Thailand real estate prices...

[manarak]

The real estate offers become more interesting to read it seems.

Take for example this townhouse:

http://www.acuterealty.com/PropertyDetail.asp?RefNo=Th-461230-01

it really looks perfect to me!

is it me or are the prices falling?

do you think the prices will continue to fall?
how long?

[stogie bear]

Domestic property has stalled as renting is so cheap for Thais. Add to that their low expectations and you have an almost dormant real estate market.

There are lots of construction projects, though... but the burgeoning 'middle class' of the past few years has all but disappeared.

Properties between 500,000 baht and 3,000,000 baht will keep their value.

On the flip side of that a number of factors are keeping foreign investment in property at bay. Location, business mistrust and government volatility are the prime factors which are forcing a downturn of property values in Thailand for the foreigners who want to (or wanted to) move here.

There's a real difference between the stubborn asking prices and the actual selling prices and when sellers finally return to earth you'll see a few bargains out there.

That property listed in the above post for 8 million does not appear to me to be a good buy.

You can get something newer, better looking and of similar size for half that.

[Snick]

Read this weeks Stickman

[stogie bear]

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

Can't find the article though. This site is such a mess albeit an interesting one!

[srb]

I think Snick means this page:

http://www.stickmanweekly.com/StickMa....kok.htm

[Snick]

Thanks, I was too lazy to search for it

[stogie bear]

Why I Will Never Buy A Condo

"You pay how much in rent", they exclaim without fail.

To the average foreigner in Bangkok, perhaps retirees on a budget and new teachers aside, 20,000 baht is not really that much. We long ago reached the point where we were comfortable paying a little more for a place that is genuinely nice, well located and comfortable rather than something that could best be described as barely adequate. But to most Thais, paying 20,000 baht for rent is unthinkable. It is, we must remember, much more than the average Thai earns a month - and in fact more than many families live on per month.

[manarak]

You can get something newer, better looking and of similar size for half that.

You mean I could find 350 square meters with 4 spacious bedooms and a swimming pool situated near BTS or MRT for about 4.000.000 baht?
(that would be real good news)

Why I Will Never Buy A Condo

Yeah, I figured that one out already.
No condo for me.
Looks like the condo rent is calculated on 8 to 12% return...

[stogie bear]

(manarak @ Sep. 01 2008,20:32) Looks like the condo rent is calculated on 8 to 12% return...

Buying property in Thailand is NOT an investment.

[manarak]

nice evasive countermeasure.

what about the 350 sqm for 4 million?

[BlueBallz]

A condo that is 350 m2 for 4 million?? Where is nahkon Sawan?? Ha ha In Bangkok no way. I bought mine for 2.7 Mill (65 m2) in a "well trafficed" area of BKK. Bought it about 3 years ago. Its probably gone up a tad in value I would surmise but not thinking about selling for at least 5 years by which time I will have it paid off.

[stogie bear]

It's worth remembering that "The BTS Line" is growing all the tie and some new stations are opening soon. If this location is important to you then shop around.

Almost 8 mill for the property I saw looked like it was aimed at the foreign market to me. Certainly it would be hard to find a Thai person willing to spend that much on a town house no matter where it was, especially an old one.

[manarak]

Almost 8 mill for the property I saw looked like it was aimed at the foreign market to me. Certainly it would be hard to find a Thai person willing to spend that much on a town house no matter where it was, especially an old one.

Well, that may be true, but then I did my homework on the real estate prices.
The benchmark is the price per square meter, which was at about 25-35k before 1997.
Today, most homes sell between 35 and 50k per sqm, condos for 70-90k per sqm (no condo for me).

The townhouse I linked to has a sqm price of approx. 22500, which is very low for the advertized size, but the size (350sqm) made it expensive.
But I guess that is the price for satisfying my western taste for space (and theres a pool too).

[stogie bear]

Well, you do get plenty of space in that place, but definitely view the place. I think you'll come away disappointed. Also - the pool is a shared pool.

But what most puts me off this place are the horrible floors which would cost a fortune to replace and the crap location between Rama 9 and Ratchadaphisek. Great if you love expressways and concrete!

To me this place has about as much appeal as a guest house in Pattaya! But we are all different, right?

[manarak]

the crap location between Rama 9 and Ratchadaphisek. Great if you love expressways and concrete!

that would put me off too - as you wrote, one has to always view the place first.