To Invest A Condo In Pattaya. Will It Be A Good Investment?

[Ronnie3378]

A property broker I met in a properties fair is trying to sell me a condo.

According to him, real estate in Pattaya is booming, my investment in pattaya will get very good return within 3 years.

I have never been to Pattaya, no idea at all.

Anyone can share some ideas here?

Thanks.

[sunshinegirl]

Keep your money in the bank. To many properties getting built not enough buyers.

Edited September 27, 2012 by sunshinegirl

[PattayaPhom]

It could be, spacious condos in a good location have stadily increased and are in great demand.....as it was at a trade fayre I would assume its a developer so will be a new project thus more than likely a pokey shoebox of around 30sqm...forget it, they are impossible to rent and any capitol gain if any is minimal

[Asiantravel]

Keep your money in the bank. To many properties getting built not enough buyers.

in 50 years I have never heard of property broker say anything other than it's a good time to buy

no matter what stage we are in the credit cycle.do you know why because to the property broker

it is indeed a good time to buy because they always get sales commission for their sale.

But that doesn't mean it's a good time to buy from the buyers point of view

and now as you quite rightly say sunshinegirl better to just sit and wait and see what is going to happen

just look at the state of the world economies. There is no genuine capital appreciation going on anywhere

and if anything the risk is on that there will be deflation.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Asiantravel

[hotandhumid]

This is the wrong place to ask my friend, the negativity regarding condo purchases and investment in Thailand, plus other stuff like buying houses, getting married, starting a business etc etc, is unbelievable on this board.

If you want a more balanced view go elsewhere.

[Woody1]

This is the wrong place to ask my friend, the negativity regarding condo purchases and investment in Thailand, plus other stuff like buying houses, getting married, starting a business etc etc, is unbelievable on this board.

If you want a more balanced view go elsewhere.

Totally agree with the above post from hotandhumid.

Also, I would like to add a word of caution to the OP though, without ever being in Pattaya as you state, I for one would not consider investing in the property market based on some advise from a property broker you just met. I think just a bit of common sense.

This is not to say you can't get a good deal, and a decent return on your investment, but a bit of homework needs to be done prior to parting with any cash.

[ShopBoy]

3 years ago a property agent told me the same thing it is "Booming Sure" that's what he said

now i still feel same same as 3 years ago too many properties and no takes

[Ronnie3378]

Actually I would like to do some researches on internet before I visit the place.

If I can get more different views, would be much better, so that I won't miss the points before I make the decision.

[sotsira]

Ronnie,

The location & price per sqm2 are the two most important things to consider.

As others have also mentioned be very careful if it's a new development.

It's also safer to buy a second hand unit where you can check build quality,

maintenance charges, electric & water charge rates, furnishings, etc.

Many also say it's easy to buy a condo and difficult to sell a condo in Pattaya

too many available and not so many buyers available.

[meatballs]

I would never invest in a condo here.

[thenervoussurgeon]

To the OP ,if you have never even visited Pattaya you would have to be mad to buy a property here or anywhere you have not spent time at. for that matter ,and as others have said far more condoes here than buyers.

[goldy40]

Yep as stated above

don't buy if you don't live there

And I have a condo and dont live there

But won't buy another abroad

I now stick to buying any property within a close location of where I mostly live

I'm familiar with the Market and procedure

Makes it Easy for me to manage any problems

Otherwise

You would need to rely on too many other people to rent it / do repairs etc

And I find you lose control if your not there

[Ronnie3378]

I am planning to retire in Thailand within 10 years time.

That's the reason I would like to buy the property.

[sotsira]

I am planning to retire in Thailand within 10 years time.

That's the reason I would like to buy the property.

If that's the reason, and you will eventually be living in it, then you also need to consider

what country your from, and bringing in the funds to buy.

As at present it's not favourable to be buying with US$, UK£ & Euros.

It would be better to wait a few years and see how the Ex rates move, most other

countries rates though are still doing ok.

[Gone]

Spend a few years here then decide. A fool and his money..........

[candid]

Just have a look on this forum about a place calle Suan Sawarn. Ok, not everyone's cup of tea, but years behind and no sign of a completion yet. Looks like people will get settled up in a few years from now.

As for the developer's rep, ask him if the building is actually started going up yet. Don't be tempted unless you can see it, touch it and walk into it.

Buying off plan might have ben good for some people back in the pre 2005 boom times,but not since

[PattayaPhom]

Just have a look on this forum about a place calle Suan Sawarn. Ok, not everyone's cup of tea, but years behind and no sign of a completion yet. Looks like people will get settled up in a few years from now.

As for the developer's rep, ask him if the building is actually started going up yet. Don't be tempted unless you can see it, touch it and walk into it.

Buying off plan might have ben good for some people back in the pre 2005 boom times,but not since

I dont particulary like many new developments but your comment highlights one exceptional case, there are many that have completed on time with happy owners.

[candid]

Just have a look on this forum about a place calle Suan Sawarn. Ok, not everyone's cup of tea, but years behind and no sign of a completion yet. Looks like people will get settled up in a few years from now.

As for the developer's rep, ask him if the building is actually started going up yet. Don't be tempted unless you can see it, touch it and walk into it.

Buying off plan might have ben good for some people back in the pre 2005 boom times,but not since

I dont particulary like many new developments but your comment highlights one exceptional case, there are many that have completed on time with happy owners.

That may be true, but the man is asking for information. The main purpose of my post was to warn him that some developments are definitely ones which he should be wary of. I very rarely see good comments here about on time, on spec, everything is lovely type developments. I also stand by my comments about buying off plan as that is pretty silly these days. He may not have much experience of the ways of the Pattaya Real estate World

Edited September 28, 2012 by Rimmer
Quotes fixed

[Ronnie3378]

Looks like it ain't a good idea for the investment...

[pauljones]

You can buy a place but can you get a VISA to stay in it?

[simple1]

OP: If you are planning to retire in Pattaya in ten years time & considering buying now who will manage the maintenance and rental of your property in the meantime; difficult to do from offshore over a ten year period. Unfortunately many condo development appearances are eroded quite quickly due to minimum investment in ongoing building maintenance. I would say the cost of living in Pattaya has at least doubled in Pattaya over the past ten years, so you would need to factor that in for retirement planing.

As mentioned their is a great deal of condo development in Pattaya, much targeted at buyers in the 1 - 3 million baht range, but they are very small for living space. Also a lot of activity in the 10+ million baht properties. As you know the Thai government is now focusing in on high volume packaged tourism that will change places like Pattaya enormously, especially during the six month high season. For better or worse is a question mark.

If you decide to go-ahead & retire to Pattaya, as mentioned, rent somewhere for a while prior to buying. You may come to the conclusion you prefer to rent in order to have the flexibility to move if the neighbours/condo management prove to be a pain in the neck.

Please excuse if teaching you to suck eggs...

EDIT: I own a house in Pattaya, or more correctly I should say my wife does

Edited September 28, 2012 by simple1

[ikis]

This is the wrong place to ask my friend, the negativity regarding condo purchases and investment in Thailand, plus other stuff like buying houses, getting married, starting a business etc etc, is unbelievable on this board.

If you want a more balanced view go elsewhere.

agreed. i believe that a nice condo in a good location, in a condominium with good management is a good investment.

[chris2004]

I think buying a condo in Pattaya "as an investment" is a bad idea. You'll be lucky to make any money. Only buy if you intend to live here for a long period 10 years+ AND you know the place well and believe it's somewhere you could live.

[smedly]

I haven't read any of the previous replys on this thread but I will say this -

It is not so much an investment - don't expect prices to rise as they do in the west, expect to get your money back if you sell in the future and nothing more and that will depend on how much you pay for it, most condo's for sale here are at highly inflated prices, realters create a false market and most falangs get ripped off, I know people paid way over the value and only realise when they try to sell, and just because in a certain location or building people are trying to sell for xxxbaht does not mean that is the correct market price, a possible good stake in the ground is check out new condo buildings and what they are offering and for how much - you will find they are much cheaper than falangs trying to sell their overly priced second hand units that they paid way over the odds for........JMO

[BKKBobby]

I haven't read any of the previous replys on this thread but I will say this -

It is not so much an investment - don't expect prices to rise as they do in the west, expect to get your money back if you sell in the future and nothing more and that will depend on how much you pay for it, most condo's for sale here are at highly inflated prices, realters create a false market and most falangs get ripped off, I know people paid way over the value and only realise when they try to sell, and just because in a certain location or building people are trying to sell for xxxbaht does not mean that is the correct market price, a possible good stake in the ground is check out new condo buildings and what they are offering and for how much - you will find they are much cheaper than falangs trying to sell their overly priced second hand units that they paid way over the odds for........JMO

Is there any ways to get "real knowledge", i mean objective knowledge that you then can use to extrapolate on (or not) into the future, etc... I mean in my country we have currency/sqm statistics for every area of our largest cities, the subareas of that city etc, even for streets, and statistics over the last few months, years etc... to see how the condo/property final sales price have gone up and down, I looked for this type of info for Bangkok (im interested in current valid info, not some old report showing 2008-2010, etc.), ok, im talking about bangkok, but if its hard to find this kind of info on bangkok then it must be even harder for pattaya. Looking and comparing apartments on thai condo sites is confusing. The prices for similar objects, on the same streets and sometimes in the same building can have erratic price differences (even when taking baht/sqm) into account. In my country these erratic price differences in starting/offering price is normal, but then its because the offering price is there to lure you in and bid, in my country there is always bidding wars unless theres a very cold (buyers) market. Ive seen lots of programs showing the UK property market where that type of bidding war culture doesnt seem to exist. The price that the property is offered for would be accepted if no other bidders joined in. Here where I live, the starting price is often waaaaaaay under the real lowest price that would be accepted.

Edited September 28, 2012 by BKKBobby

[PattayaPhom]

I haven't read any of the previous replys on this thread but I will say this -

It is not so much an investment - don't expect prices to rise as they do in the west, expect to get your money back if you sell in the future and nothing more and that will depend on how much you pay for it, most condo's for sale here are at highly inflated prices, realters create a false market and most falangs get ripped off, I know people paid way over the value and only realise when they try to sell, and just because in a certain location or building people are trying to sell for xxxbaht does not mean that is the correct market price, a possible good stake in the ground is check out new condo buildings and what they are offering and for how much - you will find they are much cheaper than falangs trying to sell their overly priced second hand units that they paid way over the odds for........JMO

'Dont expect prices to rise as they do in the West' ...Spain down 50%, UK down 25%, US down 50% etc etc etc...'Most condos here are at highly inflated prices' ..Where does that info come from,do you even work in the industry?.I could name at least 10 condos in Pattaya that have increased and have a waiting list of buyers as there are not any for sale!!!...but hey that dosnt suit the bar fly talk about the shoebox developers miles from the beach. ASEAN in 2015, increased tourism from India is still fuelling the property market. Those that have a reasonably condo priced accordinly will sell and can still expect capitol appreciation.

[JSixpack]

Sort of depends on what you can afford and your proposed lifestyle in the future. A quality beachfront condo or at least w/ a nice seaview, in a convenient location, will probably hold its value and perhaps appreciate. You will surely find a tenant, but you won't make much on rental. Markland comes to mind: location's great, always financially sound from hotel rentals, wonderful views. Northpoint is also a possibility; there are others such. A cheap condo in, say, a View Talay is just rolling the dice. Nice condos behind The Avenue--turned out flooded last year. Real estate agents can't be trusted. You got to have a nice long visit here and look around and ask around. The expats clubs might be a good place to get some info, as long as you don't talk to anyone in the business.

[smedly]

Sort of depends on what you can afford and your proposed lifestyle in the future. A quality beachfront condo or at least w/ a nice seaview, in a convenient location, will probably hold its value and perhaps appreciate. You will surely find a tenant, but you won't make much on rental. Markland comes to mind: location's great, always financially sound from hotel rentals, wonderful views. Northpoint is also a possibility; there are others such. A cheap condo in, say, a View Talay is just rolling the dice. Nice condos behind The Avenue--turned out flooded last year. Real estate agents can't be trusted. You got to have a nice long visit here and look around and ask around. The expats clubs might be a good place to get some info, as long as you don't talk to anyone in the business.

good sound advice, be careful what you listen too on these forums as there will be four types of people posting here, existing owners - realestate agents - those that are wanting to buy - those that have no interest in buying , the type of answers and advice given will be obvious - personal disclosure ... I rent and would never buy unless I was sure of a bargan and I have seen a few over the years but still didn't

and I have heard the same crap from people trying to sell property over the years - but that's what I paid for it four years ago

[Asiantravel]

Sort of depends on what you can afford and your proposed lifestyle in the future. A quality beachfront condo or at least w/ a nice seaview, in a convenient location, will probably hold its value and perhaps appreciate. You will surely find a tenant, but you won't make much on rental. Markland comes to mind: location's great, always financially sound from hotel rentals, wonderful views. Northpoint is also a possibility; there are others such. A cheap condo in, say, a View Talay is just rolling the dice. Nice condos behind The Avenue--turned out flooded last year. Real estate agents can't be trusted. You got to have a nice long visit here and look around and ask around. The expats clubs might be a good place to get some info, as long as you don't talk to anyone in the business.

good sound advice, be careful what you listen too on these forums as there will be four types of people posting here, existing owners - realestate agents - those that are wanting to buy - those that have no interest in buying , the type of answers and advice given will be obvious - personal disclosure ... I rent and would never buy unless I was sure of a bargan and I have seen a few over the years but still didn't

and I have heard the same crap from people trying to sell property over the years - but that's what I paid for it four years ago

When it comes to real estate particularly bearing in mind were only here on various kinds of visas anyway I always think of the wise words of Robert De Niro in the movie ' Heat '

"Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat "

Edited September 28, 2012 by Asiantravel

[JSixpack]

Sort of depends on what you can afford and your proposed lifestyle in the future. A quality beachfront condo or at least w/ a nice seaview, in a convenient location, will probably hold its value and perhaps appreciate. You will surely find a tenant, but you won't make much on rental. Markland comes to mind: location's great, always financially sound from hotel rentals, wonderful views. Northpoint is also a possibility; there are others such. A cheap condo in, say, a View Talay is just rolling the dice. Nice condos behind The Avenue--turned out flooded last year. Real estate agents can't be trusted. You got to have a nice long visit here and look around and ask around. The expats clubs might be a good place to get some info, as long as you don't talk to anyone in the business.

good sound advice, be careful what you listen too on these forums as there will be four types of people posting here, existing owners - realestate agents - those that are wanting to buy - those that have no interest in buying , the type of answers and advice given will be obvious - personal disclosure ... I rent and would never buy unless I was sure of a bargan and I have seen a few over the years but still didn't

and I have heard the same crap from people trying to sell property over the years - but that's what I paid for it four years ago

When it comes to real estate particularly bearing in mind were only here on various kinds of visas anyway I always think of the wise words of Robert De Niro in the movie ' Heat '

"Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat "

Yeah, shot like dog while that sweet gorgeous woman waited for him to make his life a paradise on earth.

Fail.