Bangkok Condo Secondary Market Question

[monjanji]

The wife and I recently purchased a new condo in Onnut. Mainly for income and perhaps personal use in the longer term future. Of course, it would be great too if the value of the property appreciated over time but I'm actually more worried that the opposite may happen.

But I'd like to know realistically, how hard is it to sell a condo in the secondary market in Bangkok? I hear that Thais don't like to buy second hand condo's, that leaves only the expats? Unlike Hong Kong, for instance, I don't know where you can find out how many units have been sold for a particular development, much less a district or the city. How long typically does a condo stay on the market before being sold? If you really need to sell in a hurry, how fast can you really do it and how much discount do you have to offer? My condo is still brand new, is my best chance of selling it right now, rather then waiting for it to become second hand and its value declining further?

Appreciate folks sharing their insights and knowledge here.

Thanks all in advance.

[PattayaParent]

If you sell right now you'll most likely end up with less than you paid for it because you will have to pay business tax (5%?) on the sale, as well as the regular taxes at the land office.

In Thailand the prices of condos never go down, if they don't sell you just increase the asking price.

Edited May 25, 2012 by PattayaParent

[monjanji]

Guess I did see someone mention that condos are purchased mostly by wealthy Thais that don't sell, hell or high water (literally) which keeps the prices high. But what is the reality on the ground for sellers. Anyone care to share their experience selling their condos in Bangkok? How long did it take to sell your condo? how much discount from market was the final price?

[PattayaPhom]

Reasonable size, reasonable price, good location will always sell anywhere....shoebox less than 35sqm, not on BTS/MRT and overpriced wont shift....Depends where you are in Onnut, it is a popular area thats for sure.

[london]

Last condo I sold was approx 2 years ago.

No discount to asking price: over 4 million baht.

Time to sell: 1 week, with cash in hand 1 week later.

Not all transactions go that smoothly, but as has been said by PattayaPhom, good locations sell anytime.

[meand]

I'm not sure exactly where you are on on nut, but I have noticed a lot of stuff going up right now adjacent to bts -- mobi, president, rhythem. That may not be ideal for you. I notice the verve seems a little high priced for what it is, and it seems empty to me, at least upon visual examination (no way to tell if those dark units are bought or not though). The mix on 103 seems relatively full. My point is just that Thais seem to want to stay in the ~3 million ballpark. If verve is as empty as it seems to me, maybe they made a little mistake in pricing. I notice their mobi opening prices of 1.9, so maybe they corrected.

Anyway, i'm just rambling, as I find the condo market here fascinating. But I would surely hold if I were you. Don't panic and try renting it and see how it goes for you. From what I read it could take as little as one week (example above) or up to 3 years to sell, i'm sure you could sell quick if you are willing to take a little loss. Taxes are a real issue too, hold for 5+ years and stay out of the "specific business tax". Taxes seem to dip up and down, peaking at a selling point of year 5 or so.

Edited May 27, 2012 by meand

[monjanji]

Thanks for the inputs.

Guess reading some earlier posts made me unduly pessimistic about the condo market situation so the posts here definitely made me feel better. I am still looking to rent it out rather then sell but no one wants to see their investment decline in value over time. Anything can happen of course and I may have brought into an inflating market but seems the 'natural' trend is up rather then down which is somewhat reassuring.

We brought at Blocs 77 by Sansiri which is pretty nice and seems to have sold well, but since we put down the initial payment, many new condos have sprung up and are still springing up which is bit bothersome. But I guess the developers must know something that we don't, hopefully. Anyway, it's still hard (impossible?) to get historical transaction records so appreciate those sharing their accounts on selling their condos.

[w11guy]

A great location at a great price will usually sell quickly. But I know some condos in Silom that have been up for sale for 2 years or so. I know some that were sold in that building and the prices was dropped 20-30% for a quick sale. There is a new condo building on Surawong Road that I think was finished well over a year ago. I walked passed the other day and there are still 9 units for sale. Seem very overpriced to me. Also only half can be sold to foreigners, so often there aren't enough Thais to buy the other half. I also saw one advertised the other day that was the last unit for sale in a building that was 4-5 years old. Just think about that. 4-5 years and they still haven't sold all the condos. That is the reality of the Bangkok market. Offer a great price and you might sell quickly. Offer what everyone else is offering and you may still be trying to sell in a few years time.

The one that's been on sale for around 2 years recently had its priced increase from 5.4 to 5.7M. The owners are probably bragging to their friends and family about how their property has increased in value. There is a similar condo in the same building and the owner said he'd take 4.1M for a quick sale.

Edited July 8, 2012 by w11guy