A Sansiri Condo in Bangkok at any price!

Occasionally you find a Bangkok Condo Sale at a seriously good price, so good that even you yourself know it is a bargain and therefore must be bought. This is just one of those occasions when you do not need an agent bleating on in your ear, you can see right away that for the size, location, quality, brand name it is an absolute bargain, being offered at Onnut prices! 

Rooftop Pool

It is found in a street between Nana and Asok, at a very quiet end of the street so no traffic, bar or life noises. OK, it is not a high floor place so you are not going to enjoy great views, but you are going to get 58sqm of renovated and redecorated first class condominium space with new furniture and AC, all worth a few hundred Thousand Baht in itself.

On top of all this, it is a Sansiri development, so even though it is now about 8 years old it looks as good as most other Bangkok condo developments that are 2 years old. The superior condo management assigned by Sansiri assures their buildings always remain in superb order. The common areas, courtyards and such like here are first class.

In terms of common area facilities we have a rooftop pool and gym, top security and management office, parking, lobbies, courtyard areas and elevators of course. So we have a high end brand name 1 bedroom condo of 58sqm in the heart of Sukhumvit where prices are often around 80 – 100K per sqm. But here we are asking just 4.2m so 72K per sqm, estimated to be around 10% below true value, and the owner WILL take offers!

Living room new Sofa

If you are serious about buying you need to come and be serious about places like this, as buying new in Bangkok now only loses capital in devaluation over the years. Buying second hand is best now as places have already done their depreciating, as this place has. Bangkok Condo Rental income would likely be around 5.5 – 6% NET and this would be a true net figure not a pre-costs figure all agents and developers give you.

Don’t wait and lose out. This is the place to buy!

What happened to Onnut Condo Rental prices

I have lived in Bangkok for the best part of 14 years and during that time have watched in awe as Onnut has grown, not just in terms of its popularity as a choice spot to look for your Bangkok condo rental deal, but in terms of how prices have shot up.

Time fly’s by so fast these days that I often forget maybe 5 or 6 years have passed since I last really looked at rental prices in Onnut. I was once very seriously considering it myself as a place to live, based on it being such a nice area, convenient for Tesco and Big C and of course the BTS line.

But now I look again with even more sincerity and I see a 2 bed Onnut Condo for rent at 28,000, higher than where I live right now in the Nana to Asoke strip, which was has historically always been a more expensive area. That said, let us be honest and state for the record that in this case it is in fact a Sansiri development.

So I look again and find a truly delightful one bedroom condo rental at 16,000 and again I think to myself, that is way over the top for Onnut condos. But it is no longer the case, this is I see now the going rate. Great place for a single dude or perhaps even a couple, but not for me as it is way over my budget with wife and kids.

It looks as if my search for a new Bangkok condo rental will continue just a little longer. How is yours going? Written by David Smith of Siam Distinction (http://www.siamdistinction.com/)

Is Ari the new Thong Lor?

Distinctly different for sure, but there are some undeniable similarities in that some of the nearby malls, restaurants, super-markets and such like are very similar to those found in Sukhumvit Soi 55, right in the heart of Thong Lor.

Fuji, Tops Gourmet, brand name hospitals and private clinics, private bistro’s, café and whatnot, Ari has it seems all of the exact same ingredients and perhaps more as its illustrious cousin. Yet you can still come around here and rent a condo for a substantially lower price.

Take this 2 bed, 2 bath, executive condo, found very close to BTS Sanam Pao. It maybe a little older than a new Noble or Sansiri condo but it offers great quality of life within a short hop to anyone of the aforementioned amenities whilst also offering 78sqm of living space, nice pool and gym, all in a nice green and quiet setting.

How much would pay for such a Bangkok Condo rental? Normally if in Thong Lor I suspect around 30-35K per month, yet this owner is offering this property out at just 22K a month for long term tenants. So check out what it is you are looking for and need and where you want to be nearby to and you may just find you can slot yourself in to this condo rental nicely, s save yourself quite a few Baht I the process.

Attention Investors and Home makers

A Bangkok Condo Sale to suit all

It is 3 years old and a somewhat distressed sale. When off plan it sold for 1.9m Baht, today the same owner asks just 1.7m Baht and is looking for offers!

This I think is a pretty good deal when you take into account all the main selling features of this property, which when gathered collectively = a very easy Bangkok condo to rent out and get a regular income from.

It is very well located just 750 meters from BTS Udomsuk and right out front is a motor bike taxi rank, making journeys even easier. It offers secure parking and security from guard patrols etc. It has a very nice common swimming pool and garden area, as well as a nice gym. It seems to be a pretty well run place right now also.

It may also be crucial to note that the area itself is quite ripe for future development which will have a very positive effect on land and condo values as at this present moment in time one could say it is a little sparse in those regards. There is one other condo development over the road, but that is that so far to date.

 It is top floor, the eleventh, with nice balcony overlooking the pool, so it will be quieter than most with no neighbours above. It also has the fully fitted out and equipped kitchen and is being offered with most of the furnishing items you will see in the pictures. 

Its value is likely around 10,000 baht a month in the Bangkok condo rental market, but if advertised at 9,500 for a true one bedroom of 36 sqm, it would I am quite certain rent very fast as normally this will get you only studios. With very little nearby to compete, again it is likely not to stay vacant for very long. 

All in all we feel that this Bangkok condo sale property represents a good buying opportunity. Click Bangkok Condo sale to read up on this opportunity.

The future of the Bangkok Condo Rental market

I have been living and working in Thailand since 1998, many of those years working in the Bangkok condo rental and sales market for a great many of them. In those years I have seen a very clear downturn in rental values, or perhaps I should say in market demographics. No longer are the mid-range properties renting as they used to be. But why?

Ten years ago when I moved back to Bangkok after some time away, things had not changed much in the condo rental & sales market. Overseas buyers were still buying condos and renting them out and the norm of this was that they were buying condos for between 6 - 9 million Baht and then renting them at 35-50K per month. These were fairly easy to rent out back then as there was still a very healthy number of expats in well paid employment positions.

Today however there are less and less expats here in those high paid positions. As Thailand has developed, more and more Thai people are able to do the jobs themselves now, and normally they will be on lower salaries than the expats used to be. This of course means the market place of people looking to rent a condo for 35-50K a month has shrunk significantly.

In the more recent years this has shrunk again and now it is much less common to find many people looking over even 25K a month at all. This is not going to change any time soon, indeed it may never change as more and more Thai people become the rental clients for agents with budgets of between 6 and 15K a month in general. There are some occasions where people are indeed looking up to 25K as a working couple or family, but again this is becoming less and less common.

So looking to the future, this is going to be a continuing trend and until the average wage here reaches the needed levels, many of those 35-50K a month executive condos will remain empty or very hard to rent at best. As Bangkok continues to grow, as slowly as it is, into more and more significant business hub in SE Asia, the more and more Thai people will leave the countryside and move to city jobs.

With this influx of new clients comes a new influx of tenants to let your property to. But those clients will be the lower paid office workers, secretaries and similar perhaps on salaries of 15 – 25K a month and thus unlikely to be considering condos at much more and 8 or 9K per month.

The conclusion is that with this shift away from overpaid expats to the much lower paid indigenous population will come investors being well advised to buy the very small new condos now being built and sold at around 1.2m Baht. If previously you were thinking to buy a condo for 8 million and rent it for 45K a month, you would now be well advised to buy 7 condos at 1.2m Baht, each renting for around 7K per month. The income will be similar but more crucially your chances of having regular tenancy will have just increased many times over.

Buying a Condo in Bangkok for Investment

There is a great amount of debate on this subject right now and a great many opinions. Personally, as I will show in the next few articles in the coming week, opinions from any of us are likely as valid as any of those that come from the experts and commentators on this subject.

                             

I guess the first question should be, is the Bangkok condo sales market heading for a period of overheating, overbuilding oversupplying, call it what you will. Potentially yes, this is a danger for any such developing nation’s capital city and I have to say from my first hand experience there are a few red flags out there the could stop this bullish market.

To dive into this any further and in any great detail we would have to take each market sector as a totally separate market entity as from what I see they are all suffering slightly or very different fates. For example, right now the very low end of the market, say under 1.5m baht condos aimed at the indigenous market, seems to be doing very well and I see little evidence of swathes of empty rooms.

Not so for the medium and higher ends of the market. I will name no names, but in recent outings to towers in Thong Lor, Ekamai and Onnut I have found a great many rooms unsold and or unoccupied. In one new tower in Ekamai I have seen a range of condos on sale from around 4 Million to 20 million perhaps 60% sold only. Of the remaining ones sold hardly any had been rented.

And here lies a potential issue. I have found that a great many of these condos have been bought out by single investors who buy 10-20 at a time if not more. These units will often remain empty as the owners have no time not true intention or inclination to let their new condos out to the market, leaving some new towers perhaps 50% occupied or less.

Of course by holding them in this manner, they are falsifying the Bangkok Condo Rental stats as a whole, as perhaps thus encouraging further new developments to crop up and up as we feel there are not enough room available to fill the gap in supply. Should even 50% of these types come onto the rental market we could see an overstocked situation right away.

And here ends the first piece of guidance. Is the future Bangkok Condo rental market secure enough? Will you always be able to rent you condo for say 11 months a year minimum to gain the ROI you bought it for? Or will it as so many do, stay empty for at least a third of the year?

In my next piece I will write in more depth about the best sector of the rental market at present and how I believe it will evolve in the next few years and beyond.

What Floor is too Low for you?

When is a condo rental just not attractive to you? Too small, price too tall, messy, old, tired, smelly…there are many legitimate reasons I know. But in the case of a low floor in a low rise, is this so that it can be too low?

Walk up and down Soi Langsuan in the centre of Bangkok and find a 2 Bedroom condo rental under 40,000, go on I challenge you. Likely it is not going to happen if it is anything half decent in one of the developments on that street.

Now turn right at the top of Soi Langsuan into Thanon Sarasin…some nice little bistro type cafes and such like along there, and right opposite from Lumpini Park, so without question an awesome place to live. So what stops this 2 Bed Condo rental from becoming a 2 bed condo tenanted? 

 When I first went to see it, it was on the market at 45,000 per month and to be honest that did not strike me as way over board. However, try as we may it would not budge, so now we find it on the market asking just 37,500. Much more buzz and activity around the place but still, no takers.

Oddly it seems a condo can be considered as too low, in terms of the floor on which it sits. I could understand this if it was about passing traffic and pedestrian noise, but that would not be the case in this side street which is at best a ghost street. Further more having the pool, gym and steam room on the same floor just about 15 meters walk from your front door surely is of huge appeal no?

Take a look at the page on our website for this Bangkok Condo Rental that just wont shift! and if you see anything specific, drop us a comment below!

Bangkok Penthouse Rental at Silom Condo Price

Following on from yesterdays post about how rental rates have fallen here in recent years, I immediately thought of this as a perfect example of how the Bangkok condo Rental market has altered.

When you think penthouse you think, top floor, huge, lots of outdoor balcony and terrace space and a great area in which to live. Well, this penthouse in a Silom condo development certainly ticks all those boxes, and at a price normally associated with run of the mill 2 bedroom condos in any part of Bangkok.

It is indeed top floor; it takes up all the 21st floor of the tower development it occupies alongside the BTS sky train station. It is indeed huge, weighing in at 187sqm. It has many balconies and outdoor terrace, garden spaces with awesome views in all directions! And being in the heart of Silom and Sathon roads, it is indeed in a first class location.

 So at 60,000 a month, you would think it very well priced considering it comprises 3 – 4 bedrooms, 1 or 2 living rooms, 2 kitchens multiple bathrooms and so much balcony space yes? Now take a look at the agent advert for this Silom Penthouse and faint when you see it still available at the same price one would normally find a 2 bed condo for rent in Thong Lor!

Perhaps you know some one who would like to know more about this....please do share, tweet, digg on!!!

Have Bangkok Condo Rental Prices Fallen?

I am certain that they have. Despite often over hearing conversations between agents and their clients from time to time ‘talking up the market’ as they so often do when trying to sell an investor a nice little condo in Bangkok , I am seeing a very real and quite substantial drop in the actual prices achieved in rental deals.

I have lived in this city on and off since 1998, but spend very much the main part of those years actually here (had a stint in the Phuket property market also for a couple of years).  When I moved back to Bangkok in 2003 I can well recall being shown studio apartments and one bed condos for rent at prices at least 10-15% higher than they are at today.

I also know this to be the achieved rate of the day as I was paying around 15% more then that people are now for the exact same size and style of rooms in the exact same condo development. Of course I had a large circle of friends then also, and know that they are now all of them paying less in relative terms. Furthermore of course being that I am actively still working in the Bangkok property rental Market, I see evidence of this everyday.

Is this simple financial market forces and affects, or is there much more to it? Well, of course I am sure that the last 4 years of financial upheaval in the world will not have helped, but to be fair what I am seeing is this all being brought about by a much more educated market.

The usual regular influx of new expats wanting to work here in Bangkok has dropped of a lot in recent years and as a long term Bangkokonian myself I have also seen many long term friends leave as finding work here has gotten harder and harder. So in the rental market now we are left mainly with the long term expats and of course having been here many years they know the prices and true values of Condos and thus this I think is also driving down prices.

Along with this, there is the entrance into the market of many more Thai tenants than there has been before as more and more Thai people flock to the city to work in search of fame and fortune. Of course Thai’s know their own country and market prices well, and like so many Asian people they are not afraid to bargain with owners and agents on prices.

So all in all we are left with a market that has without dropped in terms of rental prices here in Bangkok, or should I say achievable rental values. Good for me being that I live here, good for people also looking for a Bangkok condo to rent right now, but not so good perhaps for those owners who bought some years ago on the expectation of achieving the rates of the day. Oh how this shows that when buying a condo in Bangkok , one really does need full on correct and accurate advice. 

How does one sell SECURE Off Plan homes in Thailand?

If ever there was a case of ‘chicken and egg’, this is the one. With just over 50% sold at all three sites the developers behind X2 Resorts and Residences are about to announce a construction start date. Now we all know that if we want to buy at the lowest possible prices in Thailand we have to buy at the pre-launch stage. But of course, with all the death and destruction we have all witnessed in recent years where pre-launch sites stay as just that, would any of us take that risk any more?

Let us assume none of us want to take that risk and that we would rather wait until after construction starts, well honestly is that any true sign that the site will get fully completed? No, so once again even 3 months into construction we are going to be taking a risk. So how does one manage to buy off plan without risk, and how does one sell off plan to buyers and assure them there is no risk?

 X2 Resorts and Residences are, unbeknown to many, part of a very very large Hotel & Resort Company who don’t just develop resorts and homes, they also offer full consultancy services, feasibility studies, JV, full management and operations etc. In turn this whole operation is part of/aligned with Thailand’s biggest Property Company. In fact, unbeknown to many the X2 Residences brand is the most secure off plan development in Thailand. I can say that with total confidence and can prove as such should anyone wish to challenge that claim as I know all the companies who are behind X2, and believe me we are talking as big as it gets in Thailand.

But still, this is all just talk. How does one actually make buyers see that now is their last chance to buy at prices that of course are going to be 20-30% below those at site completion? How does one manage to convince the market place that this is a very genuine and real opportunity that if not acted upon will result in disappointment?

Of course a lot of what I am asking here is rhetorical, but I would be interested to hear from any brokers both Thailand based and overseas based who truly believe they can crack such a nutty market.

Stunning sea & sunset views from this freehold condo in Phuket

 It is a good time to find hidden gems like this on sale in Phuket right now. In saying that, this one is not so hidden up on the hillside in the west coast resort town of Karon.

But a gem it is none the less with stunning unblocked sea and sunset views from its large balcony terrace and back from that even from watching TV in the living room. I watched this place being built when I was myself based in Phuket a few years back. They sold very fast and have been very hard to get hold of since.

But now there is one on sale, and at I believe an exceptional price also. OK, we would all agree in the world of Thailand Real Estate, asking prices often mean very little as there almost seems to be no relationship between the asking price and the normal price per sqm. we have all come to know and love. 

However, in this case I think it would be hard for anyone to argue that for such a place, of such class and quality, in such a location and with such a view, that under 80,000 per sqm. is a very good price indeed. Many off plans are not far off this, but here there is no risk, it is built and furnished entirely ready to live in.

Recently reduced from 12.7 million Thai Baht (approx. U$400,000) down to a very attractive 9.9 million Thai Baht (approx. U$316,000) we believe this will not remain available for long. At Siam Distinction we can also source mortgages for this property from one of three banks based here in Thailand. These loans are open to expats no matter where they live and work for up to 80% LTV!

View out full listing here: http://siamdistinction.com/listing/sunset-views/

X2 Residences Koh Kood now boasts the best beach on the island

One can only marvel at modern technologies in construction when one sees a site such as this in Thailand Real Estate and Hospitality industries. As we draw close to the end of the year, many of the upgrades and improvements at X2 Koh Kood have been completed, not least this stunning 200 meter stretch of pure white sand beach front.

Long ago visions dreamt up by the development team at X2 Resorts & Residences have now become this stunning reality. And the reality is that this could very well be the very best and most private stretch of beach from on all of Koh Kood. Due to the unique headland position of X2, it is highly unlikely this stretch of beach will ever be populated or used by anyone other than resort guests or residence owners. Thus the X2 Koh Kood beach enters into island folklore.

There can be no doubt that the creation of this beach will now have a quite profound affect on future value of the privately owned residences being created at this wonderful site and with only 5 villas and 3 apartments remaining on sale, time is of the essence for all those who want to own a luxury ltd. edition home at what is at present still a very low price.

Indeed this is not the only improvement that has been made at X2 Koh Kood, or indeed to the island, which now in itself has a new superb luxury high speed ferry service up and running from the new pier station at Trat……..watch out for more news on this coming soon. X2 Residences Koh Kood, perhaps the best Real Estate on offer in Thailand.

For more information about the fully serviced resort residences on sale from X2, contact info@siamdistinction.com or visit http://siamdistinction.com/

Completed & ready to live in Direct Beach Front Villas

Now I can tell you of a new property I have on offer, one that is completed and ready to live in right now! A property that is direct beach front itself with 4 bedrooms, private pool, large kitchen and dining entertainment area open to the pool area and so on and so forth. Suffice to say these are dream beach front homes.

They were built in 2006 and have since then been on the holiday rental market. In the last few months we have spruced them up a little as they were in corners here and there getting tired. Now they look simply stunning, in all four guises.

They come each of them with separate Chanote title on around one quarter of a Rai of beach front land, which in itself would be worth circa 12 Million Baht. To then create, plan and build these homes would again cost at least the same again if not more so at the asking price of just 29,950,000 Baht, these are exceptionally priced to sell, especially when one takes into account they are sold fully furnished and propped in every regards and that any serious flaws will be put back to A1 condition.  

Recently we also added 4 CCTV cameras linked up to the security booth and the home to ensure maximum security and protection for your home whether you are in or out, 24-hours a day. If you are looking for a truly stunning beach front home, then this truly needs you to come and see it as they will not disappoint! Take a look at their website here.

Thanks ever so much for reading.

Land & property values set to double with arrival of Koh Kood airport.

Now confirmed to have passed its Environmental impact assessment study, and well on the way to being constructed and completed by sometime towards the end of 2014.

At present access to Koh Kood can be quite a journey and as such tourism numbers are a lot lower than they should be, or indeed would be had the island of already had its own airport. And as we all know with the arrival of an airport will come the arrival of huge increases in tourist numbers.

 It is expected that land values alone will increase by at least 200% in the coming 3 years and the knock on effect to this of course will be the value of property itself on the island. Thus owners at X2 Residences will, we believe see their values double within 3 years of taking ownership, quite a return by anyone’s standards.

With this news we would say, don’t look back in 3 years wishing you had known now what you were to see then. This truly is an investment opportunity of a lifetime.

X2 Resorts Summer Season offers

A great time to come and see for yourself why everyone is talking about this new 'Dimension of luxury' that the X2 DNA conjures up.

Come and stay in X2 Pools Villa at Samui or Hua Hin, Relax and unwind amidst the stunning natural scenery whilst enjoying all the frills and services of a truly top of the tree 5 Star Beach Front Resort.

While you are there, take 5 minutes to have a look at where the new X2 Residences are being built and ask yourself if you would like to become a privileged member of the X2 family of owners.

X2 Residences Information can be found here.

Greetings one and all

There are quite literally thousands of people out there who would dearly love to buy a luxury home in Thailand, and indeed there are literally thousands to choose from. This of course fraught with problems, as most buyers know very little about the market here in Thailand and are as such at the whim of the developer and or real estate agent. 

Of course it is very unlikely a developer will tell you not to buy his property as he believes vigorously in his site, and as he should. And despite what people may believe, agents are not necessarily dishonest, but with hundred of properties for sale on their website it is impossible for them to truly know which ones are secure, trustworthy, financially stable and of correct quality. 

 http://siamdistinction.com/listing/pranburi/

Hence Siam Distinction is born. We will never host more than around 25 property developments on sale i would think, this way we truly can know all about the developer, the product and thus the viability of what they offer and thus give accurate correct and fruitful. We have been in Thailand working in the business for many years and as such we have learned to do our own levels of due diligence. We firmly believe we can protect our buyers interests whilst still representing the developer to the fullest as an agent should. 

If you do genuinely want to buy but have fears, misgivings and in general are a little confused, drop us an email and we will take through all the pros and cons, the processes, the ownership issues, financing, rental programs, management fees, the whole nine yards. Rest assured that we will present this information to you warts and all leaving out none of the ugliness and potential pitfalls. We want you to know the whole story before you buy your dream home so that it remains just that for your lifetime.

http://siamdistinction.com/