The popular seaside resort of Hua Hin:
A real estate trendsetter in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest |
The real estate industry in Thailand is quite big and complex.
There are a lot of things you should know before you roll up your pant legs, get your feet wet, and actually buy a condo.
Locations like Hua Hin, Phuket, and Pattaya-Jomtien are at the forefront of the Thai real estate industry.
Hua Hin has become quite popular recently with condos selling for as much as 100,000 baht per square meter for top properties.
Hua Hin evokes romantic images in the mind of most Thai people with the royal summer palace and the old Hua Hin golf course located near the center of the city.
Wealthy people and royalty from Bangkok used to travel by train or car in early 1900s to vacation at the beach resort. Whereas Pattaya has a reputation for nightlife, Hua Hin with wide beaches and pony rides is a place for families to enjoy.
All of this makes Hua Hin an attractive place for Thais living in the United States to purchase a vacation residence in Thailand. Condominium units and villas at the boathouse Hua Hin, for instance, are located on 80 rai of land. The condos are low-rise buildings, four to six stories high, built on beach-front property with garden and swimming pools.
Paying up-front for condos can be a little risky so watch out. Whether developers have enough equity to fund construction is often a critical factor.
Banks require presales of 40-50% before they provide a construction loan to a developer. If a developer does not get enough presales and does not have equity and cash on hand to fund construction, there may be a risk to condo buyers if a project can't be completed.
This adds value to already completed condos on the second-hand market. The purchaser can actually inspect what they are purchasing before they purchase it.
Institutional investors have discovered Hua Hin real estate. A US retirement fund is investing in a low-rise condominium near the Hua Hin train station. Members of the retirement fund will actually take turns staying at the condominium.
This sort of timeshare club where members take turns staying at a condo has become popular recently. The famous Laguna resort in Phuket has a timeshare club, the Laguna Holiday Club, which recently purchased 55 units at the Boathouse Hua Hin for the use of members. The Laguna Holiday Club has 5,000 members 65% of whom are Thai.
Since Hua Hin is at the forefront of the Thai real estate industry, what begins in Hua Hin is likely to spread to other locations in Thailand in the near future. Watching Hua Hin is a good way to predict the future of real estate in Thailand.
(Source: Bangkok Post, business, 21-04-08, page B12, Nina Subcharoen, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
a trendsetter - maker of trends that others follow ผู้สร้างกระแส สร้างความนิยมในกลุ่ม ในสังคม
at the forefront of - the first person to start doing something innovative ผู้นำ
wealthy - rich, has a lot of money and assets มั่งคั่ง ร่ำรวย
a reputation for - many people know about it because of เลื่องชื่อ
a vacation residence - a home or condo used for holidays บ้านพักตากอากาศ
condominium units - apartments in condominium buildings อพารท์เมนท์
villas - a home by the sea or in the country used for holidays and vacations บ้านพักตากอากาศขนาดใหญ่
low-rise buildings - buildings that are not very high, 4 to 6 stories high, for example ตึกที่มีความสูงไม่เกิน 4-6 ชั้น
paying up-front - paying money for something before get the thing การชำระเงินค่าสินค้าล่วงหน้า
equity
- money for a business that comes from owners, not borrowed money
(debt) เงินลงทุน ที่มาจากการระดมหุ้นของหุ้นส่วน และผู้มีกรรมสิทธิ
a critical factor - something important that has an effect on events ปัจจัยสำคัญ
presales - sales before construction การขายก่อนการสร้างเสร็จ
cash on hand - having money ready to use, no need to borrow เงินสดในมือ (หมายถึงเงินสดที่มีไว้ใช้จ่ายในมือ)
second-hand market - market for used goods, goods that have already been used, not new ตลาดสินค้ามือสอง
institutional investors -
large companies whose main business includes investing large sums of
money, this includes insurance companies, pension plans, and retirement
funds สถาบันการเงินที่เน้นการลงทุน เก็งกำไร
retirement - when a person stops working around age 60 after many years of work การเกษียรอายุ
a retirement fund - an investment organisation in which people save money together for their retirement เงินสะสมสำหรับการเกษียรอายุ
timeshare club
- a property that has several owners who each takes a turn using
staying at the property (for example, a resort condominium by the beach
that they take turns using for their vacation) (See Wikipedia)
