Hua Hin Property Information

[ellisg]

Hi all, hope someone living in HH can provide some info.

My wife and I are coming to HH in Nov to buy some land to build on in a couple of years.

I'm trying to get a feel for land values beforehand and was planning on using bank properties (say from kasikornbank) as a baseline before viewing other properties available from somewhere like huahin-property.

The only problem is that I have no idea where these properties are located or the lie of the land, and therefore it's difficult to compare values.

Personally, we would prefer to be slightly inland (say 1-10km) and high up (we love living in the hills), and around 1000 - 2000m2.

We’re not really interested in any sort of walled compound or golf course scenario as there are too many restrictions and I believe they are over-priced.

My questions then are:

1. Is there a great variance in land value from coast to hinterland and what is the range?

2. Where is the most desirable land (apart from directly back from the beach of course)

3. Are there any hilly areas close to Hua Hin or other coastal area around the Cha-am, Hua Hin, Pratchuap regions (preferably somewhere relatively quiet)

Any feedback much appreciated

Edited March 10, 2007 by endure
Email address removed - please PM OP if interested

[Deadcert]

Can help with this one.

E mail me [email protected]

I am currently in England so you could call too

Hi all, hope someone living in HH can provide some info.

My wife and I are coming to HH in Nov to buy some land to build on in a couple of years.

I'm trying to get a feel for land values beforehand and was planning on using bank properties (say from kasikornbank) as a baseline before viewing other properties available from somewhere like huahin-property.

The only problem is that I have no idea where these properties are located or the lie of the land, and therefore it's difficult to compare values.

Personally, we would prefer to be slightly inland (say 1-10km) and high up (we love living in the hills), and around 1000 - 2000m2.

We’re not really interested in any sort of walled compound or golf course scenario as there are too many restrictions and I believe they are over-priced.

My questions then are:

1. Is there a great variance in land value from coast to hinterland and what is the range?

2. Where is the most desirable land (apart from directly back from the beach of course)

3. Are there any hilly areas close to Hua Hin or other coastal area around the Cha-am, Hua Hin, Pratchuap regions (preferably somewhere relatively quiet)

Any feedback much appreciated

[ellisg]

Just a follow up to my previous post in case anyone is interested. We recently visited Hua Hin and were shown some very expensive property by local real estate agents. It appeared to confirm what I already suspected and that is that real estate agents in Thailand are the same as in Australia, i.e. they would like to "talk up" the market. Along with the difficulty in obtaining accurate valuations we were left to our own devices. My wife starting talking to locals (we should have started with this strategy) and were lucky to find 17 rai located between Wat Huay Mongkon and the golf resort. We secured this property (or rather my wife did) for Bht 1.6m. We were offered through an agent 6 rai, not more than 1km from this property for the same price.

The message is clear. A lot of land is way overpriced, so before signing anything have a chat to the locals. Everyone knows about some land for sale as they all want the 3% commission.

To those of you riding the property boom my apologies if I give the impression that I don't want property prices to rise. I have an interest in that also but I would rather see a gradual, realistic increase in values, not a 'boom and bust' cycle.

P.S. Hua Hin's great

[sukanyacondo]

I have been looking too and sure enough agents talk it way up. Get a Thai with you and keep out of sight until the deal is done. 300000 baht per rai at 10km out of Hua hin heading for the hills and with CHANOTE seems the norm if no agents involved etc

[tuktukmike]

Take your time and have a good look around, its a buyers market at present.

Despite what agents say they are falling over themselves for sales at present, Hua Hin has just had its quietest period since the Tsunami,

Get good legal advice from an international company in Bangkok before you do anything unless you have a Thai partner. even then still seek real legal advice.

Prices for land here are a minefield, they will charge whatever they think they will get away with but over the hill you can still get some good deals.

Mike.

[sukanyacondo]

Just got back from looking ( HUA HIN), my Thai wife did all the talking and the best prices we got 16 km out of Hua Hin is about 300000 baht per rai with Full chanote.

Many people who were friends of friends showed us land and we asked the price and they said 200000 the next day 300000 we just walked away from them after this even my wife was disgusted at their greed. One man in need of money said 250000 per rai but his plot was not to our liking.

Near to the town and prices are stupid money. 16km out of Hua Hin is nice and quiet ( if you want that) and it takes exactly 18 minutes to get from our plot to TESCO in the centre of town.

3 years ago we know a farang who bought in the same road as us for 150000 baht per rai ( Actually his Thai wife bought it). We decided not to wait longer!!

One woman we saw said she had sold her land recently to another Thai for 400000 per rai so we are pretty sure this is about the prices now.

All of this area we looked had chanote we saw many of them.

[Burgernev]

To give you a rough guide from what I've seen as I'm involved in the property business, near to Tesco where we live, is now 5-6M per rai, we paid 1.8M 3 years ago, absolutely crazy!!

Best area is to go West over the mountain towards Black Mountain golf course, there's land on main side roads (with infrastructure) for about 1.5M per rai and then there's land just off (maybe half a km or so) down side tracks for as little as 500k per rai (not always infrastructure though).

Then if you want to go even further towards the by-pass it's as little as 300-400k per rai, you're a little remote farang wise, but I'm sure the town will spread to out their in the coming years.

Going South towards Pranburi is quite expensive still, unless you want to be a few km's down a dirt track surrounded by jungle with no infrastructure.

You need to be on the ground having a good look around.

Burgernev

Edited August 3, 2007 by Burgernev

[Dougal]

There are a number of factors which affect HH land prices other than those already mentioned. On the seaward side of the Petchkasem Road HH is bounded by army camps, that effectively mean that for HH to spread the only way is West away from the sea and up into the hills. This is where the majority of current developments are taking place and where the cheapest land is.

Something else that hasn't been aired too much is the problems of drainage. Many areas of land at the foothills to the West of town suffer from water run off after rain. The Soi 102 area, which has lots of existing developments is notorious for this but it is not alone. When looking at that bargain price land consider how much fill you may need to put in as well as the cost of supplying roads and electricity.

Having crossed the railway track which runs parallel with the Petchkasem Road (the main road through HH) you are faced with the problem of crossing that same railway everytime you want to get into or out of the town. Although trains are not exactly frequent the crossings do make very effective choke points which can be a nightmare to negotiate, particularly during the school and work runs in the early morning and late afternoon. Major projects like La Valee on the Pala U road are only going to make this situation worse when people start moving in next year.

Everyone who has land for sale in HH has a good idea of it's potential value and for sure sellers will ask sky high prices if they think they can get away with it, but if land seems like a bargain ask yourself why it so much cheaper than somewhere else.

[tommyj4]

Why not look at Cha am...better beach, always busy at the weekends & so much closer to BKK...also prices cheaper & not a mini Majorca like Hua Hin is with Burger King etc...1Rai, with infastructure, 1kilo from the beach 1 million.. can get good plots ranging from 500,000 up...

[cheshiremusicman]

Why not look at Cha am...better beach, always busy at the weekends & so much closer to BKK...also prices cheaper & not a mini Majorca like Hua Hin is with Burger King etc...1Rai, with infastructure, 1kilo from the beach 1 million.. can get good plots ranging from 500,000 up...

"so much closer to BKK"? what 14kms? "not a mini Majorca like Hua-Hin is with Burger King", sorry does one BK or Macdonalds , which incidentally, I wouldn't go in if it was the last place to eat on earth make a mini M - I don't think so! Cha Am is a one horse town, with no real heart, just a string of enormous hotels, bars and restaurants on the sea front. Sure the land and property prices are cheaper there and as somebody else said previously "just think WHY" Give me Hua-Hin any day.

[tommyj4]

Its actually 27km closer & the initial add states they are looking further South, so about 44km in total, that is another hour travelling from BKK in normal conditions....forgetting the traffic problems & flooding Hua Hin suffers from.Burger King, MacDonalds, Coffee World, Subway, KFC..the list goes on & on, not to mention, apart from the market, the town is full of girlie bars..When did you last visit Cha am..large hotels????bars on the seafront???..think you got the wrong town...Each to their own...take a look at Cha am you may be pleasently suprised...

[tuktukmike]

Cha-am is not a bad place at all and in fact I would expect to see the place gain more in the coming years.

It has always been tarnished as a thai town due to the number of Thai families that park their pick-ups on the beach at weekends, but hey this is Thailand.

Hua Hin is no paradise city as some would have you think, you have a main road that runs through the centre of town that really needs cleaning up. Ie Pavements/electric cables/general appearence.

Both places have differing things to offer but there has for some time been a perception that Cha-Am is a place of much lower standing. Not sure why really.

Maybe not enough beer bars.

Mike.

[November Rain]

I think Hua Hin & Cha am offer two different lifestyles & both have their "fans". I really don't see why one has to be put down for the other to be lifted up. You choose to live where you're happy; why be dismissive of those that are happier elsewhere?

[PeaceBlondie]

I never could walk into a burger joint in Cha Am and have half the staff instantly shout "double cheese no onions!" You can take Burger King or leave it; you can go across the street to Subway, or chose from 249 other restaurants (I didn't count 'em). You almost have to search for the girlie bars in Hua Hin (not I!), in comparison to Pattaya.

I only spent one night in Cha Am and have no idea what it's like. I hope it doesn't have as miserable of a 'supermarket' as the old Vhanna Pranee was in central Hua Hin.

[Burgernev]

Many people consider Cha Am to be an 'oldies' resort.

The nightlife is dead, but if you want a quiter life and don't care about socialising in bars and you're between the ages of 95 and 125, it would probably suit you.

Burgernev

[jumnien]

Actually, far more condos have been sold this year in Chaam than Hua Hin. You must remember that Chaam is everything north of the airport runway and Hua Hin everything south. Palm Hills houses and condos, the Boat House, Sheraton, Dusit, etc are all very much Chaam properties.

[Burgernev]

With regards property, it is low season at the moment, it's not easy to judge whether it is lower than any other low season due to people's concern about Limited Companies or the Government etc.

One factor is there are now approx. 32 no esate agents, compared to about 12 when I first arrived.

The better quality projects are still selling well and their prices are still rising when they start their next phase, you can probably get discounts from the poorer quality projects which aren't selling as well, but you get what you pay for and most people I know on these big, non-maintained sites with communal pools are seriously regretting buying them and are having difficulty selling them.

That's just what I've seen from my involvement.

Burgernev.

[jumnien]

Any names of some distressed developments where desperate folks might be dumping their properties for far less than they paid for them?

[tuktukmike]

Any names of some distressed developments where desperate folks might be dumping their properties for far less than they paid for them?

Ha Ha.

No way, it seems you cant discuss local developers properties without the threat of being sued down here.

Just ask around, the real problems people are facing is that there is no market for a used house/villa.

Mike.

[jumnien]

There is always a market if the price is right!

[November Rain]

There is always a market if the price is right!

That may (or may not - I think there is sometimes a little more to it than price) be true. But, strangely, owners don't often seem that keen to sell their property at less than they paid for it.

[jumnien]

It is just my cursory observation that I haven't seen any folks offering their houses for sale at or below the price they paid for it. I've seen many houses for sale at prices far above the previous purchase price. Hence, I think any softness in the market is primarily due to unrealistic pricing.

[Burgernev]

The problem with re-sales, is they usually want to sell them because the 50 - 100 house estate they live on is not maintained and ends up looking like a trashy site. They pay the management company 1,500 - 2,000 Baht a month but they don't spend the money on up-keep.

Then no-one wants to buy their house on that type of concrete jungle estate, where the kids pi$$ in the communal pool etc etc.

From my experience, the re-sales which do occur and at a healthy profit are the better quality houses on the smaller projects, 12-15 house for example, where the residents get together and make sure the estate is well kept and maintained.

Burgernev.

Edited August 9, 2007 by Burgernev

[Ollie]

From my experience, the re-sales which do occur and at a healthy profit are the better quality houses on the smaller projects, 12-15 house for example, where the residents get together and make sure the estate is well kept and maintained.

Burgernev.

Any idea who develops property like that then, Nev?

Edited August 9, 2007 by Ollie

[Burgernev]

Yes, there's numerous projects and developers that provide quality houses with generous land plots, attractively landscaped and maintained.

There's others that do it on the cheap, give small plots and now the estates are eye sores.

There's no self interest/publicity from me as everything is sold out already, so I have nothing to gain, just being honest and there is a severe lack of that amongst the farang's in Hua Hin.

Burgernev.

[Ollie]

Yes, there's numerous projects and developers that provide quality houses with generous land plots, attractively landscaped and maintained.

There's others that do it on the cheap, give small plots and now the estates are eye sores.

There's no self interest/publicity from me as everything is sold out already, so I have nothing to gain, just being honest and there is a severe lack of that amongst the farang's in Hua Hin.

Burgernev.

Then more power to your elbow!

But take care, that might not be the popular view.

[tuktukmike]

Another problem for people who have bought and now want to sell is that most customers will only lease rather than buy through the company route.

The majority of former buyers of course bought through the company route as they were advised by Developers/Real estate agents this was the safe way to go.

Prices of these units have dropped with some just wanting to offload before FBA comes into effect.

The reality is there are just no buyers for these type of units anymore, just how do a farang couple arrange a lease held by a thai in order to sell their property.

Nice to see that Burger is so honest, a rare commodity these days from a developer.

Mike.

Edited August 10, 2007 by tuktukmike

[Burgernev]

The reality is there are just no buyers for these type of units anymore, just how do a farang couple arrange a lease held by a thai in order to sell their property.

It's quite simple really, the farang couple who want to buy a house, or the farang couple wanting to sell (either party can do it), first find a Thai that will hold the land and issue them the lease. If they do not know one then, the real esate agents, solicitors, friends etc can provide a Thai national who is only too willing to take on the land.

The farang couple that hold the land title under their company and the new buyers then go to the land office, transfer the land to the Thai national, before the land title comes back over the counter the 30 year lease is registered on the back of the land title.

The fact that you may not know this Thai person from Adam is irrelevant, they could equally be your best friend / wife / girlfriend / brothers wife etc etc, but the chances that after 30 years they are still your best friend / wife / girlfriend / brothers wife etc etc, is not guaranteed at all.

You have a 'buy out' clause in the lease in any case (1% of land value, peanuts), so if you find out your Thai land owner is not to your liking you can change to another Thai national at any time during the 30 years.

Many customers are still setting up Limited companies to purchase their land and house, the law has not changed allowing this, many customers also favour the lease option now.

Burgernev

Edited August 10, 2007 by Burgernev

[tuktukmike]

Ok lets get this straight then,

Your 5million dream home you just go and find some thai and put the land in their name, Really.

That has to be the daftest idea I have ever come across and not to mention the fact that they can investigate where the Thai got the funds to buy the land.

Safe as houses, I dont think so Paul.

This week will see another real estate office closing down here, work it out for yourself.

Mike.

Edited August 10, 2007 by tuktukmike

[splitlid]

Ok lets get this straight then,

Your 5million dream home you just go and find some thai and put the land in their name, Really.

That has to be the daftest idea I have ever come across and not to mention the fact that they can investigate where the Thai got the funds to buy the land.

Safe as houses, I dont think so Paul.

This week will see another real estate office closing down here, work it out for yourself.

Mike.

i was wondering when you two were going to kick off.

and whats with the first name terms Mike.

if burger wanted his name on the web im sure he would have done it himself.