Guest Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 I am considering the purchase of a condo in BKK for around the 5 million baht range. The market seems to be slipping a little but as this would be a long term investment I'm not that worried. What concerns me is that most of you seem to rent here. Is that because the company pays for it or is it that most don't have the money to buy one outright? I have just sold my house in Australia and want to buy somewhere else. If you had the money where would you buy? uniformguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous_Dog Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 Why sell in Australia, good market, going stale I agree, but rarely backwards. Thailand, fark goes up, goes down, goes up, goes down, all in a currancy that goes up, goes down, gooes . . . . DOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobholland Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 If you have all the time (so you don't have to sell in a couple of years) buying is an investment which can make you some money, when you rent something you will be sure to end up with lesser money then you started.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danish30 Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 I really don't know about the Thai property market, I mean usually investing in a house or a condo in the western world is a somewhat secure long term investment with a decent return. But here the prices seems very unstable, together with the fact that most Thais prefeer to buy a newly build condo or house, I guess thats part mentality and partly because the buildings don't last as long as in the west (the construction quality often seems questionable). I think in Thailand it would be better to just buy land, but of course we are not allowed to do that. regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 I had to sell in OZ 'cos my visa was up!!!! By the way what is the name of the area where u are living that you said was a great place?? C U about this week? uniformguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 Many threads on this topic before. If you are looking at an investment better to put the money elsewhere. Too many risks and no legal protection. Who needs the hassles. I would stick with the Aussie property market. It is a long term winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikesittight Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Well, I own ten condos in Bangkok (I bought 8 of them in 2004) and I have to say that it was easy to buy them. I didn't use an attorney or lawyer. Nine of them are being rented to responsible Thai tenants. My return is a very acceptable 7-10% per unit. It took over seven years of living here before I finally got the courage to just do it. It was my decision to stay here and being sick of my cash getting nothing just sitting idle in the bank and brokerage account. Thailand be berry berry good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 ilikesittight said:Well, I own ten condos in Bangkok (I bought 8 of them in 2004) and I have to say that it was easy to buy them. I didn't use an attorney or lawyer. Nine of them are being rented to responsible Thai tenants. My return is a very acceptable 7-10% per unit. It took over seven years of living here before I finally got the courage to just do it. It was my decision to stay here and being sick of my cash getting nothing just sitting idle in the bank and brokerage account. Thailand be berry berry good to me. I wish you the best of luck with your condo investment. But, with 8 out of 10 purchased in 2004, how can a good/bad judgement be made? I woefully remember the Thai bahtulism in 1997 when the return went from 25 to the USD to almot 50 to the USD. There are still office and apartmnt/condo/hotel buildings unfinished and in limbo or bankruptcy. The climate is better now, but for how long. The World Bank, Soros, Japan, China, and Thailand's indeginous corruption will trump a rational financial decision on our part every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Moth Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Well, I have only sketchy knowledge. I have been reading information about the market in BKK for a short time now. Much of what I have found available, mainly thru Bangkok Post and Nation, has quotes from those with vested interests - developers and land owners. Since they are on the sell side, of course they paint a rosy picture. I did however read one article that pointed out that there will be 67,000 condos coming on line in 2005. This is 2 times the number that were sold in 2004. So, is there a market for all this new inventory. Or will many be unsold, resulting in prices being dropped and driving down the prices of existing condos up for sale (actually I am using the term condos but townhouses and stand alone homes may be included, I am not sure). The same article pointed out that about 130,000 units were scheduled to come online in 1997. So, very agressive building now (maybe without demand to match) but not as bad as 1997. Last year values of units increased by about 40 percent. so, a fantastic investment if you bought last year and could sell for new price now. But, there are 2 factors. (keep in mind that I am a novice and not an expert). One is the inventory coming on line - maybe too much and even if not too much, if you were selling an existing unit you purchased in 2004 or prior, this would be your competition. Is your "used" unit able to compete with a new unit? And, on this subject is the 2nd point. As I understand it, Thais don't like to buy a used unit, one of the reasons being because of possible bad spirits left behind by previous occupants. So, it would seem selling a used unit could be very problematic. On the other hand, I am from the US and we are having currency problems. So, I would like to balance my risk by having some investments in the US and buying a condo to rent out for monthly income. Glad this thread is happening as I am interested in the thoughts of others on this subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Thanks Tiger Moth.......interesting to see that this thread has come back to life. I have been reading a lot about the market too and saw the same article as TM has seen. That was why I asked the question originally because it seems like the market is about to take a nose dive so a good time to buy would be in one/two years but certainly not this year. I am interested in what other renting / owners in the city feel about the market. I am looking for a place at the moment but have no intention of buying until I am sure about my job (which I don`t have yet) and my girl and several other factors. But if I decide to stay here long term there is no way that I want to pay rent all the time so I would consider buying, but the spirit thing about second hand homes is a big negative to consider. You would have to sell it on to another foreigner. uniformguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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