On TV real estate sub forum there is a post about the weakness of r.e. market in BKK.

How is it here. Wrong time to invest 2.5b million hoping to rent rather quickly out for 15k?

If you brought at Hillside 4 Condo you would get 10,000 B a month for an investment of 1.5m, so maybe for the extra half mill two of those would give you a better return.

They seem to be pretty full most of the time, unless anyone knows better than me who resides there.

Is that a good return on your money?Is the rental market down right now in Chiang Mai? Planning to be there in a month and looking for a place to rent

It is generally a buyers (renters) market in Chiang Mai. However, better prime locations usually dictate higher rental prices, and are usually the first ones occupied

for more westernized and modernized apartments. Usually in prices over 15,000 baht for 80 and up meters there are fewer better apartments on the markets than for 40 square meter efficiency units renting for under 12000 baht. Also length of lease will be a good negotiating factor for a better rate--over a years lease usually will drop by at least 10 to 15% over a lease of a year or less.

Wrong time to invest 2.5b million hoping to rent rather quickly out for 15k?

Why would that make sense? Would there be a right time to do that?? If you put that 2.5 mil into some regular very plain jane investment (as low as 5%) then in 13 years it will be 4.7 million baht.

At 15K a month it will take 26 years just to make that back. You'll be dead by then.

Of course, rents can go up in that time. But you are putting that egg in one basket, and if Thailand blows up in civil war, guess how much you will be making each month then.

Gambles like those are for the casino. EDIT: Oh wait, you might actually win at a casino.

if rental income doesn't make sense, what about appreciation in asset value?

Any rule of thumb ? Even Statistics??

On the other hand I've heard people who claim to get a decent return on rentals and/or buying and selling, so they say.

O So 5% is a good return,and thats if the place is 100% occupied and thats assuming 15000.per month.Thats a lot of assumptions,there are a lot of empty rentals there,so maybe it's a renter market right now.CASH IS KING