Surge of development at Hua Hin and Pattaya

The holiday destinations of Hua Hin and Pattaya have become popular locations for the country’s leading property developers as both are showing strong demand for residential projects.
Among a rush of beachside projects, LPN Development has launched a condominium called Lumpini Park Beach Jomtien, at Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach, with a market value of Bt4 billion. With units offered at a starting price of Bt1.49 million, the project is focused on the domestic demand.
Sansiri has launched a condominium project called Baan Saan Kram at Hua Hin with a market value of Bt1.5 billion, and SC Asset Corporation plans to launch two or three condominium projects worth nearly Bt3 billion next year. Land & Houses has launched a condominium project called Ocas at Hua Hin with a value of more than Bt2 billion.
LPN Development’s managing director Opas Sripayak said Lumpini Park Beach Jomtien was his company’s second condominium project at Pattaya. It succeeded in selling out its first condominium in Pattaya in the third quarter of this year.
“Demand to buy residences in Pattaya at prices lower than Bt2 million has strong growth – especially domestic demand from people who work in Pattaya,” he said.
Sansiri’s senior executive vice-president Uthai Uthaisangsuk said demand for residences was continuing to grow at Hua Hin, from both domestic and foreign buyers. Although the company has only recently launched its Baan San Kram condominium at Hua Hin, it has already succeeded in selling more than half of the Bt1.4-billion project.
SC Asset Corporation’s chief operations officer Kree Dejchai said his company planned to launch two or three new condominium projects at Hua Hin next year, because it saw substantial demand for second residences there from the both domestic and foreign buyers. It plans to offer condominium units at Hua Hin for more than Bt100,000 per square metre.
Meanwhile, the 10th edition of Condominium Focus Thailand, by Raimon Land, says that listed developers' presales of condominium projects in Bangkok and Pattaya climbed to Bt22.6 billion in the second quarter of this year, doubling the Bt11.3-billion tally from the first quarter.
The firm’s research report says that the condominium market in Pattaya has experienced a surge over the past 12 months, especially in the Bt3-million-and-below price bracket, as more developers are turning towards smaller-sized units catering to buyers looking for weekend homes. Twenty-six projects have been launched over the past 12 months, offering a total of 10,000 units. Of these, 47.1 per cent have been taken to date, a strong indicator of the depth of the market outside Bangkok, it says.
“Thai buyers still account for the majority of our sales in the Pattaya market. And now that Europe faces financial and currency issues, buyers from South Korea, China and Taiwan are quickly turning into our second-largest group of customers,” the research says.
Condominium Focus Thailand also reveals that North Pattaya, especially along Wongamat Beach, remains the most valuable area for condominium projects, with an average sale price of Bt87,840 per square metre. This is relatively high compared to other areas in Pattaya, where land is still abundant and the market more competitive in terms of price.
Growth areas are likely to remain concentrated in South Pattaya, as well as near Sukhumvit Road, where demand from people who work in the area is surging, the firm says.