Pattaya condo market shrinks 60% in first half
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Property takes direct hit from political turmoil
The Pattaya condominium market shrunk 60 per cent in the first half of the year due to the effects of the political problems in Thailand, according to the Pattaya Condominium Market Research Report released by Colliers International Thailand.
Surachet Kongcheep, associate director of research at Colliers International, said about 3,800 units were launched in the first six months – about 60 per cent lower than in the second half of 2013.
Surachet said the number of new condominium units launched in first half of the year was significantly lower than second half of 2013 – except in Jomtien area, which was 48 per cent higher.
The political situation in the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first five months of 2014 directly affected the entire property market, including Pattaya city.
“There are more than 28,200 condominium units under construction in Pattaya city that are expected to be completed in second half of 2014,” he said. “Nearly 18,850 units are scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2014 in Jomtien, and approximately 4,290 more in 2015.
“Other locations have dramatically lower figures than Jomtien, because many large condominium projects [some with more than 1,000 units] have been launched in Jomtien in the past few years.”
Surachet said the average take-up rate in the condominium market in Pattaya was still similar to the past few years.
He said the figure at the end of the first half of 2014 was approximately 73 per cent, a little higher than the previous six months.
This was due to the political situation, which had affected the consumer confidence of Thais, who postponed purchasing new property in the last quarter of 2013 and the first few months of 2014 across all locations in Thailand.
Many foreign countries had also warned their people about travelling to Thailand during the political unrest, and the juntas had not cancelled martial law. This also affected the confidence of foreign tourists.
Surachet said that all these issues directly affected the condominium market in Pattaya.
He said many foreigners bought a condo in Pattaya as a second home, while Thais chiefly bought a condo as a second home, an investment and a residence while working in Pattaya or nearby.
Many condominium projects had been launched in the past three years and some were still available.
This was another factor impacting on the market, because buyers had a lot of choice and could take more time before making a decision.
“Local Thais and foreign developers and big names from Bangkok are trying to attract more buyers through marketing campaigns such as a guaranteed yield in one to three years, which has attracted a lot of buyers,” Surachet said.
He said the average selling price of a condo launched in the first half of 2014 was approximately Bt62,000 per square metre – similar to the price in the second half of 2013.
