Are Houses Overpriced In Pattaya?

[thaimate]

On the estate that i live(rent) houses were selling at 5/8 million and many are still empty 6 years on ,on a friends estate they were 15 million up and again half were empty ,someone i know just purchased one for 8 million ,for cash as the developers are desperate to sell and even on my estate a lovely house that cost 4.5 million 6 years ago has been on the market for 4.0 million fully furnished for the last year ,everywhere i go i see properties for sale year after year , something has to give soon as i am sure the banks cant keep pumping money into property ,even half the condo blocks are half empty (especially the one next to central mall,does anyone live there?)

[craigt3365]

We got our house for 1/2 the initial sales price last year. It's a tough market here, and in many other places around the world. Research Ireland, Spain, SW US and Florida...plus many others. We're in a horrible, global recession. If you're looking to buy, it's not a bad time...as long as you don't plan to sell soon!

[guzzi850m2]

We bought our house to live in and not so much as an investment. I have wife and kid here so I prefer to buy and then make the house exact to our liking. If I for some reason "check out" rather sooner than later my wife will have an acet and could even stay in the house if she wanted.

Yes there are many houses for sale around Pattaya, no doubt that many built them for selling at a profit later on but that will be difficult in current market situation.

[champken]

We bought our house to live in and not so much as an investment. I have wife and kid here so I prefer to buy and then make the house exact to our liking. If I for some reason "check out" rather sooner than later my wife will have an acid and could even stay in the house if she wanted.

Yes there are many houses for sale around Pattaya, no doubt that many built them for selling at a profit later on but that will be difficult in current market situation.

Yours is one of the few situations where it makes sense for a farang to purchase a house here in Thailand, you have a wife and child who will always have somewhere to live.

I bet there are many farang that through a company paid for a house that now regret doing so and are unlikely to ever be able to sell at anywhere near what they initially paid for their house, as for current market values, i suppose you would need to find out what a Thai would be prepared to pay for property here and then there is the value

[striderman]

if the currrent clamp down on drink driving continues i would have thought that falang demand for properties on the outskirts of pattaya will be reduced and more central locations increased.

[4.real]

If you imported money when the pound was 75+ baht to buy your house and sold now to move back you would probably make a considerable profit.

[Schooner]

You get what you pay for. There is such a huge range of quality in Pattaya. Some houses may look beautiful on the outside but have cheap furnishings water problems, bad neighbors, noise, etc. I started out looking at condos and I am so glad I didn't buy one. My friends who live in them all constantly complain about the conditions there.

I bought my house to live in and have never regreted the decision. I enjoy being here. The village has never had any of the problems that you frequently hear about. The developer lives here with his family and he is on top of what is going on. The house next to mine sold 6 months ago for slightly more than what I paid and my house and my house has better furniture, garden and media stuff. My house is one of 3 - 2 bedroom houses in the village, the rest are very high end 3 and 4 bedroom places with huge pools and gardens.

I don't agree that you should look at what a Thai would pay unless your comparing Thai's of your social, economic status. I wanted a farang kitchen and other features and Thai houses wouldn't have them.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Schooner

[PattayaParent]

Yes, houses and condos are both overpriced in Pattaya.

[LennyW]

if the currrent clamp down on drink driving continues i would have thought that falang demand for properties on the outskirts of pattaya will be reduced and more central locations increased.

OR.... local watering holes will be more competitive, thus adding to the already more pleasurable experience of living in the Suburbs of Pattaya??

[Pakboong]

It should go without saying that house prices which are consistent with actual demand should sell. Problem is, there is a lot of denial about current demand

[Langsuan Man]

I can't believe that the newest Pattaya negative is "clampdown on drunken driving "

I guess the drunks are running out of places to kill with impunity

Edited April 18, 2011 by Langsuan Man

[Thaifan2]

Yes, houses and condos are both overpriced in Pattaya.

I would say mainly houses are overprised in Pattaya ,especially compared to Chiang Mai .My house in Chiang Mai in a private guarded estate ,6 years old ,detached ,4 bedroom ,2 bathroom ,10 klm outside the City cost B1.45 m ( 6 months ago ).I reckon a similar house in Pattaya would be twice that .

My Condo in Park Lane Jomtien ( 1 seperate bedroom ) ,36 sqm cost B1.2 m .A similar Condo in Chiang Mai would cost at least the same if not more .

[craigt3365]

Yes, houses and condos are both overpriced in Pattaya.

I would say mainly houses are overprised in Pattaya ,especially compared to Chiang Mai .My house in Chiang Mai in a private guarded estate ,6 years old ,detached ,4 bedroom ,2 bathroom ,10 klm outside the City cost B1.45 m ( 6 months ago ).I reckon a similar house in Pattaya would be twice that .

My Condo in Park Lane Jomtien ( 1 seperate bedroom ) ,36 sqm cost B1.2 m .A similar Condo in Chiang Mai would cost at least the same if not more .

Agreed CM is cheaper, but I think any property here in Pattaya is more...even raw land. Being by the sea (and BKK) is a great draw for some...and there's a limited amount of land...so supply drives the prices to a certain extent.

Same with Phuket. I think the prices there are about 50% or more than here in Pattaya. Supply and demand.

I'm amazed at the number of new developments going on here. Unreal...

[LennyW]

Condos are definitely overpriced in Pattaya, and in my personal opinion will continue to be so for as long as agents continue to perpetuate the "you cannot own land but you can own a condo in your own name" <deleted>!!

Dont flame me - i know the in's and outs of property/land ownership here.

A massive glut of these 1 million baht condos that translates to 8 -10 thousand baht a month rental units, i seriously mean no disrespect to current owners of these condos, but what kind of customer are you expecting for 50 quid a week??

Pity the poor buggers that actually bought one of these to live in and has to put up with these "quality" 200 pound a month neighbours.

So - to answer the OP, i think good houses will always hold their value, or appreciate. Condos are not the instant cash cow they used to be, but that is just my opinion and i am a miserable Scottish cun_t , so i could be wrong!!

[Thaifan2]

Condos are definitely overpriced in Pattaya, and in my personal opinion will continue to be so for as long as agents continue to perpetuate the "you cannot own land but you can own a condo in your own name" <deleted>!!

Dont flame me - i know the in's and outs of property/land ownership here.

A massive glut of these 1 million baht condos that translates to 8 -10 thousand baht a month rental units, i seriously mean no disrespect to current owners of these condos, but what kind of customer are you expecting for 50 quid a week??

Pity the poor buggers that actually bought one of these to live in and has to put up with these "quality" 200 pound a month neighbours.

So - to answer the OP, i think good houses will always hold their value, or appreciate. Condos are not the instant cash cow they used to be, but that is just my opinion and i am a miserable Scottish cun_t , so i could be wrong!!

Just because people pay more rent does not guarantee a better kind of person .Many pensioners from the UK for example can not pay more than B10,000 a month but are decent people and are not likely to wreck your Condo ,or cause annoyance to others in the building .

[LennyW]

Condos are definitely overpriced in Pattaya, and in my personal opinion will continue to be so for as long as agents continue to perpetuate the "you cannot own land but you can own a condo in your own name" <deleted>!!

Dont flame me - i know the in's and outs of property/land ownership here.

A massive glut of these 1 million baht condos that translates to 8 -10 thousand baht a month rental units, i seriously mean no disrespect to current owners of these condos, but what kind of customer are you expecting for 50 quid a week??

Pity the poor buggers that actually bought one of these to live in and has to put up with these "quality" 200 pound a month neighbours.

So - to answer the OP, i think good houses will always hold their value, or appreciate. Condos are not the instant cash cow they used to be, but that is just my opinion and i am a miserable Scottish cun_t , so i could be wrong!!

Just because people pay more rent does not guarantee a better kind of person .Many pensioners from the UK for example can not pay more than B10,000 a month but are decent people and are not likely to wreck your Condo ,or cause annoyance to others in the building .

If you say so.

BTW Thaifan2, have you got your Chanote yet?

[FarangBuddha]

Nothing unusual about the haircuts quoted by the op about housing prices in Pattaya...or Ireland, Spain, or much of the United States. Just feel for all the suckers...sorry "investors" who drank the Kool-aid served up by the real estates pimps in Pattaya, Miami, Las Vegas, etc.

But I'm looking to buy now and that fully-furnished B 4M unit sounds interesting...PM me the details. There is also a house I like in the moobann where I'm renting that has been on the market for years too...first offered at B 4.5M and now listed at 2.9...my initial offer will be 2.5!

[SGD]

I review prices periodically and you see the same houses up for sale joined by new entrants to the market, all trying to bid up the price and yet not a shred of reality in the prices being asked. Contrast that with real world examples where you know the transaction price and there is a massive discrepancy.

My thinking is that many people simply cannot afford (mentally more often than financially) to sell at the true market level and are holding out at unrealistic prices waiting for that sucker to come along, as they do from time to time and buy their pile out from under them. In the real world, reputable agents will refuse to list properties at unrealistic prices because they know there is virtually no chance of a sale and they are just wasting their time. In Pattaya they will happily list properties and businesses at hugely inflated prices forever.

In addition, with GBP exchange rates under 50 to the pound, some 3 bed bungalows are being touted at prices at over £100,000 which is ludicrous for a poorly built, poorly kitted out property with limited land and all in a country where you cannot legally own it in your name.

Edited April 18, 2011 by SGD

[Thaifan2]

Condos are definitely overpriced in Pattaya, and in my personal opinion will continue to be so for as long as agents continue to perpetuate the "you cannot own land but you can own a condo in your own name" <deleted>!!

Dont flame me - i know the in's and outs of property/land ownership here.

A massive glut of these 1 million baht condos that translates to 8 -10 thousand baht a month rental units, i seriously mean no disrespect to current owners of these condos, but what kind of customer are you expecting for 50 quid a week??

Pity the poor buggers that actually bought one of these to live in and has to put up with these "quality" 200 pound a month neighbours.

So - to answer the OP, i think good houses will always hold their value, or appreciate. Condos are not the instant cash cow they used to be, but that is just my opinion and i am a miserable Scottish cun_t , so i could be wrong!!

Just because people pay more rent does not guarantee a better kind of person .Many pensioners from the UK for example can not pay more than B10,000 a month but are decent people and are not likely to wreck your Condo ,or cause annoyance to others in the building .

If you say so.

BTW Thaifan2, have you got your Chanote yet?

Yes ,got the Chanote 6 months ago

[Darrel]

I think that nearly all property in and around Pattaya is overpriced. Anything that has been up for sale for years on end without finding a buyer must be overpriced. From time to time you will find a house or condo that is on sale (or even sold) at a reasonable price, though this reasonable price will probably have other owners crying "fire sale" or "absurd discount". (And of course from time to time you will get someone who just got off the banana boat paying something near the usual inflated asking price for resale property.)

My Condo in Park Lane Jomtien ( 1 seperate bedroom ) ,36 sqm cost B1.2 m .A similar Condo in Chiang Mai would cost at least the same if not more .

Would that not be because there just arent very many small cheap condos of that type in CM, whereas Pattaya is full of them? You could get a unit a little larger than that in VT1 or VT2 for the same price or perhaps .1 or .2MB more, and it would be a very short walk from the beach and the bahtbuses and the shops/bars. OK, it probably wouldnt have a seperate bedroom as small rooms werent popular when those buildings were built. You could always make a bedroom, of course.

I have been looking quite closely at CM prices (I am becoming more and more inclined to live there rather than here) and it seems to me that asking prices there are lower than here, at least for the sort of places I fancy.

Quite how the asking prices translate into selling prices, I dont know. Asking prices for rentals there are also lower than here by about 30% it seems, but again I'm not sure how that translates into final agreed prices (I doubt I would ever actually pay the asking price for a Pattaya rental).

[SGD]

If you rent from professional rather than accidental or wannabee landlords in Pattaya who actually know what they are doing and value long term tenants then prices are ok but they are far and few between due to the overly optimistic prices being touted by agents and landlords themselves.

When you can rent a 3 bed, 2 bath house just over Sukhumvit for less than 15k a month, why on earth would you buy one at a massive 3.5m plus ? Not the same argument as owning your own house as I'd not buy one of these but as a rental option, 8-10k is a 2 bed and 12-14k about right for a 3 bed and a good one at that.

[Darrel]

"On the estate that i live(rent) houses were selling at 5/8 million and many are still empty 6 years on ,on a friends estate they were 15 million up and again half were empty ,someone i know just purchased one for 8 million ,for cash"

What concerns me is the large number of houses that have been bought in company name. To my mind this is a bomb just waiting to go off, or perhaps a dud firecracker just waiting to fizzle out completely. The same applies to condos also, of course, but at least there may be some potential for these to be sold to Thais for rental purposes if at some future time the government acts to curb company ownership abuse, especially if these condos are in popular areas (near the beach).

I am convinced that at some point some sort of action will be taken. Thais do not like the idea of foreigners owing property. We are here to pay rent.

[Darrel]

When you can rent a 3 bed, 2 bath house just over Sukhumvit for less than 15k a month, why on earth would you buy one at a massive 3.5m plus ?

Indeed. Not forgetting maintenance costs which, for a house at least, may be quite high a few years down the line. I've seen a few well-built houses here but I've seen a lot more that look more like garden sheds than houses.

[Beardog]

if the current clamp down on drink driving continues i would have thought that falang demand for properties on the outskirts of pattaya will be reduced and more central locations increased.

Probably not a chance in Hell on the outskirts price is going up if anything. occasional someone blows out a fire sale. Land has gone up about 300% since 2005 in Bang Saray.

I am definitively not saying that land is being sold quickly but it is moving due to people getting burned out of Pattaya city traffic & other factors.

[Darrel]

When you can rent a 3 bed, 2 bath house just over Sukhumvit for less than 15k a month, why on earth would you buy one at a massive 3.5m plus ?

Indeed. Not forgetting maintenance costs which, for a house at least, may be quite high a few years down the line. I've seen a few well-built houses here but I've seen a lot more that look more like garden sheds than houses.

[Darrel]

Just because people pay more rent does not guarantee a better kind of person .Many pensioners from the UK for example can not pay more than B10,000 a month but are decent people and are not likely to wreck your Condo ,or cause annoyance to others in the building .

Indeed.

There is so much scope here for secure farang retirement villages with no one under 50, no dogs, no bars, no outdoor music, no Songkran riots, some nice garden areas. I would move in like a shot. Cant imagine why no one has launched one.

[Thaifan2]

>>I have been looking quite closely at CM prices (I am becoming more and more inclined to live there rather than here) and it seems to me that asking prices there are lower than here, at least for the sort of places I fancy.<<

If you do come to Chiang Mai to live ,i would first suggest taking a place for about 6 months .Within the 6 months you are bound to hear of cheaper better places ,through word of mouth ,or notice boards etc .

Thats what we did .First we rented a place ( 2 bed detached bungalow for B8,000 a month ),through a Western owned estate agent in Chiang Mai and signed for 6 months .( most house rentals want a year though ) .

Then through word of mouth we found a bigger better house for B6,000 in the same area .Later ,6 months ago we bought our present house also in the same area .

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Yes, houses and condos are both overpriced in Pattaya.

Thank you. I was waiting on a clear, simple, accurate answer. Houses and condos are (grossly) overpriced in Pattaya and Jomtien. One can only wonder when the real estate hype will no longer influence "suckers" and the market adjusts itself downward. The housing market has, in fact, made a small adjustment downward, but the condo market is, for some strange reason, refusing to reflect reality. On another thread, it was concluded that there are lots of condo investors who simply have no reason to sell or rent at a discount because they do not need the money. Strange behavior!

[Thaifan2]

>>Thank you. I was waiting on a clear, simple, accurate answer. <<

How can you be sure its accurate ?

[FarangBuddha]

I am convinced that at some point some sort of action will be taken. Thais do not like the idea of foreigners owing property. We are here to pay rent.

People have been saying and writing this ever since I came here and nothing has ever been done...and I doubt anything ever will. You seem to forget that Thais also very easily bend/ignore the law when it suits them and allowing foreigners to own a single family house/land in resort areas of the country is definitely in their interest.

Also, I think this corporate structure is more of a Pattaya/Chonburi thing as you never see this form of ownership touted much in other resort areas of the country. Usually, it's the more legal 30 years leasehold.