Pool-villa condos along Pattaya beach attract Russian and Chinese buyers
Demand is rising from Russian and Chinese nationals for pool-villa condominiums along Pattaya beach, prompting the developer, Habitat Group Co Ltd, to increase the price of their second-home properties to 10-20 million baht.
Habitat is expecting the price of their condominiums that are 2-3 years old to increase to 250,000-300,000 baht per square metre from the current 200,000 baht per square metre. They are now offering "Holiday Homes and Lifestyle" investments" to attract potential buyers.
Chanin Vanijwongse, the CEO of Habitat Group Co Ltd, said the tourism market in Thailand has been booming since the beginning of the year. The number of foreign tourists is expected to reach 22.7 million this year and 35.3 million next year, with the main target destinations being Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya.
Habitat Group, which is one of the leading premium property-for-investment developers in Thailand, is focusing on the upper-midscale and luxury residential market sectors, identifying clear market niches to create and deliver unique projects.
As a popular tourist destination, property prices in Pattaya still have room for growth, leading to continuous demand for residential properties from both local and foreign buyers, especially Russians and Chinese, Chanin said. Foreign buyers account for 45% of the real estate market in Pattaya, with locals accounting for 55%.
The Highland Park pool villa project is one of the "Holiday Homes and Lifestyle" investments currently being offered by Habitat Group, with the first phase of 20 units sold out earlier this year and the second phase of 20 units currently on sale, starting at 9.9 million to 20 million baht.
“Pattaya, which is about 90 minutes from Bangkok by car, is a city that caters to various needs, both as a centre for jobs in the Eastern Economic Corridor zone and as a world-renowned tourist destination. Hence, the Habitat Group has chosen Pattaya to offer lifestyle investment projects, including buy-to-lease-out and holiday homes for families and retirees," Chanin said. “Buyers will benefit from the yield on their investment,” he said, adding that the trend of foreign buyers expanding their purchases in tourist provinces, especially Russian and Chinese nationals, is increasing rapidly.
In the early part of last year, Habitat Group aggressively targeted foreign customers through cooperation with Thai and foreign agents. Projects, such as Holiday Homes and Highland Park Pool Villa Pattaya, received strong interest from potential buyers and investors. Currently, locals account for 70% of sales and foreigners 30%.
In the real estate investment or lifestyle investment sector, it has received good feedback from both Thai and foreign customers, as return on investment from rental income of lifestyle investment projects is higher than that of regular condominiums, he said.
“Moreover, we have a subsidiary company, Habitat Hospitality which collaborates with leading brands in the residence sector, managing hotel rooms, conference rooms, and restaurants with professional staff under well-known brands,” Chanin said. “Such investment is relatively secured with lower investment risk from price fluctuations compared to other forms of investments. Thus, it can generate satisfactory long-term investment returns compared to, for example, interest offered by bank deposits.”
Chanin said that villas in Pattaya priced at 10-20 million baht have strong sales rate. Foreigners buy them as second homes, or as retirement homes. The real estate market continues to grow steadily and offers relatively good returns. Meanwhile, the demand for condos in Pattaya is also increasing, he added.
Due to the increasing number of tourists, condominiums in Pattaya are currently priced at a maximum of 200,000 baht per square metre. It is expected that in the next 2-3 years, prices will increase by 30-40%, or to about 250,000-300,000 baht per square metre.
Habitat Group has invested 6 billion baht in developing eight real estate investment projects in Pattaya. These include four hotel and villa projects: The Ville Jomtien, X2 Vibe Pattaya Seaphere, X2 Pattaya Oceanphere, and Bay Pier hotel Pattaya.
Four new projects are scheduled to open for service this year: Bayphere Premier Suites in the third quarter, Wyndham Atlas Wongamat Pattaya, Bluephere Pattaya in the fourth quarter, while Ramada Mira North Pattaya will commence service in 2024.
