So Many Upmarket "apartments" Being Built.

[midas]

Sometimes I think the property market in Pattaya is something of an economic anomaly. I really do not think that the prices will plunge because of the following:

Many of the buyers are using excess cash and treating their purchase as an investment. Hence so many condos being sold by the developer and not fitted out. The investors figure, why bother to fit them out when another will come along and hopefully I can sell for a profit. That might explain why many buildings look dark in the evening... The condo has been sold, but no one actually lives there. Which is probably a plus for the city. Can you imagine the strain on the infrastructure if all the condos in the city were occupied?

The pull of Thailand. Thailand has a very strong brand name.

Let's be honest, for many people Thailand is absolute heaven and nothing will stop them from owning something. The mai-pen-rai attitude, getting away from the nanny gov't etc, etc pulls on some like the sirens of the sea.

Of course there will be the occasional condo sold at a discount because the owner is short on cash or just wants to get out of the condo. Those deals will occur, but I think they are not the usual.

For the single male, Pattaya offers a lot. The beach, an abundance of non-Thai food, decent internet connections and nightly rental services, if one wishes to indulge. What more could one want? All those things do not add up to a gang buster real estate market, but add up market that will not implode.

TheWalkingMan

I don’t think anyone has ever suggested the market would “ implode “ ?

But I do think it will simply stagnate which means you may never be never be able to re- sell whatever you buy ?

To me that is just as bad i.e. the risk of not being able to get your money back.

As the Financial Crisis still evolves there will be a diminishing number of potential buyers.

If you can afford to” write off “ the purchase of your condo all well and good but to me it makes such little sense to own something when you can keep your money in a more liquid form offshore.

[Basil B]

To be realistic, Pattaya has it's attractions to all sorts of people.

• Those that come to Pattaya for it's notoriety, but then if you could splash out 10M+ on a second home why bother with Pattaya you would be pushing off the ladies where ever you went.
  
• those running from the law, Pattaya is probably the next Costa del Crime where criminals can hide away for years.
  
• To the Thais it is the equivalent to Saint tropez. Blackpool (even has it's own tower)
  
• To the Thai underworld the real estate business is an ideal money laundering machine.
  

But I think for the near future the Condos are going to fill out with refugees from Bangkok.

Edited May 17, 2010 by Basil B

[somtampet]

This is why I love living here see. You can pretend to be who you want, me well i haven't got a pot to piddle in so what I say is and have been saying the same thing for years, is, "the property market will crash here" it works a charm and gets me out of embarrassing situations with others who I know from back home who bought here 10 years ago, I was running out of excuses but after the Bangkok troubles its giving me more ammunition (no pun intended) to back up my claim. So here I am got nothing and never will have, i often join in on forum threads about the FTSE, Gold, which way the markets going etc....i dont have an absoulte clue what im on about but people think i do, so if you got nothing like me just tell people "its gonna crash im not buying anything here" just rent your little room and your honda wave and stand in the bars with your head high and shout "I'm a millionaire but i wouldn't buy anything here!"

Very funny post

some very jealous people on here lol.Now who thinks i lied about my cousin then,you will never know,keep the trolls going lads

[TheItaliann]

Not sure I would classify any of these as "up-market", especiailly in buakhow......all the overpriced "upmarket" ones like Northpoint, La Royale seem to have gone the way of the do-do.... the new ones seem to be low to middle class low rise developments, as in the pratumnak area......the question is , will the russians buy them all....and who is next after the russians decide to leave?

OK, my definition of upmarket is something that looks flash, and appeals to a farang with enough cash to pay around 15,000 bht a month, rather than the windowless shabby room I'm currently living in for 5,000. Guess I'm lucky to have a western style loo, even if there isn't a bum gun!

Even prisons have windows, dude.

[TheItaliann]

Thais utilize real estate as an inflation hedge/small return investment, as opposed to the West, where real estate is often used as a ponzi scheme where you borrow more than you can pay and find someone else to sell it to before the bank comes around.

[TheItaliann]

I agree with others. I don't see what Pattaya has to offer the average Chinese buyer. Bangkok, YES. I don't think Asians are as big on the sand and sun as farang and I doubt that will change soon. Pattaya is a pretty big culture shock for your average Chinese person, imho.

Edited May 17, 2010 by TheItaliann

[jori]

"This is why I love living here see. You can pretend to be who you want, me well i haven't got a pot to piddle in so what I say is and have been saying the same thing for years, is, "the property market will crash here" it works a charm and gets me out of embarrassing situations with others who I know from back home who bought here 10 years ago, I was running out of excuses but after the Bangkok troubles its giving me more ammunition (no pun intended) to back up my claim. So here I am got nothing and never will have, i often join in on forum threads about the FTSE, Gold, which way the markets going etc....i dont have an absoulte clue what im on about but people think i do, so if you got nothing like me just tell people "its gonna crash im not buying anything here" just rent your little room and your honda wave and stand in the bars with your head high and shout "I'm a millionaire but i wouldn't buy anything here!"

Very funny post

"some very jealous people on here lol.Now who thinks i lied about my cousin then,you will never know,keep the trolls going lads"

Jealous? Oh no! most definately not. Here's me all morning at the K bank attempting a reversal of a foreign currency account back to it's point of origin and thanking "whoever" I never used it for what I had intended (property purchase).

Laughable really attempting to describe anybody as jealous ,I'd say pity(yep really would) whoever bought in the last few years,not much going for you there at even getting half of your money back,if at all...me, I live another day. Think your cousin may be heading for the loony bin if he does exist,or it could be the author!

Only problem with foreign currency account reversal is it has to be changed into Baht and then tranferred using Swift ,otherwise can be carried out in foreign currency with no penalty,may lose it all through mugging I guess,better that though than some sweet tongued real estate crook,now that would piss me off.