I have a conumdrum and hope you can assist me in my decision making process
I have enough money to purchase a property in thailand without needing finance which I have been offsetting my current mortgage saving me about £600 interest per month
I am looking to but a holiday that will ultinately become our retirement base for 6 months of the year in about 10 years time
What I am trying to ascertain is am I best saving what will be about £3000 per month so I save my interest and buy a place in say 3 to 4 years time. I will save about £20,000 this way but obviously need to balance that with how much property wil increase in the smae period and what I will spend on hioliday accomodation when visiting thiland where I am used to paying £200+ per night so will equate to £6000 in the smae period
I suppose the question is what has property gone up in real terms in the last 12-24 months and what is the expected increase in next 3 years
I apprecite I am asking the 64million dollar question but a feel for what the local market is or will do would be interesting
Thinking of buying - year on year increases
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billywhizz88
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- Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:13 pm
Welcome to the Board
Property prices are still falling in HH and with the exchange rate so weak I dont think its a good time to buy. Quite a few of our friends are trying to sell at the moment with little joy!!
I would evaluate the situation in 12 months time. Hopefully by then the exchange rate will be better and prices will be rock bottom. You will be able to buy more for your money.
There are some bargains out there at the moment if you search for them.
But ideally you need to be out here actively looking and reseaching the area. 4 or 5 million will still get you a nice Pool Villa. 18 mths ago you would have paid 6 or 7 million.
Good Luck
Property prices are still falling in HH and with the exchange rate so weak I dont think its a good time to buy. Quite a few of our friends are trying to sell at the moment with little joy!!
I would evaluate the situation in 12 months time. Hopefully by then the exchange rate will be better and prices will be rock bottom. You will be able to buy more for your money.
There are some bargains out there at the moment if you search for them.
But ideally you need to be out here actively looking and reseaching the area. 4 or 5 million will still get you a nice Pool Villa. 18 mths ago you would have paid 6 or 7 million.
Good Luck
If you are really serious about retiring to HH in the near future then buy whenever you see something that you like. GBP vs THB is down 30% or more and the housing prices is also down +/-30%. If and when GBP gets back up, housing prices will also climb up. If you don't buy then someone else from other countries will (Russians, Chinese.Arabs...who knows). There are lots of properties on the market now but be very careful what you buy. Buying properties in Thailand is very different then buying in EU, UK or US. You definitely don't want to buy something you can afford but buy something you don't mind loosing (i.e gov't regulations, anti-farang movement (?) and stuff like that ) and in the meantime you could enjoy and if it appreciates in value then it's an added bonus. A house/condo will definitely be cheaper then staying at a hotel for 6 months.
There are boom and bust cycles everywhere and Hua Hin went through a real estate boom cycle starting in about 2003 and ending in the high season of 2007/2008. Since then imo we are in a bust cycle due to many factors, i.e., the world economy and bad press about the ongoing Thai political situation (including the airport closing).
Many developers have gone bust and work has stopped without the community being finished until business comes back and many foreign owners need to sell because of their financial situation in their home countries.
Some are offering substantial discounts, but not all. Some who can afford to ride this bust cycle out have homes on the market but stubbornly refuse to reduce the price.
I think there are good deals to be had now that may never be available again as the economy is bound to recover eventually but you will have to look for the developments and private sellers who are serious about selling or desperate to sell now.
No one can tell for sure, especially about the political situation here, but I think purchasing here (if you have the extra money that you don't need for anything else) will be a good investment in the long term as Hua Hin has been "discovered" by the world now and will remain a popular place to visit and live much like Phuket has for many years already.
Many developers have gone bust and work has stopped without the community being finished until business comes back and many foreign owners need to sell because of their financial situation in their home countries.
Some are offering substantial discounts, but not all. Some who can afford to ride this bust cycle out have homes on the market but stubbornly refuse to reduce the price.
I think there are good deals to be had now that may never be available again as the economy is bound to recover eventually but you will have to look for the developments and private sellers who are serious about selling or desperate to sell now.
No one can tell for sure, especially about the political situation here, but I think purchasing here (if you have the extra money that you don't need for anything else) will be a good investment in the long term as Hua Hin has been "discovered" by the world now and will remain a popular place to visit and live much like Phuket has for many years already.
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
I guess there's a little bit of truth in what everyone is saying and a whole lot of guessing.
I agree that some prices have been going down. Politics and the economy are obvious reasons.
When prices are down, there is a potential for them to go up and Hua Hin is a good place for tourism so in the long run, you should make money regardless of when you buy.
There are obvious risk with a developing country like Thailand and there has been been some troubling events in recent time. In recent times, Thailand has rebounded very well from questionable politics so one could surmise that it should continue to do so but of course there are no guarantees. I would say that the risk of very serious political turmoil that could have a lasting impact is more likely than in Western Europe for example but it doesn't mean that there's a good chance that will happen. I'd say probably not...
At the end of the day, my belief is that if your number one priority is to make money, there are much better/safer places to put your money. Personally, I'm an equity market person since it's easier to spread your risk and you can react much quicker to any situation and you can take some profits at the time of your choosing. Real estate moves slowly and it's pretty hard to sell half a house if you need some cash. On the other hand, you don't get much enjoyment from owning stocks and you have to be on the ball more.
If you enjoy Thailand and you see yourself spending more and more time here then you buy with the outlook you may not make a lot of money but in any case you'll have a good time and enjoy the property and you probably won't lose anything. If you do make money then it's gravy on top.
I agree that some prices have been going down. Politics and the economy are obvious reasons.
When prices are down, there is a potential for them to go up and Hua Hin is a good place for tourism so in the long run, you should make money regardless of when you buy.
There are obvious risk with a developing country like Thailand and there has been been some troubling events in recent time. In recent times, Thailand has rebounded very well from questionable politics so one could surmise that it should continue to do so but of course there are no guarantees. I would say that the risk of very serious political turmoil that could have a lasting impact is more likely than in Western Europe for example but it doesn't mean that there's a good chance that will happen. I'd say probably not...
At the end of the day, my belief is that if your number one priority is to make money, there are much better/safer places to put your money. Personally, I'm an equity market person since it's easier to spread your risk and you can react much quicker to any situation and you can take some profits at the time of your choosing. Real estate moves slowly and it's pretty hard to sell half a house if you need some cash. On the other hand, you don't get much enjoyment from owning stocks and you have to be on the ball more.
If you enjoy Thailand and you see yourself spending more and more time here then you buy with the outlook you may not make a lot of money but in any case you'll have a good time and enjoy the property and you probably won't lose anything. If you do make money then it's gravy on top.
Personally, I would buy a house in Thailand because I like the country and I like being there.
I wouldn't think in terms of prices going up or down. They never seem to go down much and I doubt there are killings to be made in Thai real estate (at least not by falangs).
Buy to have and enjoy or rent nice places and not tie up capital.
I wouldn't think in terms of prices going up or down. They never seem to go down much and I doubt there are killings to be made in Thai real estate (at least not by falangs).
Buy to have and enjoy or rent nice places and not tie up capital.
Happiness can't buy money
End of boom, now it's doom and gloom
I would not buy anything in Thailand just now. I'd wait and see and would keep my funds in something else,
but not in US dollars, nor British pound. Both US$ and UK£ are very unstable now, teetering on the brink as it were.
Should either of them loose it's value even more, the other would follow. So much of the real estate in Thailand
is held by persons dependent on $ and £ remaining strong, that in the event of their collapse there might be
a real run on the Thai real estate.
And yes, I've put my money where my mouth is. I am sitting tight and will re-evaluate the situation at the
beginning of 2010. Should it then be advantageous to buy, I might do so, but not before.
but not in US dollars, nor British pound. Both US$ and UK£ are very unstable now, teetering on the brink as it were.
Should either of them loose it's value even more, the other would follow. So much of the real estate in Thailand
is held by persons dependent on $ and £ remaining strong, that in the event of their collapse there might be
a real run on the Thai real estate.
And yes, I've put my money where my mouth is. I am sitting tight and will re-evaluate the situation at the
beginning of 2010. Should it then be advantageous to buy, I might do so, but not before.
"There's no plausible or convincing reason, certainly no evidential one, to believe that there is such an entity (= deity) and that all observable phenomena, including the cosmological ones... are explicable without the hypothesis; you don't need the assumption."
Yes, unfortunate, but true...I'd wait and see and would keep my funds in something else,
but not in US dollars, nor British pound. Both US$ and UK£ are very unstable now, teetering on the brink as it were.
Should either of them loose it's value even more, the other would follow.
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
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Wanderlust
- Legend
- Posts: 2862
- Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2004 12:27 pm
- Location: Hua Hin
billywhizz,
As you can see, no one really can give a definitive answer!
However I would disagree with the last two posts that are saying that if the USD goes bellyup, the pound will follow; in terms of the baht the precise opposite is true, and as you will be converting to baht this is an important point. Things can change of course, but recent and ancient history has seen the baht following the dollar, while the pound has not.
Another factor not mentioned so far is the type of property and price level you are looking at; it is well known that some types of property ride out the bust part of the cycle better than others, so that is also important. Generally speaking the luxury end does not suffer price wise but equally may not rise as much in the boom either, certainly in percentage terms anyway. Certain areas will also hold or increase their price better than others too; if you really want to find out the best bet is to come here for a few weeks and do some intensive hunting - there are a lot of places available.
My personal take on the current property situation here is that now is the time to buy based on everything you wrote, and definitely before the next high season, if you have already found the place you want. The only rider I would put on that is that it might be worth waiting until the pound improves a bit more against the baht as that makes significant differences when you are moving the money over.
As you can see, no one really can give a definitive answer!
However I would disagree with the last two posts that are saying that if the USD goes bellyup, the pound will follow; in terms of the baht the precise opposite is true, and as you will be converting to baht this is an important point. Things can change of course, but recent and ancient history has seen the baht following the dollar, while the pound has not.
Another factor not mentioned so far is the type of property and price level you are looking at; it is well known that some types of property ride out the bust part of the cycle better than others, so that is also important. Generally speaking the luxury end does not suffer price wise but equally may not rise as much in the boom either, certainly in percentage terms anyway. Certain areas will also hold or increase their price better than others too; if you really want to find out the best bet is to come here for a few weeks and do some intensive hunting - there are a lot of places available.
My personal take on the current property situation here is that now is the time to buy based on everything you wrote, and definitely before the next high season, if you have already found the place you want. The only rider I would put on that is that it might be worth waiting until the pound improves a bit more against the baht as that makes significant differences when you are moving the money over.
I have a relatively cheap townhouse here bought in Oct 2005 for 1.6m bt. In the current climate, if I needed to sell in a bit of a rush, I am not confident that I would get any more than 1.6m bt for it. Even though, at the end of the soi, some chap has just built a set of similar 3 storey houses and is asking 4.25m bt.
I always tell people who are going to buy, that it's far better to rent. Particularly if you are about to retire... who are you going to leave it to when you decide to pop-off! Thai governments, just like every other government, makes it very difficult for you to safely pass property on to those you love. Furthermore, if, as you say, you only want to stay there for 6 months at a time, on this same forum you may read many accounts of empty houses being burgled and pillaged by opportunists. I think owning a property here works best if you are here full time and living somewhere with a resident community.
I always tell people who are going to buy, that it's far better to rent. Particularly if you are about to retire... who are you going to leave it to when you decide to pop-off! Thai governments, just like every other government, makes it very difficult for you to safely pass property on to those you love. Furthermore, if, as you say, you only want to stay there for 6 months at a time, on this same forum you may read many accounts of empty houses being burgled and pillaged by opportunists. I think owning a property here works best if you are here full time and living somewhere with a resident community.
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lindosfan1
- Deceased
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- Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:26 pm
- Location: uk
houses
big ideas said
"I think owning a property here works best if you are here full time and living somewhere with a resident community."
You are right in saying living here full time, but I have reservations about living in a community, I presume by that you mean many of the complexes that have been built for the foriegn market. There are regular posting about burglaries and house break in on these complexes.
When I was living in Hua Hin I stayed amongst locals, no burglaries or problems we all looked after each other. Also the idea of living with other expats is not experiencing what the country is like. Communes for me are a no no.
"I think owning a property here works best if you are here full time and living somewhere with a resident community."
You are right in saying living here full time, but I have reservations about living in a community, I presume by that you mean many of the complexes that have been built for the foriegn market. There are regular posting about burglaries and house break in on these complexes.
When I was living in Hua Hin I stayed amongst locals, no burglaries or problems we all looked after each other. Also the idea of living with other expats is not experiencing what the country is like. Communes for me are a no no.
Woke up this morning breathing that's a good start to the day.
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billywhizz88
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- Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:13 pm