Buying a Condo in Pattaya in my foreign name. Advise please...

[Jomtien2649]

I own a condo in foreign name in View Taley 2 in Jomtien 101 sqm it is a great view and location. Let me know if your interested

Which block are you in View Talay 2 and which way does it face?

I prefer A block as its closer to the road and the pool gets much better shade?

.

My condo is in View Taley 2-A it is located right next to the road a one minute walk, it is a well maintained building you have to see my condo to appreciate it. Great view, floor plan. décor and location. Are you in Jomtien /Pattaya now?

[aussiejon1604]

Just 3 points with regards to the last few posts I have read...........

No.1....There is hardly any need to go checking in the building to see if the "quota" has been filled, you'll soon know when you ask the owner of the condo you might be interested in if it is in a foreign, Thai or company name.....then you will have your answer.

No.2....I have bought condos without having brought the purchase money in from outside Thailand. The money I had in my A/C here was simply changed into $$$ and then back into the correct Thai amount..... PS. Regarding the amount you bring in from outside if you choose to do it that way.....make sure the amount transferred in is the equivalent of the purchase price on the contract, not what you may have agreed in private.

No.3.....I think that advice saying that "If you are not embarrassed by your offer, you are offering to much" is probably the most despicable I have read. I have always believed in offering a "Fair" price for a "Fair" property.....one in which BOTH the buyer and seller are happy with and as a result I have always been a happy camper with my purchases. I have found that the people with the above attitude of "Screw the person for as much as you can" has never brought them much luck and in my observation, they are not always the happiest of people. Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself and you'll find that life can be a really enjoyable journey.

Hi.

Thanks for the info especially in points 2 and 3. Point 1 as you say is pretty self explanatory. I was confident and you have just confirmed that the satisfying of an obligation regarding proven funds does exist without having to do more transfers.Obtaining a reputable lawyer will no doubt be able to advise me further. As for insulting people with unrealistic offers. This will definitely always result in being the right way of making a purchase difficult or straight out non existent. I couldn't agree more.

Regards.

[KittenKong]

No.1....There is hardly any need to go checking in the building to see if the "quota" has been filled, you'll soon know when you ask the owner of the condo you might be interested in if it is in a foreign, Thai or company name.....then you will have your answer.

Not quite. There are some buildings where the farang quota is not fully used and so it is perfectly possible to transfer a Thai name unit into farang name.

No.2....I have bought condos without having brought the purchase money in from outside Thailand. The money I had in my A/C here was simply changed into $$$ and then back into the correct Thai amount.....

I dont think that is legal (which isnt to say that it doesnt occasionally happen, with the collusion of a bank manager or currency exchange agent).

.....make sure the amount transferred in is the equivalent of the purchase price on the contract, not what you may have agreed in private.

Why? The amounts dont have to correspond. The amount on the FEC just has to be equal to or greater than the official purchase price.

No.3.....I think that advice saying that "If you are not embarrassed by your offer, you are offering to much" is probably the most despicable I have read. I have always believed in offering a "Fair" price for a "Fair" property.....one in which BOTH the buyer and seller are happy with and as a result I have always been a happy camper with my purchases.

This assumes that the original asking price is fair. Many asking prices in Pattaya are not fair and are way over the top (and by "way over the top" I really do mean way over, even if this is partly due to exchange rate variations). The places that sell promptly are generally the ones that are priced at a significant discount to the market asking price. The others mostly just hang around for months or years and I see nothing despicable about making an offer for these that reflects their true value, even if this is nowhere near what the deluded owner believes it is.

The property market in Pattaya abounds with sharks, thieves, cheats, liars, trickery and overpricing and people should be fully aware of this before getting their feet wet. As long as they are aware of this there should be no problems. Anyone who imagines that property in Pattaya is all about sweetness and fairness and loving one's fellow man is an idiot. Maybe a nice idiot, but still an idiot.

[Jomtien2649]

I own a condo in foreign name in View Taley 2 in Jomtien 101 sqm it is a great view and location. Let me know if your interested

Which block are you in View Talay 2 and which way does it face?

I prefer A block as its closer to the road and the pool gets much better shade?

.

My condo is in View Taley 2-A it is facing the ocean and is right next to the road one minute walk to the road and two blocks from the beach, it has a wonderful floor plan and décor you have to see to appreciate.. Are you in Thailand now?

[dotpoom]

"The property market in Pattaya abounds with sharks, thieves, cheats, liars, trickery and overpricing and people should be fully aware of this before getting their feet wet. As long as they are aware of this there should be no problems. Anyone who imagines that property in Pattaya is all about sweetness and fairness and loving one's fellow man is an idiot. Maybe a nice idiot, but still an idiot."

If you have to resort to name calling and insults to make your point then it would appear that you have more in common with the type of people you describe as abounding in the property market here.

Maybe you have been badly burned in some deal and I am sorry if that happened to you and that is the reason you are so bitter and angry.

It has been my experience that the type of people I attract into my life is directly related to what opinion I have of people in general. If I think of people as you describe then, I am certain to attract that type.

In 12 years in this country and other countries, I have bought and sold a reasonable amount of properties and never got a bad deal. You might call that "luck"....I call it the "Law of Attraction"

I doubt if there are many people on the planet that are not aware of the fact that there are good principled people either buying, selling or in business in general and then again...there are also people who would not fall into that category and would have less scruples.

[OnMyWay2]

It's kind of a bad time to be buying real estate in Thailand the biggest factor is the bhat falling. Coming in close secong would be the massive overbuilding in Pattaya and huge number of properties on the market. And of course the protests, the current account deficits, and US fed tapering.

Thailand is about to cut interest rates so the bhat will fall even further. There's plenty of ammo on your side to negotiate what may seem like a fair price today but sellers who are aware of these facts may be trying to rip you off.

Keep this is mind unless you dont care what kind of deal you get and just plan to buy and not look back.

[OnMyWay2]

also I do beleive in offering a fair price. Try to find out what the seller paid for it and use that as a starting point.

[mimi9000]

It's simply dumb to buy on Pattaya, relative to somewhat more civilized areas of thailand, if u r planning to stay a long while. In my opinion, Pattaya is for short term things only for foreigners. Have u noticed a lot of serious problems in Pattaya, or not? Owning property in your homeland is much different than owning in Thailand, unless u r settling in a nice low populated small country town where things r relatively stable.

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[balo]

Paradise Park in Soi watboon , Jomtien was really a bad purchase for me . The workers camp is only a few meters away so the noise is terrible at times. I have learned my lesson and will sell if I can find a buyer , under market value.

Now I am planning to move to Porchland II mear Chayaphruek rd, a more quite location , and spacious condos .My mistake was to buy off plan, never again , only buy when you are 100% sure about the location and that your condo has a pool viiew and no new constructiions nearby.

[KittenKong]

"The property market in Pattaya abounds with sharks, thieves, cheats, liars, trickery and overpricing and people should be fully aware of this before getting their feet wet. As long as they are aware of this there should be no problems. Anyone who imagines that property in Pattaya is all about sweetness and fairness and loving one's fellow man is an idiot. Maybe a nice idiot, but still an idiot."

If you have to resort to name calling and insults to make your point then it would appear that you have more in common with the type of people you describe as abounding in the property market here.

I saw no name-calling. I just saw general comments. But either way, I stand by what I wrote.

Maybe you have been badly burned in some deal and I am sorry if that happened to you and that is the reason you are so bitter and angry.

Not burned, not bitter and not angry. I just have my eyes open.

In 12 years in this country and other countries, I have bought and sold a reasonable amount of properties and never got a bad deal.

Great. I'm delighted for you. I also have been involved in several very pleasant and satisfactory property transactions in other countries.

But I prefer to stay as far away from property deals in Pattaya as I possibly can, simply because I really dont like the sort of people that often seem to be involved with them here. In fact I like to stay as far as possible away from any sort of business deal here for the same reason.

Property deals in other countries/places are a completely different matter, and I wasnt talking about them.

[Bunter]

Thanks Jomtien 2649.

Are you living there now... Ie living the dream?

One bedroom I presume?

Cheers Bunter

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Edited January 21, 2014 by Bunter

[Jomtien2649]

Thanks Jomtien 2649.

Are you living there now... Ie living the dream?

One bedroom I presume?

Cheers Bunter

Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk

I am currently in San Francisco I will be in Jomtien at the end of the week.. I believe it is the premier room in the building it has a large one

bedroom with lots of storage space, a western kitchen with two ovens and dishwasher also a European bathroom with large jucuzzi and double shower and

beautiful tile floors throughout the condo Jomtien is a man's paradise do you want to check out the condo? Doesn't cost nothing to look........

[Jomtien2649]

Thanks Jomtien 2649.

Are you living there now... Ie living the dream?

One bedroom I presume?

Cheers Bunter

Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk

I am currently in San Francisco I will be in Jomtien at the end of the week.. I believe it is the premier room in the building it has a large one

bedroom with lots of storage space, a western kitchen with two ovens and dishwasher also a European bathroom with large jucuzzi and double shower and

beautiful tile floors throughout the condo Jomtien is a man's paradise do you want to check out the condo? Doesn't cost nothing to look........

[KittenKong]

I don't understand what agent costs you are referring to....It's the person who is selling a condo through an agent that has to pay the commission (usually 5% now).....not the purchaser. What does the purchaser have to pay to the agent?

The buyer ultimately pays all the costs, either directly or indirectly, as the buyer is the only person who puts any money into the transaction and without him there is no transaction. Everyone else just moves his money around. This includes the agents' fees and taxes.

[PattayaPhom]

I don't understand what agent costs you are referring to....It's the person who is selling a condo through an agent that has to pay the commission (usually 5% now).....not the purchaser. What does the purchaser have to pay to the agent?

The buyer ultimately pays all the costs, either directly or indirectly, as the buyer is the only person who puts any money into the transaction and without him there is no transaction. Everyone else just moves his money around. This includes the agents' fees and taxes.[/quote

All well and said that means the seller sells for free if one believes that

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[Jomtien2649]

I don't understand what agent costs you are referring to....It's the person who is selling a condo through an agent that has to pay the commission (usually 5% now).....not the purchaser. What does the purchaser have to pay to the agent?

The buyer ultimately pays all the costs, either directly or indirectly, as the buyer is the only person who puts any money into the transaction and without him there is no transaction. Everyone else just moves his money around. This includes the agents' fees and taxes.

The buyer and seller are both contributing to the real estate commission without a product their is no sale, the 5% commission that most agents charge is ridiculous what do they do to earn that much they post condo/house on their internet site and wait for someone to see it and call them.. They don't actively promote properties and most have no sale skills when they bring a perspective buyer to the property, I had a Thai real estate women who brought a man from Norway to view my condo he liked it and asked her what she thought and she used the famous Thai quote Up to You he then walked into my bathroom where I have a large bathroom and double shower he said what a beautiful bathroom he look at the agent and again asked her what she thought she again repeated UP To You and this is why I am going to pay her 5% commission, a professional real estate agent would have agreed with him about the features and would have pointed out other positive features they are suppose to help make the sale that is why they are getting paid 5% but she never mentioned one positive thing she stood their the whole time and did not say a word...I had a Russian real estate woman bring a Russian couple to my condo they spoke very little English the agent told me not to mentioned the price to them while the Russian couple were walking around the condo the Russia agent was on the telephone the whole time she did not walk them through the condo and point out the positive features when the couple were leaving they mentioned in broken English the price I was asking which was 300,000 baht more then I listed it for. the agent was trying to make some extra money at my expense...

[manarak]

The current market is-in the main- for sub 40 M2 condos.

It seems to me that no body is buying 150 M2 up pre -owned condos. . If you wish to live in such a condo then you could secure a good deal purchasing a super condo in a good building for around 40,000 Baht /M2

.In truth most owners will not sell at that price -and as a consequence will simply not sell. Some ,however, will.

The bargains are in the pre -owned good quality units You will have to spend some time finding them.

Most important of all is to check the quality of the management of any likely purchase.

The hassle associated with bad management seems to me the prime reason for renting and not buying. Posts on this blog bear this out I think

A good quality condo, fully equipped and in a good location will not go for less than 55000 / m2.

At 40.000 / m2, you are talking units on the 10th-something floor of buildings overrun with Russians, located for from the beaches and not directly on a main baht bus route.

For those posters banging on about agent fees, I say don't lose your energy and time thinking about how much the agent makes. For me, the only relevant thing is the sum of all costs for acquiring the condo, be it price, fees, lawyer fees or taxes.

[Jomtien2649]

The current market is-in the main- for sub 40 M2 condos.

It seems to me that no body is buying 150 M2 up pre -owned condos. . If you wish to live in such a condo then you could secure a good deal purchasing a super condo in a good building for around 40,000 Baht /M2

.In truth most owners will not sell at that price -and as a consequence will simply not sell. Some ,however, will.

The bargains are in the pre -owned good quality units You will have to spend some time finding them.

Most important of all is to check the quality of the management of any likely purchase.

The hassle associated with bad management seems to me the prime reason for renting and not buying. Posts on this blog bear this out I think

A good quality condo, fully equipped and in a good location will not go for less than 55000 / m2.

At 40.000 / m2, you are talking units on the 10th-something floor of buildings overrun with Russians, located for from the beaches and not directly on a main baht bus route.

For those posters banging on about agent fees, I say don't lose your energy and time thinking about how much the agent makes. For me, the only relevant thing is the sum of all costs for acquiring the condo, be it price, fees, lawyer fees or taxes.

You make some very good points buying a condo in a poorly managed building could be a nightmare the sinking fund keeps disappearing, they don't maintain the building which will eventually drive down the value of the property, they don't deal with complaints or security issues etc. Location is also very important. for example View Taley 6 next to Central Shopping mall is a hot building, value has continue to rise over the past 2 years because of its location....

I believe View Taley 2-A in Jomtien is the best managed condo building in Jomtien the management team are mostly Americans & Canadians occasional they will have a European on the board but they do an excellent job maintaining the building and they are also concerned about safety issues.... in my opinion View Taley 2 has the best location in Jomtien you can walk to numerous restaurants, legitimate massage parlors, bars, stores, clinics, pharmacies two blocks from the beach and can find transportation right in front of the building...

The developers are focusing on building small one bedrooms they used to build studios but now their using the same space to build a one bedroom because they want the one bedroom title when they attempt to sell them, building 27 to 37 sqm. one bedrooms are a joke all the rooms are very small the bedrooms are so small you hardly have enough room to change your clothes and no storage room for your clothes in a couple years their is going to be a large surplus of one bedrooms this will drive down the rent and value of these condos...

If someone wants to live in Pattaya or Jomtien and they want to buy then check out the management of that building and buy in a good location where ever you buy in the world it is about location, location and location plus having an ocean view is also a plus...a lot of people are talking about a housing bubble in the area but what difference does that make if you intend on living their full time and dying their I think this is a great time to buy due to the political unrest in Bangkok the Thai baht is very weak especially compared to the U.S. and Australian currencies eventually the Thai's will work out their differences and the baht will strengthen last year when I was their I was getting 29 baht to my dollar now it is almost 34 baht to the dollar that is approximately a 12 % increase in buying power and when the Thais get their shit together I think in 3 years we could see 25 baht to the dollar, also the housing market is depressed their are some good deals out their remember in 5 years their will be a high speed electric train running between Bangkok and Jomtien, also talk of a Las Vegas style casino being build in the area of course the Casino is speculation the train isn't.........Concerning real estate fees and property taxes the buyers is not thinking about them he is trying to get his best price possible but he should understand that the price set on is not the price the sellers gets after real estate commissions, property taxes and attorney fees etc....

[OnMyWay2]

I went to visit View Talay 8 a few months back and the sales person accidentally told me that the building is only 50% sold after 5 years. The funny thing is I tried to make a low offer since I thought some money woule be better than no money and they still wouldn't budge.

[Jomtien2649]

I went to visit View Talay 8 a few months back and the sales person accidentally told me that the building is only 50% sold after 5 years. The funny thing is I tried to make a low offer since I thought some money woule be better than no money and they still wouldn't budge.

I believe the sales person overstated the 50% occupancy I don't believe it is that much it looks like most of the people staying their are Russians they like that area.... I don't like the location and if you buy into a building that is more then half empty your going to experience a lot of problems with maintenance and the sinking fund..

Their are so many people making unrealistic offers on condo's that these developers have drawn a line in the sand which is exactly what they got to do to stop all these ridiculous offers I am not saying your offer was ridiculous because I don't know what it was.

. I have a beautiful condo for sale in View Taley 2-A and I have had people come and offer me 50 % of my asking price and my listed price is well under market value it you use the sqm scale that real estate agencies and developers use when placing a price on a condo....Their are a lot of sharks going around trying to steal properties....

[manarak]

They are a big company and can wait for better times.

[balo]

Does anyone know about a real estate agent in Pattaya that actually promotes your condo and does a good job with potential buyers ? I am going to sell soon and the 5% fee they are asking in commision is fine , I just want them to work for it . Any suggestions ?

[manarak]

Does anyone know about a real estate agent in Pattaya that actually promotes your condo and does a good job with potential buyers ? I am going to sell soon and the 5% fee they are asking in commision is fine , I just want them to work for it . Any suggestions ?

I don't understand why you want them to work for it - I am already really happy if they sell whatever I want to sell, I don't care if they work for it or not.

Why don't you just send your sales object to 20 agents and wait?

[KittenKong]

I have a beautiful condo for sale in View Taley 2-A and I have had people come and offer me 50 % of my asking price and my listed price is well under market value it you use the sqm scale that real estate agencies and developers use when placing a price on a condo....Their are a lot of sharks going around trying to steal properties....

If your place doesn't sell and people keep making low offers there is only one reason: it is overpriced.

A property that is correctly priced and advertised will sell within a month or two. If it doesn't it's quite simply because it is too expensive. This simple fact applies everywhere in the world.

As for the "sqm scale that agents use", dont forget that these people are mostly idiots who are incapable of doing a real job and hence end up as salesmen. Many of them don't even know what day it is and most of the ones who do know it can't actually spell it.

[Jomtien2649]

I have a beautiful condo for sale in View Taley 2-A and I have had people come and offer me 50 % of my asking price and my listed price is well under market value it you use the sqm scale that real estate agencies and developers use when placing a price on a condo....Their are a lot of sharks going around trying to steal properties....

If your place doesn't sell and people keep making low offers there is only one reason: it is overpriced.

A property that is correctly priced and advertised will sell within a month or two. If it doesn't it's quite simply because it is too expensive. This simple fact applies everywhere in the world.

As for the "sqm scale that agents use", dont forget that these people are mostly idiots who are incapable of doing a real job and hence end up as salesmen. Many of them don't even know what day it is and most of the ones who do know it can't actually spell it.

I agree with your description about the real estate agents in the Pattaya/Jomtien area ( of course their are some exceptions unfortunately I have not met any ) your spot on people who are drawn to this field are usually lazy, no sale skills and are looking to make some easy money. In America their more polished and most process some sale skills, but most of them are very lazy too ....They are adding to the housing market crisis I would think a guy with some brains and sales skills could do very well their if he could located clients..

. I do not agree with you about my condo being over priced I don't know if your aware that the real estate market is very depressed and recently their have been many articles written by developers, bankers and real estate agencies claiming their is a housing bubble everyone is afraid to buy their are some desperate sellers and the sharks can smell the blood their trying to steal properties and some have been successful which just feeds into the frenzy of buying properties well under market value.. You say you don't believe in the sqm scale that most agents and developers use to value a property well that scale is used all over the world in the U.S. it is used for commercial and residential properties it varies from area to area but in a particular area that is how they justified a rental or purchase price...

. I think this is a great time to buy the baht is very weak when the Thai's work out their differences the baht will immediately strengthen and in 2 or 3 years will be well below 30 baht to the dollar if you buy getting 33 or 34 baht to the dollar that will be a nice profit on the conversion.

Stevie Wonder can see that the developers over played their hand and over built but their the ones who are going to eventually loose big money I can see most of the new buildings remaining empty for years if not decades their only out appears to be to drastically lower their prices but that can't do that because they will still loose and at the same time destroy the whole real estate market in Pattaya/Jomtien so their going to have to eat their mistakes. The new developments are poorly built with low skill labor from Cambodia, Burma etc. Their building 27 to 37 sqm.. one bedroom condos which is ridiculous the rooms are so small you can't even change your clothes in the bedroom they should be studios but their trying to con the public into adding the one bedroom title to a studio room, in a couple years their will be a large surplus of these small rooms which will drive down the value and rental prices, anyone who buys one of these rooms will never be able to sell it or rent it out for a decent price........ I have no pity or sympathy for them their a bunch of crooks who deserve everything they get..

[manarak]

I have a beautiful condo for sale in View Taley 2-A and I have had people come and offer me 50 % of my asking price and my listed price is well under market value it you use the sqm scale that real estate agencies and developers use when placing a price on a condo....Their are a lot of sharks going around trying to steal properties....

If your place doesn't sell and people keep making low offers there is only one reason: it is overpriced.

A property that is correctly priced and advertised will sell within a month or two. If it doesn't it's quite simply because it is too expensive. This simple fact applies everywhere in the world.

As for the "sqm scale that agents use", dont forget that these people are mostly idiots who are incapable of doing a real job and hence end up as salesmen. Many of them don't even know what day it is and most of the ones who do know it can't actually spell it.

pfff...

No, property markets are not the same everywhere in the world.

Just look at the premium for condos over houses in Pattaya to convince yourself.

Second, homes are not a perishable commodity that must be sold at all costs before it rots. Even if there is an oversupply, there is still a fair price. Those desperate to sell because they are short of cash will lower their price, possibly lower than the fair price, but those who can afford to wait will just wait for the brankrupcy train to run dry.

And on Pattaya's real estate market, a lot of people can afford to wait. That's why prices remain where they are.

Edited January 25, 2014 by manarak

[KittenKong]

No, property markets are not the same everywhere in the world.

Just look at the premium for condos over houses in Pattaya to convince yourself.

What has that got to do with anything? That premium exists because there is (occasionally) more demand from farang buyers who can only (legally) buy farang-name condos. Demand clearly is the driving force on prices everywhere and this coincides completely with what I wrote.

At no point did I say that property markets are the same everywhere in the world. I said that if a property doesn't sell within a month or so it's because it is too expensive for what it is, and that is true everywhere that has a free market.

Second, homes are not a perishable commodity that must be sold at all costs before it rots. Even if there is an oversupply, there is still a fair price. Those desperate to sell because they are short of cash will lower their price, possibly lower than the fair price, but those who can afford to wait will just wait for the brankrupcy train to run dry.

The notion of a "fair price" makes no sense. There is only one real price: the price it sells at today, and fairness has nothing to do with it. Everything else is speculative pie in the sky.

And on Pattaya's real estate market, a lot of people can afford to wait. That's why prices remain where they are.

Surely this is obvious? Though by "prices" you clearly mean "asking prices", not "selling prices". The two are rarely the same here.

As I mentioned, if a place doesn't sell promptly it is simply because the price is too high. The same rule applies to every other item that can be bought and sold also.

If people choose to keep the asking price high rather than sell at a lower price that's their business, but they should not complain about things not selling if they aren't prepared to reduce the price to a level that matches the demand.

If you own a one-off item like a painting or antique piece of furniture or even a penthouse condo in the best block in town then there may be some hope in maintaining a high asking price whilst waiting for the right buyer to come along, who is desperate to buy your unique item. But this is still pricing according to demand.

If you own a scrappy Thai condo that is exactly like a thousand other scrappy Thai condos (and most of them are) then you have no rarity value to promote and if you want to sell you will have to reduce your price to suit the buyer. This is also pricing according to demand.

[manarak]

No, property markets are not the same everywhere in the world.

Just look at the premium for condos over houses in Pattaya to convince yourself.

What has that got to do with anything? That premium exists because there is (occasionally) more demand from farang buyers who can only (legally) buy farang-name condos. Demand clearly is the driving force on prices everywhere and this coincides completely with what I wrote.

At no point did I say that property markets are the same everywhere in the world. I said that if a property doesn't sell within a month or so it's because it is too expensive for what it is, and that is true everywhere that has a free market.

Second, homes are not a perishable commodity that must be sold at all costs before it rots. Even if there is an oversupply, there is still a fair price. Those desperate to sell because they are short of cash will lower their price, possibly lower than the fair price, but those who can afford to wait will just wait for the brankrupcy train to run dry.

The notion of a "fair price" makes no sense. There is only one real price: the price it sells at today, and fairness has nothing to do with it. Everything else is speculative pie in the sky.

And on Pattaya's real estate market, a lot of people can afford to wait. That's why prices remain where they are.

Surely this is obvious? Though by "prices" you clearly mean "asking prices", not "selling prices". The two are rarely the same here.

As I mentioned, if a place doesn't sell promptly it is simply because the price is too high. The same rule applies to every other item that can be bought and sold also.

If people choose to keep the asking price high rather than sell at a lower price that's their business, but they should not complain about things not selling if they aren't prepared to reduce the price to a level that matches the demand.

If you own a one-off item like a painting or antique piece of furniture or even a penthouse condo in the best block in town then there may be some hope in maintaining a high asking price whilst waiting for the right buyer to come along, who is desperate to buy your unique item. But this is still pricing according to demand.

If you own a scrappy Thai condo that is exactly like a thousand other scrappy Thai condos (and most of them are) then you have no rarity value to promote and if you want to sell you will have to reduce your price to suit the buyer. This is also pricing according to demand.

My house has been for sale for more than 18 months and I got loads of cheap charlie offers, down to 40% below, most were 20% below... I've sold it at my price just about a month ago. Maybe I was lucky, but scrappy condos don't have 15 meter pools.

About the fair price, it's easy. These houses cost money to build, and the price of labor and materials has gone up a lot in the last years.

So it's not really rocket science, more and more people are coming to live in the region between Laem Chabang and Rayong (also Thais), they want houses, some houses are for sale, but not enough to cover demand for reasonably priced, good looking modern villas.

In the last years the market was depressed, not so much in terms of prices, but there were fewer buyers, so the market was slower.

Anyone who has a nice house for sale (or a nice condo - not a scrappy one) is well advised to simply wait until the buyer pipeline gets full again, and maybe find some tenants in the meanwhile.