Where To Buy A Condo- Bkk,pattaya Or Phuket?

[dundee007]

I am thinking of buying a condo in Thailand. Solely for the purpose of renting. Can you guys suggest me the location- where to buy BKK, Patttaya or Phuket???? and in which location????I am quite confused and dont have much knowledge regarding condos. Thank you for your help.

Edited February 17, 2010 by dundee007

[steelepulse]

Any particular budget in mind? Do you want to rent out for short periods (holiday let) or long periods? Who is going to manage the rental for you?

[dundee007]

Any particular budget in mind? Do you want to rent out for short periods (holiday let) or long periods? Who is going to manage the rental for you?

well....under B 6.0 million. i prefer long period rent out. well i guess the condo builder/management shall manage it for me?????

dont know about it...also need to find out the costs for maintaining etc. Thanks for the reply Steelepulse.

[ExpatJ]

I would never buy a condo in a tourist resort town like pattaya or phuket. One terrorist (e.g. southern insurgents in Thailand) bomb can ruin the market for years (see what happened in Bali); whereas a bomb in a capital city will not have the same effect since tourism is only a tiny part of the whole local economy.

Basically if you are buying to rent, go where the most people with the most money are- capital cities.

[LennyW]

I would never buy a condo in a tourist resort town like pattaya or phuket. One terrorist (e.g. southern insurgents in Thailand) bomb can ruin the market for years (see what happened in Bali); whereas a bomb in a capital city will not have the same effect since tourism is only a tiny part of the whole local economy.

Basically if you are buying to rent, go where the most people with the most money are- capital cities.

Thats a ridiculious post with insane assumptions <deleted>, what colour shirt are you wearing?? get my drift?

[londonthai]

it might be worth buying a condo, if you, your family and friends aregoing to use it through the year and if you are planning to move to thailand in the future, maybe for retirement.

investing money 6k miles from home, without somebody who you can trust, is very risky. You might see a very little or no income, because you won't be able to check if and for how long the property is occupied.

it is realy not that easy to rent long term, as there is surplus of accommodation

[123ace]

The OP has a fair question, my short answer would be:

Phuket - Too seasonal, scarcity of freehold condos, subject to tourism performance.

Pattaya - As above, but the market is flooded with condo's and few long term / quality tenants.

Bangkok - Best of the three. My money would be in the Silom / Saladaeng area and some Sukhumvit soi's.

Buy in a building managed by an international firm with a leasing service in-house and you should be relatively ok as a non-resident landlord.

Hope this helps.

[steelepulse]

Some more questions to consider: Is this for a primary investment, a secondary investment, or do you just want to own a condo in Thailand? Do you absolutely have to have an ROI? Will you be needing to sell in a hurry if things go bad on your other investments?

I can't say one way or another which location is best, but a lot of questions need to be addressed before deciding which place is best.

[Skint]

Have you considered Hua Hin? I think if renting long term its a good option like previous posts Pattaya/Phuket/Bangers have a shed load of condos for rent and sale i think unless you have something spectacular you may struggle to rent it at a good price.

[123ace]

Have you considered Hua Hin? I think if renting long term its a good option like previous posts Pattaya/Phuket/Bangers have a shed load of condos for rent and sale i think unless you have something spectacular you may struggle to rent it at a good price.

Hua Hin is swamped wth new condo's as well, they sell better as Thai's are the majority buying group, but I can assure you the rental outlook is very poor. Bangkok is far better from a rental perspetive and it comes down to location.

[ExpatJ]

I would never buy a condo in a tourist resort town like pattaya or phuket. One terrorist (e.g. southern insurgents in Thailand) bomb can ruin the market for years (see what happened in Bali); whereas a bomb in a capital city will not have the same effect since tourism is only a tiny part of the whole local economy.

Basically if you are buying to rent, go where the most people with the most money are- capital cities.

Thats a ridiculious post with insane assumptions <deleted>, what colour shirt are you wearing?? get my drift?

Didnt mean to be alarmist, but i saw condo/foreign property market plummet in Bali after the bombing and it still hasn't recovered years later. With all the risk in buying property, at least that's one less risk if you avoid holiday resort towns (in any country really, not just Thailand).

Personally im very bullish on Thailand, i see a very bright future economically in the medium-long term (which is why im looking to buy a condo here my self).

[trogers]

Didnt mean to be alarmist, but i saw condo/foreign property market plummet in Bali after the bombing and it still hasn't recovered years later.

Could the fall in prices of the Bali property market due to the fact that their windows and doors are positioned to face the mountain and not the sea?

[dundee007]

thanks EJ,LW,londonthai,123,steelepulse,skint,trogers for putting valuable info.

this can be viewed as secondary investment and would like to own a condo in Thailand. i dont need to have ROI but if it turns out- better

thanks a lot guys.

[AddictedToThai]

IMO the best solution would be to buy in a new project in Bangkok CBD with long-term tenant in place.

[dundee007]

IMO the best solution would be to buy in a new project in Bangkok CBD with long-term tenant in place.

ATT, any specific name??? Thanks ATT.

[babuhavas]

Buy in bangkok,

silom or sathorn naratiwat road will be best and in your budget.

good luck

[Alwaysright]

I would never buy a condo in a tourist resort town like pattaya or phuket. One terrorist (e.g. southern insurgents in Thailand) bomb can ruin the market for years (see what happened in Bali); whereas a bomb in a capital city will not have the same effect since tourism is only a tiny part of the whole local economy.

Basically if you are buying to rent, go where the most people with the most money are- capital cities.

Thats a ridiculious post with insane assumptions <deleted>, what colour shirt are you wearing?? get my drift?

Didnt mean to be alarmist, but i saw condo/foreign property market plummet in Bali after the bombing and it still hasn't recovered years later. With all the risk in buying property, at least that's one less risk if you avoid holiday resort towns (in any country really, not just Thailand).

Personally im very bullish on Thailand, i see a very bright future economically in the medium-long term (which is why im looking to buy a condo here my self).

Bali is in a Muslim country,need I say more?

[babuhavas]

I would never buy a condo in a tourist resort town like pattaya or phuket. One terrorist (e.g. southern insurgents in Thailand) bomb can ruin the market for years (see what happened in Bali); whereas a bomb in a capital city will not have the same effect since tourism is only a tiny part of the whole local economy.

Basically if you are buying to rent, go where the most people with the most money are- capital cities.

Thats a ridiculious post with insane assumptions <deleted>, what colour shirt are you wearing?? get my drift?

Didnt mean to be alarmist, but i saw condo/foreign property market plummet in Bali after the bombing and it still hasn't recovered years later. With all the risk in buying property, at least that's one less risk if you avoid holiday resort towns (in any country really, not just Thailand).

Personally im very bullish on Thailand, i see a very bright future economically in the medium-long term (which is why im looking to buy a condo here my self).

Bali is in a Muslim country,need I say more?

70% of bali local population are hindus

[YanTree]

Of the three you picked absolutely Bangkok - and probably pick Bangkok over any other city in Thailand. Though you may get a better ROI in Chiang Mai, you can get condo's pretty cheap up there - not sure about the rental market.

Sukhumvit area is where I'm looking to buy something - you will always have tenants. Japanese and Farang alike love this area and plenty of Thai's too. Checkout prakard.com - they have forums for specific developments - pretty easy to tell there what the going rate is in a given development and also what the going rate is for rentals. This way you don't get ripped off. Even if you find something elsewhere, make sure you can't get it cheaper on prakard.

[bustersizemore]

You need to analyze any real estate investment (very basically) in terms of cash-on-cash return and resale value (appreciation or possible  depreciation). In Thailand, it's important to "factor in" political & misc financial risks (foreign currency exchange risks, liquidity, etc) also.

The condominium mkt in Thailand is artificially high due to the constraints of foreigners owning property in freehold. The only option for a foreigner to own property in "fee" is to purchase a condo. Hence, the condo mkt is Thailand is, for the most part, driven by foreigners. In most condo developments in Thailand (in areas that  have any significant presence of foreigners), the units available for "foreign ownership" demand a premium while the remaining units sell much cheaper. It's not really a "level" playing field in Thailand and the politics have created a "false" market.   

You might investigate other countries that are more "foreigner friendly" and allow foreign ownership of properties of all types, not only condominiums which are inherently a bad investment (in most respects) in Thailand. 

Should you decide to invest money in Thailand, be sure to seek advice from a proper legal firm. 

[dundee007]

thanks bustersizemore, its absolutely true. appreciate putting light on these issues. Thanks again.

[seekingfriends]

I would never buy a condo in a tourist resort town like pattaya or phuket. One terrorist (e.g. southern insurgents in Thailand) bomb can ruin the market for years (see what happened in Bali); whereas a bomb in a capital city will not have the same effect since tourism is only a tiny part of the whole local economy.

Basically if you are buying to rent, go where the most people with the most money are- capital cities.

Thats a ridiculious post with insane assumptions <deleted>, what colour shirt are you wearing?? get my drift?

man you have to do do youe own homewook . would you ask that question online inyoue own country . james

[Bizz]

You need to analyze any real estate investment (very basically) in terms of cash-on-cash return and resale value (appreciation or possible  depreciation). In Thailand, it's important to "factor in" political & misc financial risks (foreign currency exchange risks, liquidity, etc) also.

The condominium mkt in Thailand is artificially high due to the constraints of foreigners owning property in freehold. The only option for a foreigner to own property in "fee" is to purchase a condo. Hence, the condo mkt is Thailand is, for the most part, driven by foreigners. In most condo developments in Thailand (in areas that  have any significant presence of foreigners), the units available for "foreign ownership" demand a premium while the remaining units sell much cheaper. It's not really a "level" playing field in Thailand and the politics have created a "false" market.   

You might investigate other countries that are more "foreigner friendly" and allow foreign ownership of properties of all types, not only condominiums which are inherently a bad investment (in most respects) in Thailand. 

Should you decide to invest money in Thailand, be sure to seek advice from a proper legal firm. 

quite a interesting analysis but very accurate.

[ExpatJ]

You need to analyze any real estate investment (very basically) in terms of cash-on-cash return and resale value (appreciation or possible depreciation). In Thailand, it's important to "factor in" political & misc financial risks (foreign currency exchange risks, liquidity, etc) also.

The condominium mkt in Thailand is artificially high due to the constraints of foreigners owning property in freehold. The only option for a foreigner to own property in "fee" is to purchase a condo. Hence, the condo mkt is Thailand is, for the most part, driven by foreigners. In most condo developments in Thailand (in areas that have any significant presence of foreigners), the units available for "foreign ownership" demand a premium while the remaining units sell much cheaper. It's not really a "level" playing field in Thailand and the politics have created a "false" market.

You might investigate other countries that are more "foreigner friendly" and allow foreign ownership of properties of all types, not only condominiums which are inherently a bad investment (in most respects) in Thailand.

Should you decide to invest money in Thailand, be sure to seek advice from a proper legal firm.

I would disagree to some of this. Owning a condo in general is an inherently good investment if you are renting it out- no other investment will give you monthly cash payments while at the same time your principal is also increasing over time (more likely than not). BUT- i would not recommned to buy if you need to get a mortgage- only buy here if you can afford to pay cash up front for 100% of the amount.

If you are a condo owner in Thailand your investment has done better than those people who owned property in UK, USA for example. That is, the value of your condo pretty much stayed the same while those owners in UK/USA saw their property values plummet. So when people talk about risk in Thailand- yes its true, but keep it in perspective!.

Thais are still the biggest buyers of condos is my understanding- i know the new siri@sukhumvit grade A condo in Thonglor is majority thai bought.

[trogers]

Thais are still the biggest buyers of condos is my understanding- i know the new siri@sukhumvit grade A condo in Thonglor is majority thai bought.

Seems only in Bangkok, in all classes, as there are no dual price lists (foreigners being charged higher prices) in any offplan developments, unlike those mentioned in Pattaya.

[123ace]

The Thai condo markets differ in buying trends, in simple:

Bangkok: Mostly Thai buyers in all sectors. Some strong foreign clusters of buying.

Hua Hin: Mostly Thai, reasonable foreign demand.

Phuket: Limited Thai condo demand. Relatively few freehold condo's anyway - most new supply is Apartment (leasehold title).

Pattaya: Mostly foreign demand, increasingly less Thai interest. Pre 1997 Thai demand was more significant