Brisk demand for Pattaya condominiums
Approximately 2,491 condominium units in Pattaya were sold during 2011, an increase by 120 per cent from the year 2010, according to Knight Frank Thailand.
Frank Khan, head of Residential Department, Knight Frank Thailand, said that the demand of Pattaya condominium was mainly from local Thai buyers in some projects, especially the projects which are located in the North Pattaya or Wongamat area due to a large number of retail outlets, high end restaurants and bars and shopping mall in the area. City condominium located in South Pattaya is preferred by foreigners.
The ideal unit for Thai buyers as a second home is a one-to-two-bedroom condo sized at about 55 square metres. Investors buying units to let are fond of smaller one-bedroom units of about 39 square metres.
Among foreign buyers, Russians are another potential buyers. However, the preferred locations are in the Pratumnak Hill area and Jomtien Sai 2 Area, where the project is non sea view, however the unit price is cheap, with studio sizing 28 square metre, selling at Bt900,000 per unit. The new condominium area will be located in Jomtien Sai 2 due to the completion of road improvement which makes the area much more attractive to low-end condominium market. Laguna Beach Resort, located in Jomtien Sai 2 is another popular project among Russian buyers. Another potential buyers are from Europe, for instance England, Ireland, Sweden and Norway.
Regardless of what buyers are looking for, more choices are in the pipeline as many condominiums are being launched this year with the construction to start early next year and slated for completion by the end of 2014, Frank added.
