My lease is just coming up for renewal. I live in a 3 bedroom/3 bathroom apartment in Sukhumvit in a building that is about 20 years old (it dates from the late nineties). It's a nice enough condo, pretty large (around 300 square metres) although most of the space is taken up by the very large living area. It has pretty high electricity bills as a result. The apartment is semi-furnished (basically just beds and a dining room table). I experience frequent maintenance problems due to old fittings such as aircon and plumbing and also am subject to constant noise from renovation of other apartments in the building. Facilities are pretty limited - it has a pool and small gym, certainly nothing high-end. I'm currently paying 80k rent per month.

 

My landlord just decided that they want to increase the rental to 90k. This strikes me as a pretty big price increase. Since I've been staying here a good few years, I don't really have current knowledge of the rental market, whether it is weak or strong. Anyone here able to give me some guidance as to whether this is a market related increase or not?

Depends on which part of Sukhumvit you are located.

 

200+ sqm with 3-bedrooms of this age with similar facilities along Sukhumvit from Thonglor to Ekamai would be asking around Bt 55-65k. Try Soi 59.

I'm in the Asoke area

2 hours ago, revelstone said:

I'm in the Asoke area

I think a recently refurbished 3-bedroom (+ a maid room) 260 sqm unit in Soi Sukhumvit 24, Phrom Phong, that has just been vacated.

 

Rent is at Bt65k. Contact the building manager directly at Premier Condominium, located next to Ariston hotel, 200m inside the Soi from the BTS.

We live outside of Thailand and are looking at rentals with the aim of coming back soon.  Wife does all the shopping on Thai websites.  She says prices have dropped across the board since 12 months ago.  That's just 1 person's opinion but she is a good shopper & has a good head for numbers.  I don't think your increase is due to general market inflation.  Probably the landlord thinks you won't bother to move and therefore they can get more out of you.  You might consider an ultimatum: "Keep the rent as-is or I'm leaving."  All in all, keeping rent the same & avoiding a (possibly prolonged) vacancy is probably the better option for your landlord. 

Speaking as a landlord myself, i think she is stupidly chancing her arm and being greedy, assuming you are a decent tenant. Pay her a lesson. Move out.

25 minutes ago, rixalex said:

Speaking as a landlord myself, i think she is stupidly chancing her arm and being greedy, assuming you are a decent tenant. Pay her a lesson. Move out.

There would always be such landlords...and thus, making investing in old refurbished condo units feasible.

 

Actually, my long-term tenants (of over 5 years) are mainly previous tenants of aging apartments, not condos.

48 minutes ago, USNret said:

We live outside of Thailand and are looking at rentals with the aim of coming back soon.  Wife does all the shopping on Thai websites.  She says prices have dropped across the board since 12 months ago.  That's just 1 person's opinion but she is a good shopper & has a good head for numbers.  I don't think your increase is due to general market inflation.

 

Hipflat has an indicator of asking rental prices for each condo building. Whilst it can easily be skewed by some obviously incorrect listed prices (anyone want to buy a 100 million Baht studio condo, or a rental for 10B/month? - I've seen both on Hipflat), the general trend is indeed downwards. The trend for sales asking prices is also generally downwards.

Moving is inexpensive in Thailand. Pick up and leave. 

I moved just a few months ago, and the whole experience was easy and fast. I'm now paying just over half the rent I was, and I have a bit more space.

There are loads of better deals out there.

Sukhumvit landlords often forget there are prices at 30% of theirs just a few hundred meters away.

Your rent of 80K is high already for what you have got.  I suggest to tell him that if he wants to raise the fee you are moving away. He will stay YEARS without a tenant..... And you will find something a bit smaller but newer for your actual fee or even less.

Your paying way to much, 70,000p/m is the norm. 

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. That's the impression I had, but it's good to get independent confirmation.

 

I agree that if I move it's likely the unit will remain without a tenant for an extended period of time. It was sitting empty for about 6 months before I moved in. However, as I have unfortunately discovered in Thailand, this logic often seems to escape landlords who will rather leave a unit vacant than budge a single baht on price. I should probably resign myself to the inconvenience of a move and pick up a better deal. Looking at hipflat indeed shows a number of places of similar age and size in the 55k - 75k range 

$ 2350 USD for a condo? I know it's in Asoke, I almost bought in Supalai in 2005 (wish I had) but it seems so high compared to here in the States. On the other hand I don't live in downtown anywhere, I'm in the Burbs but close to the beach. Hmm, 300 S meters = 3200 S Feet, that is very big. I guess like they say, no secrets in real estate. 

3 hours ago, revelstone said:

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. That's the impression I had, but it's good to get independent confirmation.

 

I agree that if I move it's likely the unit will remain without a tenant for an extended period of time. It was sitting empty for about 6 months before I moved in. However, as I have unfortunately discovered in Thailand, this logic often seems to escape landlords who will rather leave a unit vacant than budge a single baht on price. I should probably resign myself to the inconvenience of a move and pick up a better deal. Looking at hipflat indeed shows a number of places of similar age and size in the 55k - 75k range 

 

Yep... in Thailand if business is slow, they raise their prices. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Senechal said:

 

Yep... in Thailand if business is slow, they raise their prices. 

 

 

 

Seen this happen so many times  in Thailand, but however many times I see it happen, it never fails to astound me. Leaving my current apartment empty for just one and half months will basically wipe out whatever additional profit they hoped to make by raising my rent. However, I'll be surprised if there's a different outcome than that.

1 hour ago, revelstone said:

 

Seen this happen so many times  in Thailand, but however many times I see it happen, it never fails to astound me. Leaving my current apartment empty for just one and half months will basically wipe out whatever additional profit they hoped to make by raising my rent. However, I'll be surprised if there's a different outcome than that.

Same here. The place I vacated a few months back is still empty. Now I'm paying less for a little bit more space in a better location.

Op, I guess one pertinent question is do you really need and want another place with as large space as you have now? You mentioned about the high utility bills... Obviously, you could get a much nicer and more modern place, though smaller, for even less.

 

Did you check the various websites to see what other units in your building are going for?

 

You may be able to find the same size/layout for significantly less rent in your building. You could also use those cheaper examples as a negotiating leverage if you really dont want to move.

 

From the sounds of it, a move should be fairly easy since u dont have much of your own furniture.

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Mysterion said:

Did you check the various websites to see what other units in your building are going for?

 

You may be able to find the same size/layout for significantly less rent in your building. You could also use those cheaper examples as a negotiating leverage if you really dont want to move.

 

From the sounds of it, a move should be fairly easy since u dont have much of your own furniture.

 

 

 

 

Some people have the habit to hoard stuff. Have a friend who bought her own 2-bedroom condo and renting another of the same size above her to keep stuff...

There are lots of listings on hipflat, however, the Agents do not update their lists and about 80-90% of what you see on hipflat and Agents websites are old and expired listings....

 

The Agents only want your details and try to push unrealistic or undesirable units your way, it takes a lot of patience dealing with these chancers, some agents are better than others... Some are total time wasters...

 

That said, in Sukhumvit 20, 300sqm with a 80k baht per month asking price is reasonable.

The owner is chancing his luck by increasing the rent by 10k baht.

 

Have a plan B and be ready to move...

 

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

There are lots of listings on hipflat, however, the Agents do not update their lists and about 80-90% of what you see on hipflat and Agents websites are old and expired listings....

 

Very true. However, it's also true that there are far more available units than listings.

Speaking as a landlord myself, i think she is stupidly chancing her arm and being greedy, assuming you are a decent tenant. Pay her a lesson. Move out.

Move,move move. I would see what's around and be prepared to move and ask for 75k, stuff her. It's not as though the average thai can or will pay 90k a month.

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