How Much Do Farang Spend On A Baan บ้าน?

[thaigene2]

...a few same sex couples, not too many have pets.

[Heng]

[soic]

Sorry- I was offline for a while. I've been in Kuwait for some OSHA classes and for work. Yes, the house is on stilts. They are about 3' stilts. We bought the lot, had it walled then brought sand and dirt in to raise the level of the lot, then built the house. Our front porches are the same height as the neighbor,s 2nd floor level. We've thought about building another bigger home, but everytime we look at other land, we decide that we love this one too much.

OK, cheers for the real estate discussion but I think this thread was about how much people paid for their houses, not the future of the real estate market.

So, soic, I never did get an answer, is your house on stilts?

[number6]

?? how longs a bit of string - our condo BKK 3.6 million in good central area security pool etc etc well kept but only 67 sq metres - our house up north 1.5 million 4 beds 2 bath nice garden but only 100 sq w and no other forangs in village - spent 1 million on house making it nice spent nothing on condo. IF you want a forang type house near city with security etc guess about 4-5 million +

[astral]

Our house with the land cost 1M 7 years ago.

We spent another million renovating and extending.

I estimate the value to be 3-4 million by now.

We are on the Eastern Seaboard, so it is a desirable area.

Based on renting at 20K a month I reckon the place has paid for itself by now.

[sbk]

If anyone is interested Soic has created a photo album with photos of his house.

If you have photos of your house post them in the photo gallery and post the link here, it helps to know what you are getting for your money!

[quiksilva]

?? how longs a bit of string

that was the first thing that came to my mind too.

Voted.

[wolfmanjack]

OK, cheers for the real estate discussion but I think this thread was about how much people paid for their houses, not the future of the real estate market.

So, soic, I never did get an answer, is your house on stilts?

Personally I think the future of the land prices is very pertinent to the price one pays for a house. Many posters, myself included, bought/built our houses several years ago. Eight years in my case. This really skews the poll results.

The cost of steel hasn't risen significantly in the last couple of years. SO have the land cost in my area. I paid 300k per rai for my land. The asking price is now 2 million per rai for the land next to me and 4 kilometers closer to town is 3.8 million. I answered the poll as between 800K and 1 million. You could not touch the land for that price now let alone build a house.

The location you want to live skews the poll also. A couple of years ago you could get rice land near my mother in laws village for 100,000 per rai. Now it is all bought up by rich bkk thais and the asking price is 1 million per rai. Prices for houses in bkk are like prices for house in Los Angeles. The same house in LA that sells for 700k dollars can be had in my home town for around 60,000.

In reality the only way this poll can be useful is if you know where the house is, what the prices in that area are now, and how long ago the house was acquired or built.

[cm-happy]

My place in a moo ban outside of CM cost a tad over 3 mil B. A significant portion of this was for the land, the balance for the actual structure. I might add it's built like a "brick shit house", and has easily withstood the occasional earthquake we experience. At the time I bought the asking land price was 8KB for a sq wah(land price). 1 wah is 4 sq meters. Wound up in the purchase with 128 wah, and have since purchased some addition adjoining land.

However, the furnishings can easily total the initial purchase price. Yeah, I like my creature comforts, with the usual farang amenities. Western style bathrooms, kitchen, appliances, confortable furnishings & all the ancillary stuff needed to establish a household.

But like everywhere in the world...LOCATION,LOCATION,LOCATION!!!

[binnsy]

I have my little place in Buri-Ram province... So far we've got a little over 1.5 mill bht in it. My carport will be finished in a few days, that's about another 50,000 to 60,000, it will look like the house. The 1.5 is land, house, contractor, teak wood, gates, walls, furniture... the whole works. We've done it a piece at a time... It's small, but we love it.

When did you have this built?I am being told that a plot of land is going for 100,000 per Rai fair or expensive?

[binnsy]

I have my little place in Buri-Ram province... So far we've got a little over 1.5 mill bht in it. My carport will be finished in a few days, that's about another 50,000 to 60,000, it will look like the house. The 1.5 is land, house, contractor, teak wood, gates, walls, furniture... the whole works. We've done it a piece at a time... It's small, but we love it.

When did you have this built?I am being told that a plot of land is going for 100,000 per Rai fair or expensive?

in Huairat about 10 clicks from Buriram

[soic]

I have my little place in Buri-Ram province... So far we've got a little over 1.5 mill bht in it. My carport will be finished in a few days, that's about another 50,000 to 60,000, it will look like the house. The 1.5 is land, house, contractor, teak wood, gates, walls, furniture... the whole works. We've done it a piece at a time... It's small, but we love it.

When did you have this built?I am being told that a plot of land is going for 100,000 per Rai fair or expensive?

in Huairat about 10 clicks from Buriram

For the house, we bought a small lot in town. We've since bought some land outside our village over near Pakam, it was right around 200,000 for a single rai. It's getting expensive in our area. We started the house in 2004, and we're still working on it. We've finished the carport, and are now working on a sitting garden, pond and additional guest/fest room.

[backflip]

"The price of real estate will go down when they start making more land..."

Just who is "making land", and how are they doing that?

It's curious, but bingobongo and thaigene2 think all of you are lying. According to them, the Thai real estate market crashed a long time ago, and the values have fallen dramatically.

I bought a condo in the BKK CBD 3 years ago for 6 million, and it's worth about 8 million today.

[RAZZELL]

It's curious, but bingobongo and thaigene2 think all of you are lying. According to them, the Thai real estate market crashed a long time ago, and the values have fallen dramatically.

I bought a condo in the BKK CBD 3 years ago for 6 million, and it's worth about 8 million today.

If you can sell it

RAZZ

[soic]

It's curious, but bingobongo and thaigene2 think all of you are lying. According to them, the Thai real estate market crashed a long time ago, and the values have fallen dramatically.

I bought a condo in the BKK CBD 3 years ago for 6 million, and it's worth about 8 million today.

If you can sell it

RAZZ

That's one of the neatest parts about our home. Nang and I had talked about building another house, but then after talking about it for a while, we both decided that we never wanted to leave our little home that we built together. If we ever built anything, however "nice" or modern, we'd only rent it out or let family stay in it. We couldn't leave ours... It's small, it's quaint and it's cute... and it's Home!

[villagefarang]

You have to research your chosen area. If you are thinking in terms of an investment that could be sold for more later, then you need to stick to a farang area that is well maintained and won't drop in value due to neglect. It will cost a lot more than a village area but that is OK, if it is within the normal price range of the area. You will get much more for your money upcountry but the money will never be recovered. If you are building it as a present for your wife's family or you really want to retire there, then the only concern is what can you afford.

[soic]

You have to research your chosen area. If you are thinking in terms of an investment that could be sold for more later, then you need to stick to a farang area that is well maintained and won't drop in value due to neglect. It will cost a lot more than a village area but that is OK, if it is within the normal price range of the area. You will get much more for your money upcountry but the money will never be recovered. If you are building it as a present for your wife's family or you really want to retire there, then the only concern is what can you afford.

I agree, in the Isaan, the land is more affordable, in general. There are exceptions to the rule. Some of the villages are on the verge of growth, some major. It's the same in Thailand as anywhere else... if you watch the growth of any particular area, and determine which direction the towns and/or villages are growing; a long term investor would buy land along a main road and wait for the them to grow out to them. There are plenty of investors here already, and are Thai as well.

One of the 1st things that a new farang needs to accept... coming to Thailand to fall in love, retire or have a nice vacation... all very doable. To come to Thailand to get rich... wake up... keep on traveling... I'm not saying you can't make a liveable income, but getting rich? The laws aren't, and understandably so, designed for enriching a western entrepreneur. Of course there are exceptions to that as well... and I don't want to start that debate. For me, this is the best place to come home to.

[quiksilva]

Oh I dont know Soic, it depends on how you define "Rich", its all relative right?

I like to think how much would I have to earn elsewhere to enjoy the same lifestyle that I enjoy here.

[sinam]

I would target mid to high end popular moobaans that cater to the better off Thais. From listening to our thai friends they buy in moobaans that they have family and friends located and whether the house is new or old is a secondary factor. One friend is waiting to buy but nothing is available in her parents moobaan. I wouldn't buy in a falang moobaan, I think its a more risky strategy in the short and long term. I didn't always think like but then again I only listened to falangs.

Si Nam

[jackmuu]

I was looking at some nice places in the NE area of BKK, you can get somewhere nice, 4 beds 4 bathrooms etc. Anything from 4-9 Mil.

However when you look up close, some of these places look very Thai, i.e. very pretty on the outside but shoddily put together. If you can get a decent company project, 6 mil will buy you a good place.

However, Thai friends in the property biz at the moment have advised us from buying for the next year to 2 years, they are also putting the breaks on buying until the govt. sorts itself out.

[chanchao]

I would target mid to high end popular moobaans that cater to the better off Thais.

I wouldn't buy in a falang moobaan, I think its a more risky strategy in the short and long term.

I didn't always think like but then again I only listened to falangs.

I completely agree with that. Of course there's no such thing as a 'Farang' moobaan, just moobaans that Thais bought as an investment and are renting out, and that often means a good number of foreigners. (Not just Farang foreigners, obviously). The nature of that is that you have people moving in and moving out all the time and there isn't much of a true community / village feeling.

Now, TRULY rich Thais don't live in a mooban because they've got loads of land in and around the city and employ enough people not to need any added (or perceived) security from a moobaan.

However there are some sort-of 'upper-middle class' people who do buy nice big houses in moobaans. Minimum 5 bedrooms, minimum 200 sq Wa.. nice nice houses that are not cemented right up against each other with the roofs almost touching, so a nice comfortable space with some gardens and trees around. Those people make excellent neighbours, and they're there for the long run. You'd want to buy in a well established, higher-end compound where your house is actually one of the smaller/cheaper ones compared to some of the palaces in the area. Don't ever buy in crap moobaan where there's also townhouses (rowhouses) or other cheapo 2-3 bedroom houses because they WILL eventually be occupied by migrant poorer people with old fridges and motorbike parts in the yard.

Invest in class. What's the point of a gated community if the people on the inside is as scummy as the people on the outside and perhaps more so.

And of course some foreigners do end up there as well, tend to be higher salary expat families and missionary family types with wife and 3 blonde kids. But that's okay.

[sinam]

You've pretty well described my moobaan although I would have to disagree about truly rich thais not buying in moobaans. We have neighbours who buy just to send their kids to a local international school. Of course some have a house elsewhere also :-) My mention of Falang moobaans reference is purely an impression from hearing about moobaans full of falang with thai wifes in Pattaya. Not sure if there is any truth to that...

Si Nam

[keemao]

If you want a real picture of the thai property market.........try selling a home or land. You'll find out quickly how much it's REALLY worth!!!

Then again farang selling to farang..........different ball game.......

As for how much you should spend on a home.?? Whatever you like! At the end of the day a man's home is his castle and you need to be happy there.

Thanks for listening....now give me a drink!!

[pumpuiman]

Around 2 million, 4 bedroom, 3 bath, in The Phimai area of Isaan. Land not included (my wife owned it already)

Completed in January this year.

Eric

Edited June 11, 2007 by pumpuiman

[soic]

Oh I dont know Soic, it depends on how you define "Rich", its all relative right?

I like to think how much would I have to earn elsewhere to enjoy the same lifestyle that I enjoy here.

I agree with you there... I couldn't afford my house if it were built in the states... it's 95% teak wood. I just get tickled everytime a "new guy" comes to the village and looks at al the raw materials and crafts; instant exporters and entrepreneurs. I always grin and reply... "Wow! Who'd of thought of that!"

[nidge]

Here's my place. I bought it earlier this year for 1.6 million. It's 4 km from the city and i love it. It would be beyond my dreams to own a house like this in the UK.

[Thaicoon]

My place in Buriram cost me 3 million in 2000, it would now cost in the region of 5 million to build, also land prices are going through the roof, i am glad i bought chunks of land a few years back. 2.5 rai approx 1 acre of farm land by a road you are talking of 400,000 baht.

[garro]

The house we are renting cost about 300,000 and it has done us fine for the last few years. We are building our own now in the same village and will spend the same. We got the land for free and the most of the wood. I have already spent about 40,000 raising the land and building a flood wall.

[draggons]

Was in Ayutthaya at the bank today and there was a board with reposesed homes on it. 4 bedroom houses going for 1.3m on the outskirts of town in various locations.

[steve73]

I've just bought a 6 rai fruit/fish farm with a new small bungalow (~36 m2, one room & bathroom) plus thai kitchen about 10km from Rayong (Tapong area) for just over 2M. (Well, I say I've bought - rather, bought in g/f's name with a 30year+ lease). Around 600 banana trees, and a few other established fruit trees (rambutan/durian/mango/mangosteen/etc) with a recently installed irrigation system. 2 large ponds approx 20mx40m each (8m deep) with plenty of eatable fish (eg. Pla-dook & pla-neen upto ~1kg).

After buying I did a bit of research in the area (I know - did it the wrong way round!!) Land prices in the area look to be around 3-400K/rai (or more if the seller sniffs a falang involved), although a lady from my local bank tried to get a mortgage from her bank for 3M for 10 rai of mature rubber trees, but was told only 2M would be available. Needless to say she didn't progress things. Other bank's repossession sales appear to ask 1.5-300k/r both with or without "traditional" thai houses (sorry, sheds!), often for what looks to be poorly looked after land (but then I suppose it would be if repossessed)

I'm more than happy with my "purchase", and am now looking to extend the existing accomodation with a couple of dedicated bedrooms, either above or to the side. I'm thinking a further 5-600 k should be adequate for this... I'm not looking at it as an investment, rather a bolt-hole for future retirement, which is looking ever more attractive now..

Any other TV posters in this area?