throughout the past 3 decades.

Developers and owners think (thought) the sky was the limit....they will find out it's not.

Patience is a virtue especially now, fools rush in where wise peoples wait and prosper

LaoPo

[steelepulse]

Those 2-3 million baht houses do move awful fast. A few years ago we bought one when the estate just started to build and they all sold. They always will as the banks will loan to Thais for this, and you can rent them out and cover your mortgage. If the OP doesn't buy the unit, someone else will,. I am always on the lookout for these new lower end brand new houses as I can put down 10-15%, rent out the house to cover the mortgage and then some, then buy another and do the same thing all over again.

[zorro1]

The wife and I have been looking for a budget property in Phuket. We found one at 2.4m Baht on a small development.

The best discount that the developers are willing to offer is 60,000 Baht and 1 A/C unit.

Even though I am a serious buyer and cash buyer that could purchase and pay within 4-6 weeks are they ask they are not willing to come down any further on the price.

Given todays global market I thought that Phuket would be a buyers market??? Does not appear so for me!

The global slide in real estate didn't hit Thailand in full force yet.

In 2009 and 2010 (if you can wait that long) many owners will come down or will be forced down.

Cash is king, don't forget that and if I were you, I wouldn't buy from a developer but a house directly from the owner.

The ASKING prices are the result of steady growing prices throughout the past 3 decades.

Developers and owners think (thought) the sky was the limit....they will find out it's not.

LaoPo

Anything is possible but if you are wrong then the op will have to pay a heck of a lot more in 2010 is it worth the risk? here is an example, when I bought at the Trendy I was crucified by friends and TV members saying I was a fool. That was 14 mths ago, Payed 70,000bht sqm (building 90% complete) Went to Sales office last week and apart from the last 2 condos its Sold Out at 95,000bht/sqm so do whatever YOU think is right and avoid the noise and clutter on TV unless your looking for the latest t-ttie bar

[Gary A]

Make the final offer in writing then just sit back and wait. There are many houses for sale and the prices will come down as people become desperate. It's a shame that some people will lose big baht, but that's the way it is. My stock market losses are about 55 percent of my nest egg. You simply accept and realize that life goes on.

[bangkapiboy]

2.4mb is pretty cheap already for a brand new house in Phuket isn't it?

[imaneggspurt]

Rent or stay where you are for 12 months, it will get cheaper,

[zorro1]

Rent or stay where you are for 12 months, it will get cheaper,

We have just gone through the greatest economic downturn since the great depression. I personally wouldn't buy property today but not because of fear but because the S/M will return over 30% per year maybe more over the next 3 years. Every cent to my name is in the ASX since the last 6 weeks. Sit back by the pool now smoke a fat cigar and wait....