Date Added:
15/12/2009
The buzz about Thailand’s real estate market tends to revolve around the new, glamorous, big-name projects: high-end investment developments, luxury condos and villas, and other upscale properties. And it’s plain to see why, as glitzy projects clearly have the most sex appeal.
But what about properties designed for more mid-market consumers — buyers looking to spend, say, 150,000 pounds sterling, or roughly Bt9 million? People, for example, who might be in search of a somewhat simple weekend getaway home at the beach? How big are such houses or condos? How close might these homes be to the beach? What kind of sea views — if any — are available? Following is an examination of what two popular locales — Koh Samui and Phuket — have to offer in this price range.
Robert Collins, Managing Director, Agency and Investment Services at Savills (Thailand) Limited, says that 9 million baht typically translates into inland villas, as opposed to beachfront properties. And such houses — usually two bedrooms in size — would not often have sea views, and they’d usually be on flat-level land set back from the beach, he says. Buyers would have off-street parking, and the properties would be situated on relatively small pieces of land. Condos in this price range are usually 100-130 square meters in size and “not in grade-A but in secondary kinds of areas,” Collins says.
How do the markets in Koh Samui and Phuket differ? “Theoretically, buyers should get more for their money in Samui, but the reality is that if you shop around, there’s actually a lot of supply in Phuket, as well,” he says. “Below Bt10 million seems to sell to buyers shopping around more, and these kinds of projects tend to require less international advertising,” Collins says. |
