Isaan Land Prices

[swissie]

A friend of mine was traveling around the Isaan in recent weeks and now returned to old Europe and conveyed to me the following message: "No matter where you go, the price of land for a single RAI of land with proper "Chanote" is 80'000 Bht and no less" ! Even Rice-Patties that need a good "Landfill".

I realize that land-prices can not be the same as they were 10 years ago, but I am having a hard time to believe this. (Especially the "Rice-Patty" part.) I realize that the value of land depends on a lot of different factors, but the blunt statement, that "nothing goes under 80'000 Bht", I would like to put in question.

So, therefore and as far as this is concerned, I would rather hear something "from the horses mouth". Ergo = From Farangs that actually live in the Isaan and know the circumstances in their particular aerea.

Thanks & cheers.

[Benjie]

I bought 2 rai last year for 120,000 Baht (60,000 baht per rai), by the road with electric and water nearby.

Paddy land goes a lot cheaper.

[seatimes]

it sure depends on where, how far from utilities etc

it can cost more than the land to get electric to it

is internet important to you?

that's another consideration

how good was your friends Thai?

who is going to buy the land?

and what protection will you have?

[MeMock]

Here in the boondocks of Ubon land prices have gone mental over the last 18 months. All because of Rubber and Cassava prices at an all time high. My brother in law just turned a 22,000 baht profit per rai with Cassava last week.

Land sales have dried up (no one wants to sell) old bush land is being cleared as fast as possible and they few bits of land that are for sale the prices are between 50 - 100,000 baht per rai, not close to anything.

[zzaa09]

As its been mentioned already, prices will vary - depending on each situation. We've some 55+ rai of prime farming land in the Surin countryside and we've heard that it can range from B60,000 to 300,000 per rai. One of our rural neighbors had an offer of B500,000 for 2 rai of quite decent patty land - though not limited to rice. There is almost a regional boom as such applies to land prices in the last ten years. Frankly, farming land is much more dear and clearly a higher value than what you might find in the regional cities - commercial property, etc.

[Gippy]

As said, it depends on where you go and what kind of land. The wife just bought land for rubber trees at 28k baht a rai, nor sor sam title, near Phon Charoen. Dirt road access, no electricity or water.

[honoluludave]

The wife has been complaining about how hight the price of land has gotten recently. She is looking for small plot to extend her farm. Farm land is starting at 100,000 per rai. And anything in town is around 500,000 per rai. Do not know if this trend is here to stay. There is a plot of land across from her grandfather that was purchased by a school teacher several years ago. 10 rai/500,000. Now it is for sale again and they want 1.5 mil for it. A number of people have looked at and said no way that it is too much and too far out in the sticks but they are holding firm on the price. Guess they do not want to sell it quickly.

[jamescollister]

While that great hungry monster to the north keeps buying everything from rice to rubber the prices will keep rising. Think sometimes people forget that we live in a global economy, so why should land prices be different any where in the world, if they produce and have infrastructure to transport etc whats the difference between Thailand USA EU OZ UK. It all comes down to the dollars that can be made. Jim

[egg]

my wife says"30,000Bt per rai for a basic rice paddy" ,,, l think that might be what she would like to pay not what she would have to pay ,,, l think 40/50,000 might be close

[klikster]

"No matter where you go, the price of land for a single RAI of land with proper "Chanote" is 80'000 Bht and no less" ! Even Rice-Patties that need a good "Landfill".

This is probably a pretty accurate quote given the "proper chanote", especially if word gets out that the buyer is not a local. Much of what is being discussed here is land with Tor Bor 5 or Sor Por Kor documents. IMO, a "proper chanote" would be Nor Sor 3 or Nor Sor 3 Gor.

[Lickey]

Nor sor sam title land, 1/2 k from nice market town of Namsom, 185.000 bht per rai, water, electric,phone line, and locals are buying, there is no restrictions on what you do on this type of titled land, you want to build a Days Inn, no problem, but you might have problems with lesser titles, doing a google search on Thai Land Titles will help guide you, just dont build too much on lesser land titled ground, you might make a thai jealous,,

[doglover]

"No matter where you go, the price of land for a single RAI of land with proper "Chanote" is 80'000 Bht and no less" ! Even Rice-Patties that need a good "Landfill".

This is probably a pretty accurate quote given the "proper chanote", especially if word gets out that the buyer is not a local. Much of what is being discussed here is land with Tor Bor 5 or Sor Por Kor documents. IMO, a "proper chanote" would be Nor Sor 3 or Nor Sor 3 Gor.

I'll second the accuracy of the quote from the OP's friend given the proper chanote title. I live in the Issan countryside and have filled in gifted paddy land for our house a few years back so not sure what the price was then. Two plots down a Thai family has seperated and also had gambling debts so they were after money in a hurry. The paddy land has irrigation from a canal and can grow two crops per year, has a busy dirt road at the front of the property with electrical lines (with a very poor supply). It is situated in the countryside between two villages and over 10km to the closest city. The first day it opened for offers they had a local village man offer 50,000 baht per rai (10 rai). They had a verbal agreement to buy but later that same day as word spread another local Thai family upped the offer to 70,000 per rai and rushed the seller off to the land office. It amazes me the money some of the villagers actually have under their mattress. Anyway, if the seller was in no rush to sell they could have easily gotten 100,000 up for the land.

*electrical service is of really no concern to these buyers as they fully intend to keep it as it is, paddy land*

**there was no story constructed for me the farang as it is known I have no intention to buy any land**

EDIT - but deals like this do pop up so it's best to be in the area you like sitting on some cash when it happens

Edited March 14, 2011 by doglover

[Gippy]

EDIT - but deals like this do pop up so it's best to be in the area you like sitting on some cash when it happens

Quite true. We got our first plot of land for 15k baht a rai as the owner needed money quickly to pay off the heavies that came to collect her gambling debts. Keep your ears open and ready access to some cash if you are looking for land.

[Rdrokit]

What ever the price it isn't going to get any cheaper. We(wife & I) bought 5 rai in the village of Non Song about 5 years ago for 120,000/rai. The land next to ours just sold for 300,000/rai. We built a house in JoHo (suburb of Korat) 3 years ago and paid 8000 baht/wah in a gated development. It is now going for 10,000/wah. So if you have the chance buy NOW.

[swissie]

Thanks for all the input folks ! Like in so many situations in life, being at the right place at the right time is half of the ballgame.

Cheers.

[zzaa09]

While that great hungry monster to the north keeps buying everything from rice to rubber the prices will keep rising. Think sometimes people forget that we live in a global economy, so why should land prices be different any where in the world, if they produce and have infrastructure to transport etc whats the difference between Thailand USA EU OZ UK. It all comes down to the dollars that can be made. Jim

All decent and lucid points that you make, James. Yet, I have to believe that this "recent" ideal and mentality of consumption just for the sake of it {aka - mindless consumption} has driven prices in locales where this understanding was never a way of life. Remembering, that it wasn't too long ago that an overwhelming percentage of farming land was familial property for substance living with a small income from the land. Today, that percentage of family property ownership is dwindling because of this infection of mindless mass consumerism.

[jamescollister]

While that great hungry monster to the north keeps buying everything from rice to rubber the prices will keep rising. Think sometimes people forget that we live in a global economy, so why should land prices be different any where in the world, if they produce and have infrastructure to transport etc whats the difference between Thailand USA EU OZ UK. It all comes down to the dollars that can be made. Jim

All decent and lucid points that you make, James. Yet, I have to believe that this "recent" ideal and mentality of consumption just for the sake of it {aka - mindless consumption} has driven prices in locales where this understanding was never a way of life. Remembering, that it wasn't too long ago that an overwhelming percentage of farming land was familial property for substance living with a small income from the land. Today, that percentage of family property ownership is dwindling because of this infection of mindless mass consumerism.

Have to agree and there is no way to turn the clock back. Thailnd will follow the west. In years to come there will be few small family farms and the vast majority of people will be employees, just has it happened in our own country's. Jim

[Benjie]

"No matter where you go, the price of land for a single RAI of land with proper "Chanote" is 80'000 Bht and no less" ! Even Rice-Patties that need a good "Landfill".

This is probably a pretty accurate quote given the "proper chanote", especially if word gets out that the buyer is not a local. Much of what is being discussed here is land with Tor Bor 5 or Sor Por Kor documents. IMO, a "proper chanote" would be Nor Sor 3 or Nor Sor 3 Gor.

As I said I paid 60k baht per 1 Rai and it's Chanote.

BTW Chanote is Chanote (Nor Sor 4)

Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Gor are not Chanote titles.

[swissie]

"No matter where you go, the price of land for a single RAI of land with proper "Chanote" is 80'000 Bht and no less" ! Even Rice-Patties that need a good "Landfill".

This is probably a pretty accurate quote given the "proper chanote", especially if word gets out that the buyer is not a local. Much of what is being discussed here is land with Tor Bor 5 or Sor Por Kor documents. IMO, a "proper chanote" would be Nor Sor 3 or Nor Sor 3 Gor.

As I said I paid 60k baht per 1 Rai and it's Chanote.

BTW Chanote is Chanote (Nor Sor 4)

Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Gor are not Chanote titles.

Well, according to http://www.thailawonline.com/en/property/title-deeds-in-thailand.html NOR SOR 3 / NOR SOR 3 KOR is good title.

Cheers.

[Gary A]

"No matter where you go, the price of land for a single RAI of land with proper "Chanote" is 80'000 Bht and no less" ! Even Rice-Patties that need a good "Landfill".

This is probably a pretty accurate quote given the "proper chanote", especially if word gets out that the buyer is not a local. Much of what is being discussed here is land with Tor Bor 5 or Sor Por Kor documents. IMO, a "proper chanote" would be Nor Sor 3 or Nor Sor 3 Gor.

As I said I paid 60k baht per 1 Rai and it's Chanote.

BTW Chanote is Chanote (Nor Sor 4)

Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Gor are not Chanote titles.

Well, according to http://www.thailawonline.com/en/property/title-deeds-in-thailand.html NOR SOR 3 / NOR SOR 3 KOR is good title.

Cheers.

There are still risks involved. A friend of mine through his company bought Nor Sor 3 property. He paid for 82 rai and recently had it split and surveyed. His 82 rai turned out to be 56 rai. He would be quite happy for anyone to assist him with an explanation.

[kdc1899]

I rent a house for 6k baht per month. That's 70k baht per year. House would cost 2 mil baht to buy.

If I buy in this illogical enviroment it would take me more than 20 years to make a profit renting the house.

When this real estate and currency bubble bursts I will consider buying land for the kids.

It will burst. Always does.

[zzaa09]

I rent a house for 6k baht per month. That's 70k baht per year. House would cost 2 mil baht to buy.

If I buy in this illogical enviroment it would take me more than 20 years to make a profit renting the house.

When this real estate and currency bubble bursts I will consider buying land for the kids.

It will burst. Always does.

Your structure. Country or city situation?

[Gippy]

There are still risks involved. A friend of mine through his company bought Nor Sor 3 property. He paid for 82 rai and recently had it split and surveyed. His 82 rai turned out to be 56 rai. He would be quite happy for anyone to assist him with an explanation.

We paid for a survey before we bought the land, seemed a good idea...

We found out that the seller thought it was 34 rai but it's actually 35. It cost a few hundred baht for the survey.

[kwonitoy]

2006 10 Rai rubber 1 yr old ฿220,000 ฿22,000

2006 10 Rai Eucalyptus 3 yr old ฿220,000 ฿22,000

2007 20 Rai rubber 3yr, 7 Rai Rice ฿550,000 ฿27,500

2007 17 Rai Rice & Bush ฿140,000 ฿8,235

2010 13 Rai Rice ฿220,000 ฿16,923

2011 32 Rai Eucalyptus 4yr old ฿1,050,000 ฿32,813

The above list is the land I've paid for, the year, what was on the land, total price and price per rai. In the cases of number 3 and 4 we thought we were buying 22 rai and 11 rai respectively and this is the how the price per rai was set. When the official survey was done both parcels were bigger. The locals just go by eyeball and what everyone says. My wife does the dealing and every piece was bought because the owners were in desperate need of money. Some needed survey and registration at the land office to get the chanods. All have chanods for them now.

We get offered land to buy constantly but if there is any family drama or title problems we stay away.

I also paid 100,000 baht for a 50 x50 meter plot in our village in 2005 for our house. At the time everyone was shocked but the price has since tripled at least for house plots.

Buy what you can at the price you can afford, they're not making any more land.

[klikster]

There are still risks involved. A friend of mine through his company bought Nor Sor 3 property. He paid for 82 rai and recently had it split and surveyed. His 82 rai turned out to be 56 rai. He would be quite happy for anyone to assist him with an explanation.

The way the land department surveyor explained to us when surveying for Nor Sor 4 Jor, Nor Sor 3 can be encroached. After the marked posts are set, encroachment would be much more difficult.

[klikster]

I rent a house for 6k baht per month. That's 70k baht per year. House would cost 2 mil baht to buy.

If I buy in this illogical enviroment it would take me more than 20 years to make a profit renting the house.

When this real estate and currency bubble bursts I will consider buying land for the kids.

It will burst. Always does.

What about some degree of financial security for the family you leave behind when you die?

[jay-uk]

Mark Twain Quote:.......... “Buy land, they're not making it anymore”.

In the long term land in the North East can be a good investment and there is certainly going to be a food shortage in years to come. Ever increasing fuel prices and changing weather conditions will continue to drive farming costs and crops prices upwards. More people to feed in the world and changing diets within Asia are also a factor making farm land more attractive as an investment. If I had more money to invest right now then i would certainly keep buying small pieces of land wherever possible in that region. The land we own has increased considerably over the last 10 years. Thais from the south are moving more to the north east as the unrest affects business and talk is that Bangkok will be flooding more in years to come so business people are considering other cities to work out of further north. Just my opinion but much of the aforementioned cannot change. Thais could owe more money in future if they make the same mistakes as us in the western world by over inflating property prices but land in Thailand compared to other parts of the world is still relatively cheap and still has room to grow further.

[latelyo]

Some asking price examples near Surin

Agricultural land for sale in Surin

* Land for sale 43 Rai, location 15 km from Surin City, price 163.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 25 Rai, location 12 km from Surin City, price 120.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 22 Rai, location 15 km from Surin City, price 72.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 25 Rai, location 30 km from Surin City, price 70.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 9 Rai, location 9 km from Surin City, price 200.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 14 Rai, location 12 km from Surin City, price 85.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 26 Rai, location 17 km from Surin City, price 80.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 8 Rai, location 4 km from Surin City, price 280.000 THB/Rai

[zzaa09]

Some asking price examples near Surin

Agricultural land for sale in Surin

* Land for sale 43 Rai, location 15 km from Surin City, price 163.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 25 Rai, location 12 km from Surin City, price 120.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 22 Rai, location 15 km from Surin City, price 72.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 25 Rai, location 30 km from Surin City, price 70.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 9 Rai, location 9 km from Surin City, price 200.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 14 Rai, location 12 km from Surin City, price 85.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 26 Rai, location 17 km from Surin City, price 80.000 THB/Rai

* Land for sale 8 Rai, location 4 km from Surin City, price 280.000 THB/Rai

Interesting to note the dense variations of price per rai depending on locale. Personally, as Surin rural land applies, property prices are skyrocketing to unseemingly insane quotes. Whatever the market will bear. Some month ago, my MIL was mentioning that a neighbor of ours was asking B500,000 for a 2 rai parcel - we are talking average prime and fertile farm land - only 16 kms from town, but very countryside.

[swissie]

I rent a house for 6k baht per month. That's 70k baht per year. House would cost 2 mil baht to buy.

If I buy in this illogical enviroment it would take me more than 20 years to make a profit renting the house.

When this real estate and currency bubble bursts I will consider buying land for the kids.

It will burst. Always does.

Exactly the same mathematics in Brisbane, for example. My brother has been living there for many years.

ALSO: With the slogan "they are not making any more land", a zillion of people in the US have been lured into the Real-Estate- Boom.

What happened in the meantime, we all know and I don't have to go into detail.

The thing is just: Real-Estate booms can last for decades, before any sort of "washout" takes place. As opposed to Stock / Bond / Commodity booms. Those booms usually have a shorter "cycle-life".

So, it would be of crucial importance to right-guess at what stage the current real-estate-boom in Thailand is. = At the beginning, in the middle or in the "mature-stage" of the boom?

Your guess will probably be as good as mine. HeHe.

Cheers.