on property. I do this not because I believe Khun Pete has his finger on the truth but as I appreciated knowing the existence of this opinion, some here might also. and perhaps take up the cuddgles in defense of our fair city.
HHS
Pattaya Today
Pete's Peregrinations
17. January 2008, 00:42
Pattaya - Hua Hin update
by Peter Lloyd
Regular readers know I go to Hua Hin a few times a year, and always for Christmas/New Year. When I’m there I enjoy comparing the state of the town’s business, tourism and real estate sectors with Pattaya’s, usually to Hua Hin’s detriment. And so it proved this Christmas.
I spoke to a number of hotel and guest house owners in Hua Hin, who confirmed this was the lowest high season they had seen for a long time (I have been going there for 5 years and it was certainly the lowest we have seen). Our hotel wasn’t fully booked, restaurants were not as busy as usual,and we could always get a table when we wanted one, which was very unusual. We were
told the week before Christmas had been even quieter than Christmas week.
The real estate market, which is a year or more behind Pattaya’s cycle, is also in the doldrums, although that hasn’t stopped even more agencies opening (often just along the street from other well-fitted out, prominently-located agencies which have recently opened and quickly closed down) since I was last there, 6 months ago.
This was no surprise. They are also closing in Pattaya, but, per head of visitor and resident, Hua Hin still has considerably more agents than Pattaya, and they are very lonely-looking places.
When we were there, over 4 working days, we saw very few customers inside them or looking in their windows. Just bored sales agents in empty but expensively-fitted-out shops. In Pattaya you see potential punters all the time, looking in windows, and talking to agents, especially in high season. Even if they are not buying there is still interest.
Tellingly, some developers have opened outlets in Hua Hin to sell their own product. How successful this will be I don’t know, but I can guess.
Only here for the pier
I also noticed the novelty of street promotions for real estate projects, when we were bombarded with freebies and promotional pamphlets handed out all over town by developers. I thought it smacked of desperation, but I’m no marketer and it may be more effective than expensivel renting
and fitting out sales offices in town, or spending large amounts on media advertising. The main difference between Hua Hin and Pattaya real estate markets is more noticeable when looking to the future. In Pattaya there is always something for real estate optimists to grasp hold of, for instance the Russians – boorish and low-end they may mostly be right now, with some small time buying and renting, but in future, as they increasingly displace Western Europeans in Pattaya, and hopefully wealthier ones arrive, how many Russian buyers will there be, how many developments will come onstream using Russian money, how many unsold condo units are and will be filled by block-booking or private-rental holidaying Russians, improving rental yields for investors?
The answer may be “noneâ€
