Why are condo"s so much more than houses?

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Looked at a condo in CM, 9.3MBht for a 43 square meter condo.

Had a heli-pad on the roof, but disappointed, I was expecting at least solid gold bathroom fittings.

[metaben]

Back to the OP, I've also noticed the price difference.

I've tried to figure it out myself, since I do want a house despite the (calculated) risks.

Here are some of my observations for houses, at least in BKK in a sector going from On Nut to Prawet to Mega Bangna:

- any decent estate needs the extra investment of an accompanying car or two,

- some of these estates have been hit by the floods and the stigmata affects all other similar properties,

- some Thais "invest" into several houses and let them sit there (??? a presumption),

- some estates are really poorly managed and this affects all future sales,

- there is no lack of land once out of the mass-transport routes.

All in all you can get a pretty decent house starting from 3-4M, the price of a 32 M2 closet on the BTS line.

Still its only 75 K to 100k Euros to live in a thriving metropolis, condo or house.

[thaimlord]

It's sad to see the caustic venom and name calling. Renter vs buyer, condo vs house. It's all irrelevant as i believe the was OP asking why are condos so much more than houses?

Be nice. It makes everyone happy.

Hey Benmart

Get used to it mate. There are some really vicious, mean-spirited people that frequent this forum. Quite a few, and vocal it seems. I can only imagine they have had great tragedy in their lives, that needlessly attacking another person rather than debating their views becomes enjoyment.

Cheers

TL

[tingtongteesood]

2 words 'Captive audience'. Foreigners are not allowed to own land hence building and owning a house is possible but you still can't own the land so it can never really be yours. Whereas you ARE allowed to fully own a condo ( though only for 30 years typically ) Price gouging at it's finest in the amazing land of ripping off foreigners...

[realenglish1]

Not one single person here has it right as to why condos are much more expensive. This is the fact. Thais think a condo is a good investment. If you watch construction of a condo it starts off at one price and by the time it is finished it is selling for 30 to 50% more that the original price over lets say 2 years for construction. Is it supply in demand. Hardly. Thais make a small down payment then try and rent it out to cover the cost of the mortgage. The problem here is there are now more condos then renters. So what you have here is a REAL BUBBLE" waiting to burst. The tipping point will be a crisis (political or economic) that that will send everyone running and start to walk away from what they can no longer afford to maintain with the banks. Take a look at an older condo 3 to 4 years and look at the number of vacant condos. Or go onto a web site renting condos and look at prices. Rental prices should reflect the true market conditions of the real estate market. But in this case they are reflecting the amount of Debt a Thai has in a condo. So if you can find a rental for a 35 square meter unit at baht 10,000 why would you pay 16,000 for something similar . You would not nor would anyone else.

Yes we are in a bubble and it will burst Too many condos are being build and the builders are sucking in the Thais that still believe that an artificial price rise is a good. The builder is escalating prices not market conditions That is very dangerous.

All I can say to the so called Condo Investor is GOOD LUCK

[ThaiBob]

2 words 'Captive audience'. Foreigners are not allowed to own land hence building and owning a house is possible but you still can't own the land so it can never really be yours. Whereas you ARE allowed to fully own a condo ( though only for 30 years typically ) Price gouging at it's finest in the amazing land of ripping off foreigners...

Condos in Pattaya are typically free-hold and not lease hold which is what you were referring.

[ThaiBob]

Not one single person here has it right as to why condos are much more expensive. This is the fact. Thais think a condo is a good investment. If you watch construction of a condo it starts off at one price and by the time it is finished it is selling for 30 to 50% more that the original price over lets say 2 years for construction. Is it supply in demand. Hardly. Thais make a small down payment then try and rent it out to cover the cost of the mortgage. The problem here is there are now more condos then renters. So what you have here is a REAL BUBBLE" waiting to burst. The tipping point will be a crisis (political or economic) that that will send everyone running and start to walk away from what they can no longer afford to maintain with the banks. Take a look at an older condo 3 to 4 years and look at the number of vacant condos. Or go onto a web site renting condos and look at prices. Rental prices should reflect the true market conditions of the real estate market. But in this case they are reflecting the amount of Debt a Thai has in a condo. So if you can find a rental for a 35 square meter unit at baht 10,000 why would you pay 16,000 for something similar . You would not nor would anyone else.

Yes we are in a bubble and it will burst Too many condos are being build and the builders are sucking in the Thais that still believe that an artificial price rise is a good. The builder is escalating prices not market conditions That is very dangerous.

All I can say to the so called Condo Investor is GOOD LUCK

I don't agree with a lot of this. Thais buying condos here do it with cash or developers installments with the the balance due at completion, just like foreigners. Thais primarily from Bangkok started buying these small matchbox size condos only recently. These prices are pocket change for many of them.

[Danbit]

There are probably a higher cost in building a condo, prices world wide are higher for apartments than for houses pr. sqm.

As for prices look here, it is condos at Panya Resort/Crystal Bay, fair prices on a golf course at highway 3

in Bang Pra between Sriracha and Bang Saen.

http://www.thaigolf.dk/prices_for_tower_c.pdf

They are normally sold for a lower price, depending on the quality. No problem with 49%.

Normally you don´t find them for sale, just a notice in the condo entrance.

[HerbalEd]

I looked at new condo's and houses a few weeks ago. Working out the cost per square metre, houses per square metre were 50-66% cheaper than condo's.

The cost of registering a company so a foreigner can indirectly own a house / land and the yearly filing of company accounts is by far the best option in my view.

I don't think the difference is that high and in most cases houses are more expensive. You need to compare condo with house in the same location. Most condos are built in prime locations where there is a shortage of land and land prices are very high, houses on the dark side is very cheap as the land prices are much lower.

That does not compute if you divide the cost of the plot by two or three hundred owners, condo's are waaaay over priced! !!!

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

While they may be overpriced compared to what you can, or want to, pay ... they are priced at what the market will bear. That being said, I fear there's a real estate crash coming ... which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending upon wether you're already an owner, or a prospective buyer.

[HerbalEd]

Because your house is not yours but your condo will be in your name.

Also condos are so much easier to re-sell than houses, whatever the morons who have houses to sell on this board will tell you...

Why easier sell? Condos don't have ghosts?

I would also like to know why condo's are easier to sell? There are thousands of second hand condo's for sale here but I guess the owners expectations are too high.

Any house or condo will sell if the price is right.

In a farang-dense area condos sell better than houses for a simple reason. There are more potential buyers ... i.e., farangs and Thais ... and farangs can buy a condo much, much easier than they can a house.

[HerbalEd]

This has been discussed soooo many times on this forum. Foreigners can own a condo in their own name, foreigners cannot own land and look for all kinds of ways to skirt the intent of the law.

Well, considering the intent of the law is to keep wealthy Thais rich and Poor Thais on the farm, the law seems to be working.

Yes, because foreigners can own condos, the price is high. A condo (in Udon) half the size of a niuce house, is the same price as that house.

I much prefer a house (with land) to a condo on floor X, with noisy neighbors...LOL

Sure ... if you can afford to buy enough land to buffer yourself from noisy neighbors. Condos have no monopoly on pesky neighbors.

[HerbalEd]

I looked at new condo's and houses a few weeks ago. Working out the cost per square metre, houses per square metre were 50-66% cheaper than condo's.

The cost of registering a company so a foreigner can indirectly own a house / land and the yearly filing of company accounts is by far the best option in my view.

I don't think the difference is that high and in most cases houses are more expensive. You need to compare condo with house in the same location. Most condos are built in prime locations where there is a shortage of land and land prices are very high, houses on the dark side is very cheap as the land prices are much lower.

That does not compute if you divide the cost of the plot by two or three hundred owners, condo's are waaaay over priced! !!!

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Exactly! It's because they can, not because they are worth it.

It's obviously "worth it" for those that are willing to pay the price.

[pgrahmm]

I agree - shelling out a disproportionate amount of $$$$$$ for a "condo" smaller than decent sized hotel rooms is a stupid option (unless you want to flaunt Darwin's theory).......

"Buying" here in many ways is a trap (many traps actually depending on approach/circumstance) as are the 30 year leases.........

It's a fools game in which many times we are only too happy to oblige as a trusting farang.....

I like to live far enough from a major city that I can drive in and enjoy what a city has to offer....(I've done that everywhere I've lived) ..... mostly houses here - condos seem located in citified areas - I don't like living in hives....if I wished there are enough rental condos that if I wanted to have a second place for city flings it would be easy - but to buy - noooooo......

I'd be willing to bet that most are """influenced""" into buying decisions by sincerely interest others (their wishes - our $$$$$) - I'm also willing to bet that at least 50% of these work out to our dismay (and their gain)......

Edited August 12, 2013 by pgrahmm

[Naam]

Because your house is not yours but your condo will be in your name.

Also condos are so much easier to re-sell than houses, whatever the morons who have houses to sell on this board will tell you...

Why easier sell? Condos don't have ghosts?

I would also like to know why condo's are easier to sell? There are thousands of second hand condo's for sale here but I guess the owners expectations are too high.

Any house or condo will sell if the price is right.

In a farang-dense area condos sell better than houses for a simple reason. There are more potential buyers ... i.e., farangs and Thais ... and farangs can buy a condo much, much easier than they can a house.

some people buy condos or homes to live in them. others buy condos or homes to sell them. to each his own... but i pity the latter.

[HerbalEd]

It's sad to see the caustic venom and name calling. Renter vs buyer, condo vs house. It's all irrelevant as i believe the was OP asking why are condos so much more than houses?

Be nice. It makes everyone happy.

Unfortunately there seems to be a substantial segment of TV posters that is not happy being nice and think that it's a sign of weakness. Real men are mean ... not nice.

[HerbalEd]

Not one single person here has it right as to why condos are much more expensive. This is the fact. Thais think a condo is a good investment. If you watch construction of a condo it starts off at one price and by the time it is finished it is selling for 30 to 50% more that the original price over lets say 2 years for construction. Is it supply in demand. Hardly. Thais make a small down payment then try and rent it out to cover the cost of the mortgage. The problem here is there are now more condos then renters. So what you have here is a REAL BUBBLE" waiting to burst. The tipping point will be a crisis (political or economic) that that will send everyone running and start to walk away from what they can no longer afford to maintain with the banks. Take a look at an older condo 3 to 4 years and look at the number of vacant condos. Or go onto a web site renting condos and look at prices. Rental prices should reflect the true market conditions of the real estate market. But in this case they are reflecting the amount of Debt a Thai has in a condo. So if you can find a rental for a 35 square meter unit at baht 10,000 why would you pay 16,000 for something similar . You would not nor would anyone else.

Yes we are in a bubble and it will burst Too many condos are being build and the builders are sucking in the Thais that still believe that an artificial price rise is a good. The builder is escalating prices not market conditions That is very dangerous.

All I can say to the so called Condo Investor is GOOD LUCK

Well, finally. We have you to tell us what the real facts are. Now we know. Thanks.

[realenglish1]

Not one single person here has it right as to why condos are much more expensive. This is the fact. Thais think a condo is a good investment. If you watch construction of a condo it starts off at one price and by the time it is finished it is selling for 30 to 50% more that the original price over lets say 2 years for construction. Is it supply in demand. Hardly. Thais make a small down payment then try and rent it out to cover the cost of the mortgage. The problem here is there are now more condos then renters. So what you have here is a REAL BUBBLE" waiting to burst. The tipping point will be a crisis (political or economic) that that will send everyone running and start to walk away from what they can no longer afford to maintain with the banks. Take a look at an older condo 3 to 4 years and look at the number of vacant condos. Or go onto a web site renting condos and look at prices. Rental prices should reflect the true market conditions of the real estate market. But in this case they are reflecting the amount of Debt a Thai has in a condo. So if you can find a rental for a 35 square meter unit at baht 10,000 why would you pay 16,000 for something similar . You would not nor would anyone else.

Yes we are in a bubble and it will burst Too many condos are being build and the builders are sucking in the Thais that still believe that an artificial price rise is a good. The builder is escalating prices not market conditions That is very dangerous.

All I can say to the so called Condo Investor is GOOD LUCK

I don't agree with a lot of this. Thais buying condos here do it with cash or developers installments with the the balance due at completion, just like foreigners. Thais primarily from Bangkok started buying these small matchbox size condos only recently. These prices are pocket change for many of them.

You do not know what you are talking about according to Bangkok Bank 87 % of condo units are financed NOT Paid with private money I have no idea where you get your facts Probably pulling them from the same people how invest in condos

[PPCC]

Because your house is not yours but your condo will be in your name.

Also condos are so much easier to re-sell than houses, whatever the morons who have houses to sell on this board will tell you...

Of course the house is mine and my wifes ,we have been married over 20 years , if i was worried all i had to do was take a 30 year lease on it ,you go on living in your box ,i will wonder around my house and garden ,park on my drive with space for 4 cars , and when i am dead my wife can cut the price of it and ell it , the ones that are priced right sell , i fear its you who are the moron ,for posting crap.w

Because your house is not yours but your condo will be in your name.

Also condos are so much easier to re-sell than houses, whatever the morons who have houses to sell on this board will tell you...

Of course the house is mine and my wifes ,we have been married over 20 years , if i was worried all i had to do was take a 30 year lease on it ,you go on living in your box ,i will wonder around my house and garden ,park on my drive with space for 4 cars , and when i am dead my wife can cut the price of it and sell it , the ones that are priced right sell , i fear its you who are the moron ,for posting crap.

Got to agree with I Claudius on that. Bangkokstick, you are indeed posting utter crap.

[hellodolly]

I don't buy anything in Thailand or any place else for that matter. I am retired and no longer in the position where I need things to own me. That being said as I was coming to this grand old age I did own several homes once a duplex. Hence I hate rentors.

I find my self at this time in my life unwilling to take on all the upkeep that went with a house and yard. It is far easier for me to live in a condo. If I decide to go on a trip lock the door and we have a padlock and away we go no worry. I might suggest that more and more retiree's are feeling the same way I do. I often tell my younger friends I am where you are trying to get. O no longer have to worry about where my next dollar is coming from will this investment give me a good return. Now I just worry about is this the location I want and the view I want. I am a little picky but I do have a wide range of acceptable things.

64 years of suburbia living was enough.

[slipperylobster]

condos are a really bad idea.... you own what??? 49 percent? your maintenance fees and interest will be more that what you will be selling that overated 200 sqft space for. put your money in the bank and rent.

[i claudius]

I have just read that 30000 new condoes are to be built in Pattaya over the next 3 years. ,i do have an idea that a bubble is forming .just like in Spain and Dubai.

[Ling Kae]

I don't buy anything in Thailand or any place else for that matter. I am retired and no longer in the position where I need things to own me. That being said as I was coming to this grand old age I did own several homes once a duplex. Hence I hate rentors.

I find my self at this time in my life unwilling to take on all the upkeep that went with a house and yard. It is far easier for me to live in a condo. If I decide to go on a trip lock the door and we have a padlock and away we go no worry. I might suggest that more and more retiree's are feeling the same way I do. I often tell my younger friends I am where you are trying to get. O no longer have to worry about where my next dollar is coming from will this investment give me a good return. Now I just worry about is this the location I want and the view I want. I am a little picky but I do have a wide range of acceptable things.

64 years of suburbia living was enough.

Same here, lived in both condos and houses and prefer the condo anytime. The biggest plus as you say is you lock it up and off you go away for a few Months and not worry.

[Briggsy]

If only one person, a condo can offer a lot of convenience and sufficient space whilst one foreigner in a house in Thailand often attracts burglars. But for a family, it is a no-brainer, gotta be a house unless money is no object.

[Basil B]

If only one person, a condo can offer a lot of convenience and sufficient space whilst one foreigner in a house in Thailand often attracts burglars. But for a family, it is a no-brainer, gotta be a house unless money is no object.

Depends, many multi room units on the market, just not sub 1,000,000B.

[bangkokstick]

condos are a really bad idea.... you own what??? 49 percent? your maintenance fees and interest will be more that what you will be selling that overated 200 sqft space for. put your money in the bank and rent.

You know too mutt ! Smkart MAAK MAAK !

:-)

Edited August 12, 2013 by bangkokstick

[KittenKong]

Of course the house is mine and my wifes ,we have been married over 20 years , if i was worried all i had to do was take a 30 year lease on it....

Dont fool yourself. It is not your place. It is your wife's. Without her name and/or some legal trickery you could never have bought it.

Not every Farang living here either needs a wife or wants one (I certainly dont), and so not everyone is able to buy via this process and its rather dubious legality. Those other people, like me, will probably be more inclined to look at things that they can legally own, and in Thailand that means a farang-name condo and nothing else.

[KittenKong]

and when they take you to the crematorium or the graveyard they can burn or bury the title papers of the condo with you because... it's in your name!

Yes, or you could just leave it to any Thai or non-Thai person of your choosing, via a valid will. And they can then dispose of it as they wish.

morons who enjoy living in comfortable homes and resent condos will have an unpleasant surprise after they died. they burn or are buried all alone. serves them morons right!

Many homes that I have seen here are in no way superior to a condo, especially when it comes to the view. In fact I would say that many homes here are on tiny plots of land in out of the way housing estates on which I wouldnt live for love or money. I much prefer my 180 degree uninterrupted panoramic view of the beach, bay, and hills and trees that I get from every part of my condo (apart from the bathroom). I would not find that in any house here at any price.

But the real unpleasant surprise for house-owners may come when for some unexpected reason (marital breakdown, ill-health, economic downturn, change of law/government/tax situation/visa situation) they need to leave promptly. If any of those came to pass (and only a complete fool would say they never could) I would rather be a tenant than an owner, and if I was an owner I would rather be owning a condo outright than owning part of some weird company structure of dubious legality.

[ThaiBob]

and when they take you to the crematorium or the graveyard they can burn or bury the title papers of the condo with you because... it's in your name!

Yes, or you could just leave it to any Thai or non-Thai person of your choosing, via a valid will. And they can then dispose of it as they wish.

morons who enjoy living in comfortable homes and resent condos will have an unpleasant surprise after they died. they burn or are buried all alone. serves them morons right!

Many homes that I have seen here are in no way superior to a condo, especially when it comes to the view. In fact I would say that many homes here are on tiny plots of land in out of the way housing estates on which I wouldnt live for love or money. I much prefer my 180 degree uninterrupted panoramic view of the beach, bay, and hills and trees that I get from every part of my condo (apart from the bathroom). I would not find that in any house here at any price.

But the real unpleasant surprise for house-owners may come when for some unexpected reason (marital breakdown, ill-health, economic downturn, change of law/government/tax situation/visa situation) they need to leave promptly. If any of those came to pass (and only a complete fool would say they never could) I would rather be a tenant than an owner, and if I was an owner I would rather be owning a condo outright than owning part of some weird company structure of dubious legality.

And what happens if one has the misfortune of the death of the younger Thai wife? It happens, Stickman had a story on his blog a few years back, not a happy tale at all.

[hellodolly]

condos are a really bad idea.... you own what??? 49 percent? your maintenance fees and interest will be more that what you will be selling that overated 200 sqft space for. put your money in the bank and rent.

Where are you living in a dormitory 200sq ft is a little bit less than 19 sq meters Do you have indoor plumbing?

[PattayaPhom]

And still they are building them and the units are getting smaller and smaller, some are 27 m2 now, hell my master bed room is bigger than that.

More and more BKK Thais are buying here as a weekend getaway, both condo's and houses. I think I read somewhere that over 40.000 units are under construction.

No wonder traffic are horrible in the weekends/holidays, I wonder how it looks in 5 years time

22 sqm !!!!!....