Are Houses Overpriced In Pattaya?

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Nothing much to say except perhaps try to get back on track. Yes, the prices of houses and condos are overpriced. Yes, it is a very odd market for reasons already pointed out. No, as much as you would like to make it personal, this thread is not about me. If you want to talk about alternatives to Pattaya, I believe there is a thread on the subject in the section on Southeast Asia.

The 'oddity' of the market is that sellers think that they can charge any price they want and that buyers must pay that price and will hang on until they get it, and it seems many posters here agree that is reasonable.

But were it to happen in a 'normal' market then buyers would realise that the places are over priced and would not buy, the places would remain unsold and the market would stagnate. Oh, hang on

I agree with you. In a market where supply has exceeded demand, buyers dictate the price, not sellers. That is so simple, it is hard to understand why so many posters refuse to accept it as reality. In fact, even though they claim to not be in "the market," many of the posters here betray something else: they want to see prices go up and up and up. This thread has been instructive. I see way too many vacant units all over the place and prices are "down right silly" in many cases. The sellers can neither sell nor rent them out because they are asking too much. Clearly, what has happened is that speculators have purchased large blocks of "concrete cells" in the "prison design condo units" that have popped up over the past ten years. Some bought and sold at the right time and made a good profit, especially those that purchased the ocean-facing condo units. Many others swallowed a real estate myth: rich Russians and rich Chinese and rich Indians and a new casino and a new airport were going to make them rich. etc. They have now waited over ten years for the myth to come true. And, instead of accepting reality and dropping prices, they are letting their blocks of concrete cells develop cracks, refusing to accept the market reality that is in their face (not to mention the instability in the country that has only increased over the past decade). Others are telling themselves that "they really are not interested in making money." That one is funny To say the least, this is an interesting real estate market. The only question now is how long sellers/speculators will delude themselves into thinking that they control prices in a down market. It is almost as though they have embraced Thai economics: bad economic situation, raise prices

[craigt3365]

These threads are interesting...but always degrade rapidly. Let's not beat this into the ground. OK?

[nikkoid66]

Pattaya is having the same problem like Florida. The house are overpriced by x3 time or more. Where I live every house is for sale for less than they bought the house 2 years ago.

Stay away from buying until it reaches the bottom (in 10 year?)

If I compare Florida and Pattaya, the housing price is lower in Florida than in Pattaya. Also in Paris suburb you can find small house for the same as in Pattaya. There is something wrong here.

- you do not own the land.

- you have to bring huge cash to buy (no bank will loan to a farang)

- prices are too high.

- construction quality is really bad, just check the electric, in Europe or USA we use use triphase, here it is monophase. They also uses low cost building material from China and foundation and not strong enough your house will fail after 5 years.

Conclusion, the bank/builders are doing the same business as they did in the USA, they ask big upfront $$ in the hope you will fail on your payments and they will get the house (and keep the cash).

Edited April 24, 2011 by nikkoid66

[Pakboong]

If shop houses which sold for 1.5 million in 2000 are priced at 3.5 million today. What are they actually worth and what is a fair purchase price? Of course, keeping in mind that 2 years ago, the asking price was 4 million and there are over 10,000 vacant in the Pattaya area today.

[Schooner]

Simple fact, my friend bought 2 prebuild condos in Cocoa Beach FL at the same time that I bought my house in Pattaya. His house looks to have lost a couple percent in value (from what he paid) and mine seems to have gained a couple percent. I was just in Florida and checked out the market looking for bargans, but what I found was that desirable properties were holding their value much better than the recently built crap. Same in Thailand.

BTW you can find as much crap in Florida as you can here. All but one of the houses in my village are sold or rented. The developer took a 10-15% hit which he could comfortably handle and he's started on a new development which has 4 built and 3 sold.

I bought my house to live in. It was a bonus to be able to rent it out while I was back in the states. I like waking up in it everyday and unless your a developer that's all that matters.

[thaimate]

Simple fact, my friend bought 2 prebuild condos in Cocoa Beach FL at the same time that I bought my house in Pattaya. His house looks to have lost a couple percent in value (from what he paid) and mine seems to have gained a couple percent. I was just in Florida and checked out the market looking for bargans, but what I found was that desirable properties were holding their value much better than the recently built crap. Same in Thailand.

BTW you can find as much crap in Florida as you can here. All but one of the houses in my village are sold or rented. The developer took a 10-15% hit which he could comfortably handle and he's started on a new development which has 4 built and 3 sold.

I bought my house to live in. It was a bonus to be able to rent it out while I was back in the states. I like waking up in it everyday and unless your a developer that's all that matters.

i HAVE BEEN WAKING UP IN MY HOUSE FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS ,AND THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING WILL DO UNTILL THE DAY I DIE , MY RENT HAS BEEN CUT TWICE , sorry not shouting just not looking i have a Thai landlady who is very westernized and clued up ,she knows that the house is worth what she paid for it ,althaugh she would not sell it at that, yes there are sea front propertys that are worth lots of money ,but the Russians ect ,are not coming the ones that wanted to buy are here ,i have friends in the trade and what they tell the punters is not what they know is reallity , if you want to buy and live there for ever ,good for you thats what owning a home is all about ,but if you ever want to sell ,dont hold your breath on most properties.

[Schooner]

I too had to renegotiate my rent and drop it 15%. Still made a healthy profit and still have higher value. What was your point? You have rent reciepts.

[craigt3365]

Pattaya is having the same problem like Florida. The house are overpriced by x3 time or more. Where I live every house is for sale for less than they bought the house 2 years ago.

Stay away from buying until it reaches the bottom (in 10 year?)

If I compare Florida and Pattaya, the housing price is lower in Florida than in Pattaya. Also in Paris suburb you can find small house for the same as in Pattaya. There is something wrong here.

- you do not own the land.

- you have to bring huge cash to buy (no bank will loan to a farang)

- prices are too high.

- construction quality is really bad, just check the electric, in Europe or USA we use use triphase, here it is monophase. They also uses low cost building material from China and foundation and not strong enough your house will fail after 5 years.

Conclusion, the bank/builders are doing the same business as they did in the USA, they ask big upfront $$ in the hope you will fail on your payments and they will get the house (and keep the cash).

Hmmm...doesn't it snow in Paris?

My (farang) neighbor just got a home loan to buy a condo as an investment for rental.

I've seen many houses older than 5 years that have not had foundation problems. Some for sure, but not all....

My brother's "well built" house in New Mexico just developed a crack right across his entire house in the slab. Problems can, and do, happen all over. It's for sure not limited to Pattaya.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-03-16-chinese-drywall-sulfur_N.htm

[LennyW]

I just did a search of what properties are available in Aberdeen, as i see both Pattaya and Aberdeen property markets as being somewhat resillient to rescession, Aberdeen because of the local Oil generated revenues and Pattaya because of the huge influx of multi national visitors, and both bucking the trend nationally as far as average prices go. Both are also located on the coast - but i would not recommend swimming in the waters of either - for different reasons

The cheapest detached house in Aberdeen was listed at offers over 125,000 pounds, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom in need of modernisation......see picture.

Take 125K as being around 6 million baht...... there are some fantastic properties available here in Pattaya for that price, New 3 or 4 bedroom homes with their own pools, see this....

240 3 bed 3 bath.pdf

So, as Naam said earlier, couple that with the lower cost of living here, and what you do or do not have to pay the taxman, makes it quite clear to me where the better value for money in houses is.

As i said before, yes there are some houses overpriced in Pattaya but in general terms you do get much more property for your money here (certainly compared with my hometown of Aberdeen), i cannot see how that is so hard to grasp for some people.

Note: i am talking about houses NOT condos!

[morphic]

I just did a search of what properties are available in Aberdeen, as i see both Pattaya and Aberdeen property markets as being somewhat resillient to rescession, Aberdeen because of the local Oil generated revenues and Pattaya because of the huge influx of multi national visitors, and both bucking the trend nationally as far as average prices go. Both are also located on the coast - but i would not recommend swimming in the waters of either - for different reasons

The cheapest detached house in Aberdeen was listed at offers over 125,000 pounds, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom in need of modernisation......see picture.

Take 125K as being around 6 million baht...... there are some fantastic properties available here in Pattaya for that price, New 3 or 4 bedroom homes with their own pools, see this....

240 3 bed 3 bath.pdf

So, as Naam said earlier, couple that with the lower cost of living here, and what you do or do not have to pay the taxman, makes it quite clear to me where the better value for money in houses is.

As i said before, yes there are some houses overpriced in Pattaya but in general terms you do get much more property for your money here (certainly compared with my hometown of Aberdeen), i cannot see how that is so hard to grasp for some people.

Note: i am talking about houses NOT condos!

Thats got to have been one of the most stupid comparisons I have ever heard.

Why Aberdeen for a start, an oil boom town in a first world country with the benefit of the rule of law, working infrastructure and high standards of construction. Aberdeen should be far more expensive than Pattaya!

Why not compare to other developing coastal areas, including in Thailand, or to other developed countries like the US. How about Seattle where the average home is about USD 200K. Thats the average, not the cheapest. How about Spain or Southern France or Malta? Or to Malaysia where the quality of construction is higher, where the law of contract is superior, where you can own land outright as a foreigner?

Sorry matey, your random and absurd choice of benchmark is laughable. But forgetting for a second the stupidity of comparing Pattaya to Aberdeen, the most telling sign of Pattaya's property being grossly overvalued is that there is almost zero resale volume, 99% is off plan. Thats because owners cant find buyers at their asking price, nor anywhere near it. If as you claim it was good value there would be buyers.

[PattayaParent]

I just did a search of what properties are available in Aberdeen, as i see both Pattaya and Aberdeen property markets as being somewhat resillient to rescession, Aberdeen because of the local Oil generated revenues and Pattaya because of the huge influx of multi national visitors, and both bucking the trend nationally as far as average prices go. Both are also located on the coast - but i would not recommend swimming in the waters of either - for different reasons

The cheapest detached house in Aberdeen was listed at offers over 125,000 pounds, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom in need of modernisation......see picture.

Take 125K as being around 6 million baht...... there are some fantastic properties available here in Pattaya for that price, New 3 or 4 bedroom homes with their own pools, see this....

240 3 bed 3 bath.pdf

So, as Naam said earlier, couple that with the lower cost of living here, and what you do or do not have to pay the taxman, makes it quite clear to me where the better value for money in houses is.

As i said before, yes there are some houses overpriced in Pattaya but in general terms you do get much more property for your money here (certainly compared with my hometown of Aberdeen), i cannot see how that is so hard to grasp for some people.

Note: i am talking about houses NOT condos!

The thread isn't about comparison of value for money of purchases, it's about overpriced property in Pattaya.

You may well be right about Aberdeen vs Pattaya, I wouldn't disagree with you, I'd definitely prefer Pattaya, but it doesn't convince anyone that property in Pattaya is not overpriced.

Edited April 24, 2011 by PattayaParent

[craigt3365]

Since we are talking about Florida, one of my best friends lives in Naples, use to live in Orlando. He went to look at foreclosed properties in both locations, as he is renting right now. Buyer beware for sure. They were a mess, requiring a significant amount of cash to fix up, and he'd be living in a ghost village. Pics on the internet can be made to look very, very, very good!

[LennyW]

Why Aberdeen for a start, an oil boom town in a first world country with the benefit of the rule of law, working infrastructure and high standards of construction. Aberdeen should be far more expensive than Pattaya!

You have got to be kidding!!! One of the most drug infested, lawless places in the UK, It has taken them 40 years to debate about a bypass around the city and it is still not resolved, try telling the people who commute to work everyday about a working infrastructure , and if you think new timber frame houses are a high standard of construction OMG!!

I simply chose Aberdeen as a comparison because i am familiar with both, Both Pattaya and Aberdeen house prices have remained stable or risen slightly during a recession, Pattaya stands out in Thailand as does Aberdeen in the UK in that respect . Aberdeen even had an officially unofficial tollerance zone for working girls

I wouldnt mind seeing some other (factual) house price comparisons from other members hometowns, especially if there are any from particular cities that rode above the recession.

Making statements like "property must be overpriced because no one is buying" just does not cut it for me, all that says to me is due to whatever circumstances - people cannot afford to buy now in the numbers they used to, which would seem to be a fact the world over - not limited to Pattaya.

[ThaiBob]

Pattaya is having the same problem like Florida. The house are overpriced by x3 time or more. Where I live every house is for sale for less than they bought the house 2 years ago.

Stay away from buying until it reaches the bottom (in 10 year?)

If I compare Florida and Pattaya, the housing price is lower in Florida than in Pattaya. Also in Paris suburb you can find small house for the same as in Pattaya. There is something wrong here.

- you do not own the land.

- you have to bring huge cash to buy (no bank will loan to a farang)

- prices are too high.

- construction quality is really bad, just check the electric, in Europe or USA we use use triphase, here it is monophase. They also uses low cost building material from China and foundation and not strong enough your house will fail after 5 years.

Conclusion, the bank/builders are doing the same business as they did in the USA, they ask big upfront $$ in the hope you will fail on your payments and they will get the house (and keep the cash).

This is a long thread. Go back and read it in it's entirety and we understand the economic forces at play in Pattaya are not same as Florida. There are no banks, bad loans, no foreclosures, no property taxes. What there is are cash buyers, no property taxes (oh, did I say that?), a business tax on property of 3.3% if held less than 5 years. All these factors influence sellers to keep properties until the right offer comes along.

[Naam]

Pattaya is having the same problem like Florida. The house are overpriced by x3 time or more. Where I live every house is for sale for less than they bought the house 2 years ago.

Stay away from buying until it reaches the bottom (in 10 year?)

If I compare Florida and Pattaya, the housing price is lower in Florida than in Pattaya. Also in Paris suburb you can find small house for the same as in Pattaya. There is something wrong here.

- you do not own the land.

- you have to bring huge cash to buy (no bank will loan to a farang)

- prices are too high.

- construction quality is really bad, just check the electric, in Europe or USA we use use triphase, here it is monophase. They also uses low cost building material from China and foundation and not strong enough your house will fail after 5 years.

Conclusion, the bank/builders are doing the same business as they did in the USA, they ask big upfront $$ in the hope you will fail on your payments and they will get the house (and keep the cash).

you seem to be competing for the certificate "possesses a wealth of no idea". of course there is three-phase available in Thailand and of course there is building material available from anywhere in the world. it all depends whether you are willing to pay the price.

your remark "foundations not strong... fail after 5 years" is nothing but ignorant BS²! how many foundations exist where you checked concrete quality and reinforcement steel and how many houses have you seen which "failed" after 5 years?

Also in Paris suburb you can find small house for the same as in Pattaya. There is something wrong here.

true! in Paris banlieues you find many many "petites maisons pour petits chiens" (aka doghouses) for same same Pattaya.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

The thread isn't about comparison of value for money of purchases, it's about overpriced property in Pattaya.

You may well be right about Aberdeen vs Pattaya, I wouldn't disagree with you, I'd definitely prefer Pattaya, but it doesn't convince anyone that property in Pattaya is not overpriced.

Correct again! The reason they keep wanting to divert to that topic is to twist the subject to make it appear that houses and condos are not overpriced in Pattaya (and Jomtien). Why not compare prices of houses/condos in Oslo, Norway to Pattaya? Because it is irrelevant. It does not matter what the price of a house/condo is outside of Thailand. The only thing that matters is what buyers are willing to pay for a house/condo in Thailand. Where are those rich Russians? I think I see one hiding beneath my couch.

[tropo]

The thread isn't about comparison of value for money of purchases, it's about overpriced property in Pattaya.

You may well be right about Aberdeen vs Pattaya, I wouldn't disagree with you, I'd definitely prefer Pattaya, but it doesn't convince anyone that property in Pattaya is not overpriced.

Correct again! The reason they keep wanting to divert to that topic is to twist the subject to make it appear that houses and condos are not overpriced in Pattaya (and Jomtien). Why not compare prices of houses/condos in Oslo, Norway to Pattaya? Because it is irrelevant. It does not matter what the price of a house/condo is outside of Thailand. The only thing that matters is what buyers are willing to pay for a house/condo in Thailand. Where are those rich Russians? I think I see one hiding beneath my couch.

You and PattayaParent make a wonderful couple.

[sotsira]

The thread isn't about comparison of value for money of purchases, it's about overpriced property in Pattaya.

You may well be right about Aberdeen vs Pattaya, I wouldn't disagree with you, I'd definitely prefer Pattaya, but it doesn't convince anyone that property in Pattaya is not overpriced.

Correct again! The reason they keep wanting to divert to that topic is to twist the subject to make it appear that houses and condos are not overpriced in Pattaya (and Jomtien). Why not compare prices of houses/condos in Oslo, Norway to Pattaya? Because it is irrelevant. It does not matter what the price of a house/condo is outside of Thailand. The only thing that matters is what buyers are willing to pay for a house/condo in Thailand. Where are those rich Russians? I think I see one hiding beneath my couch.

Awohalitsiktoli and Pattaya Parent,

This thread is titled "Are Houses Overpriced In Pattaya?" this is the question for debate.

Some posts will give their opinion on why they feel they are NOT overpriced, and some on why they feel they ARE overpriced.

It's obvious from your above posts that you're both uninterested in debating this question and have already come to your

conclusions.

Comparing a market with another is one way to analyse the prices.

If you don't have a comparison how can you tell if they are or are not overpriced?

The Pattaya market though is unique in that it has various market influence being that foreigners are cash buyers

with their finance coming from another countries economy. This makes foreign purchases variable depending where they're from.

Then you have the Thai on Thai market and then the company purchase market.

So when you take all these variables into consideration the market prices split into 3 different categories with 3 price ranges.

My conclusion is 5 years ago we had a sellers market and prices went up, now we have a buyers market due to a reduction of buyers.

which means the buyers that are out looking can find bargains as prices have fallen.

But you can't say something is overpriced unless you have a comparison.

The only way you can determine market price is by knowing the current sale prices that buyers and sellers have agreed.

That is the "current market price" not overpriced or underpriced, it's the price a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept.

[FarangBuddha]

If shop houses which sold for 1.5 million in 2000 are priced at 3.5 million today. What are they actually worth and what is a fair purchase price? Of course, keeping in mind that 2 years ago, the asking price was 4 million and there are over 10,000 vacant in the Pattaya area today.

Even if that townhouse sold for "only" 3 million, that would be a 100% return over the last decade....the Dow Jones index was about 12k ten years ago and that's about where it is today. That Pattaya townhouse looks like a winning investment to me.

Edited April 24, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[Soboringtochooseaname]

True, condo also are available everywhere, but i think only cheap ones can be sold or rent easily.

Look at View Talay, 8 buildings, and except View Talay 1 and 2, all the other ones are empty, and a scam.

Why paying 4 millions at VT8 a room that you can buy for 1,5 at VT1 or VT2, and the view is not a lot better than View Talay1 1 (the best view of any VT), and at least, you can be sure that older builing won't collapse and that maintenance is good. Nothing sure about new buildings...

And no noisy neighboors or cooking Thai at VT 1 and 2 because they wouldn't last long.

Park lane 1 million baht condo are desert.

Hard to sell 3 million baht condo because only foreigners would buy them, but 1 million baht baht condo by the sea can easily be bought by a Thai.

Pattaya is the only place in Thailand where people would keep coming even if there wasa nuclear plant that would explode, so buying there will never be a risk.

[manarak]

The condos are outrageously overpriced, much much more than the houses.

One could advance the ownership laws as a reason, but then consider the prices of units for thai ownership which aren't so much less than the prices for foreign ownership condos and why is the rent of condos (which market includes thai owned condos) also way over the top?

The average studio costs as much in rent as a 2 BR house.

Most condos are near the beach. Try and find a cheap house near the beach. What's the point of comparing a large house 5 km inland with a condo near the beach.

Location, location, location.

A person who is interested in renting a studio condo near the beach or central Pattaya is not the type of person interested in a 2 bedroom house out the back of nowhere. It's a totally different market. A family man compared to a player.

It's a bit like telling a person who wants to buy a convertible sports car that he can get better value for money if he buys a pick-up truck.

Partially true, but take for example the condo building on thepprasit road where the thai market regularly is held - this is far from the beach, and houses are for rent in the same area.

The building and amenities are not particularly nice, and the condo rents are on the cheap side, about 10k for a big studio and 12-13k for 1 BR, 15-17k for 2 BR (80sqm). The communal pool there you can forget (decrepit, green water and broken tiles everywhere). Proximity to Tesco is a plus.

My point is: for 15k-17k, you can rent a 2BR house in the same area (i.e. 1 km around), 130 sqm house with a nice communal pool! If you go a bit further (2-3 km), you get a 150 sqm, 3 BR house for 15k.

[tropo]

The condos are outrageously overpriced, much much more than the houses.

One could advance the ownership laws as a reason, but then consider the prices of units for thai ownership which aren't so much less than the prices for foreign ownership condos and why is the rent of condos (which market includes thai owned condos) also way over the top?

The average studio costs as much in rent as a 2 BR house.

Most condos are near the beach. Try and find a cheap house near the beach. What's the point of comparing a large house 5 km inland with a condo near the beach.

Location, location, location.

A person who is interested in renting a studio condo near the beach or central Pattaya is not the type of person interested in a 2 bedroom house out the back of nowhere. It's a totally different market. A family man compared to a player.

It's a bit like telling a person who wants to buy a convertible sports car that he can get better value for money if he buys a pick-up truck.

Partially true, but take for example the condo building on thepprasit road where the thai market regularly is held - this is far from the beach, and houses are for rent in the same area.

The building and amenities are not particularly nice, and the condo rents are on the cheap side, about 10k for a big studio and 12-13k for 1 BR, 15-17k for 2 BR (80sqm). The communal pool there you can forget (decrepit, green water and broken tiles everywhere). Proximity to Tesco is a plus.

r

My point is: for 15k-17k, you can rent a 2BR house in the same area (i.e. 1 km around), 130 sqm house with a nice communal pool! If you go a bit further (2-3 km), you get a 150 sqm, 3 BR house for 15k.

I woudn't consider those condos at the night markets on Thepprasit Road to be the style many foreigners would be interested in. I think that's a very poor example to try to prove your point that condos represent poor value.

To get a better appreciation of price differences, check out Avoca Gardens, a small housing estate on Soi 5 Pratumnak Road, an area where condos are the norm and houses are rare. You'll find they are very expensive due to the location. You will not find better value in houses in prime areas where condos are normally developed. The land is just too valuable.

...but in reality, you're comparing apples with oranges. People who like houses are not usually interested in condos and visa versa.

[sotsira]

True, condo also are available everywhere, but i think only cheap ones can be sold or rent easily.

Look at View Talay, 8 buildings, and except View Talay 1 and 2, all the other ones are empty, and a scam.

Why paying 4 millions at VT8 a room that you can buy for 1,5 at VT1 or VT2, and the view is not a lot better than View Talay1 1 (the best view of any VT), and at least, you can be sure that older builing won't collapse and that maintenance is good. Nothing sure about new buildings...

And no noisy neighboors or cooking Thai at VT 1 and 2 because they wouldn't last long.

Park lane 1 million baht condo are desert.

Hard to sell 3 million baht condo because only foreigners would buy them, but 1 million baht baht condo by the sea can easily be bought by a Thai.

Pattaya is the only place in Thailand where people would keep coming even if there wasa nuclear plant that would explode, so buying there will never be a risk.

The Viewtalay condos that your referring to are nearly all sold to foreigners and im sure that they're not empty or unsold as you suggest

because the foreign quotas have sold out in all i think except VT7.

If the laws didn't restrict foreign ownership to 49% then the rest of the quotas would also be sold.

[Barack]

True, condo also are available everywhere, but i think only cheap ones can be sold or rent easily.

Look at View Talay, 8 buildings, and except View Talay 1 and 2, all the other ones are empty, and a scam.

Why paying 4 millions at VT8 a room that you can buy for 1,5 at VT1 or VT2, and the view is not a lot better than View Talay1 1 (the best view of any VT), and at least, you can be sure that older builing won't collapse and that maintenance is good. Nothing sure about new buildings...

And no noisy neighboors or cooking Thai at VT 1 and 2 because they wouldn't last long.

Park lane 1 million baht condo are desert.

Hard to sell 3 million baht condo because only foreigners would buy them, but 1 million baht baht condo by the sea can easily be bought by a Thai.

Pattaya is the only place in Thailand where people would keep coming even if there wasa nuclear plant that would explode, so buying there will never be a risk.

Let's compare apples and apples. Just like you can't compare houses on the darkside with those near near the beach you can't compare VT1,2 with other View Talay projects. VT 3-8 are on the beach and have sea views, VT1-2 does not. Location, location, location. Not to say VT1,2 are not good values and they are no longer managed by VT. I would say the sales at VT3,5 and 7 are brisk. VT8 is farther down the beach and too distant for some people but that will all change with the new 2nd road and development moves southward. VT8 will gradually sell out too. Check the empty shells in Jomtien for yourself:

http://www.seaboard-...age=list[sale-rent]=sale&submit[type]=C&submit[complete]=E&submit[location]=J&submit[beds]=&submit[space]=&submit[price-range]=&pg=1

BTW, VT8 sells for less than VT7 and more like VT5. Only the top floor units sell for a premium and far less than 4M.

(if the link doens't work properly, click on condominiums, empty shells and then Jomtien.)

Edited April 24, 2011 by Barack

[kaleevala]

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 .

[kaleevala]

Why is Pattya so much cheaper than Chiang Mai?

[LennyW]

Awohalitsiktoli and Pattaya Parent,

This thread is titled "Are Houses Overpriced In Pattaya?" this is the question for debate.

Some posts will give their opinion on why they feel they are NOT overpriced, and some on why they feel they ARE overpriced.

It's obvious from your above posts that you're both uninterested in debating this question and have already come to your

conclusions.

Comparing a market with another is one way to analyse the prices.

If you don't have a comparison how can you tell if they are or are not overpriced?

The Pattaya market though is unique in that it has various market influence being that foreigners are cash buyers

with their finance coming from another countries economy. This makes foreign purchases variable depending where they're from.

Then you have the Thai on Thai market and then the company purchase market.

So when you take all these variables into consideration the market prices split into 3 different categories with 3 price ranges.

My conclusion is 5 years ago we had a sellers market and prices went up, now we have a buyers market due to a reduction of buyers.

which means the buyers that are out looking can find bargains as prices have fallen.

But you can't say something is overpriced unless you have a comparison.

The only way you can determine market price is by knowing the current sale prices that buyers and sellers have agreed.

That is the "current market price" not overpriced or underpriced, it's the price a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept.

Valid point there, due to the demise of most western currencies against the Baht the purchasing power of the western people has greatly reduced over the last few years, if the rates were 75 to the pound, 55 to the euro, 40 to the dollar etc. nobody would be complaining about houses being overpriced in Pattaya - quite the reverse, they would all be jumping up and down shouting what bargains they got!!

The Thai market is still bouyant and Thais dont complain about houses being overpriced, like i said before the banks regularly give them morgatges to fund their house purchase, this would not be the case if houses were overpriced.

Simply stating the bar stool mantra "houses must be overpriced because nobody is buying them" is just nonsense and no matter how many times you repeat it - does not make it so!

[tropo]

Awohalitsiktoli and Pattaya Parent,

This thread is titled "Are Houses Overpriced In Pattaya?" this is the question for debate.

Some posts will give their opinion on why they feel they are NOT overpriced, and some on why they feel they ARE overpriced.

It's obvious from your above posts that you're both uninterested in debating this question and have already come to your

conclusions.

Comparing a market with another is one way to analyse the prices.

If you don't have a comparison how can you tell if they are or are not overpriced?

The Pattaya market though is unique in that it has various market influence being that foreigners are cash buyers

with their finance coming from another countries economy. This makes foreign purchases variable depending where they're from.

Then you have the Thai on Thai market and then the company purchase market.

So when you take all these variables into consideration the market prices split into 3 different categories with 3 price ranges.

My conclusion is 5 years ago we had a sellers market and prices went up, now we have a buyers market due to a reduction of buyers.

which means the buyers that are out looking can find bargains as prices have fallen.

But you can't say something is overpriced unless you have a comparison.

The only way you can determine market price is by knowing the current sale prices that buyers and sellers have agreed.

That is the "current market price" not overpriced or underpriced, it's the price a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept.

Valid point there, due to the demise of most western currencies against the Baht the purchasing power of the western people has greatly reduced over the last few years, if the rates were 75 to the pound, 55 to the euro, 40 to the dollar etc. nobody would be complaining about houses being overpriced in Pattaya - quite the reverse, they would all be jumping up and down shouting what bargains they got!!

The Thai market is still bouyant and Thais dont complain about houses being overpriced, like i said before the banks regularly give them morgatges to fund their house purchase, this would not be the case if houses were overpriced.

Simply stating the bar stool mantra "houses must be overpriced because nobody is buying them" is just nonsense and no matter how many times you repeat it - does not make it so!

In fairness you should have been quoting Awohalitsiktoli and PattayaParent who have been constantly stating this "bar stool mantra".

Sotsira who you have quoted above gave one of most balanced replies yet and is not one of the "oh woe is me, everything is so expensive" crowd.

[Thaifan2]

Why is Pattya so much cheaper than Chiang Mai?

Its not ! ( maybe you meant it the other way around ?) .

[Naam]

Why is Pattya so much cheaper than Chiang Mai?

Pattaya is the home of cheap people like Tropo and myself. we could never afford the living expenses up north, especially Chiang Mai where the elite lives.