Pattaya sees big drop in condo launches
THE condominium market in Pattaya seems to be still recovering from the massive knock it suffered when the ruble was devalued in 2014, which also shrank the total number of Russian visitors, as only 307 units from five projects were introduced in the first half of this year, Knight Frank Chartered said in its recent research.
The depth of this plunge shows up against altogether 8,505 units launched last year. When the market was hot a few years earlier a lot more were introduced at this seaside city with the total in 2011 being 16,112 units, in 2012 it was 12,853 and 2013 it added up to 14,767 units.
This real estate agency mentioned that the total number of condominiums in Pattaya now stands at 72,392 units but 73.3% or 53,042 units have been sold leaving 19,350 units available for buyers to purchase.
Knight Frank Chartered’s database shows that the average take-up rate in Pattaya was approximately 2,200 units a year during 2007-2010. However this jumped during 2011-2013 to around 2,750 units.
Then again this total plummeted during 2014-2015 amounting to less than a thousand units each of the two years.
“With 19,350 units remaining, it is forecasted that it will take Pattaya at least 16 years to clear this remaining stock.”
During the first half of this year, the average selling price of sea view condominiums was 119,726 baht a sqm, with compound annual growth rate (CAGR) being 5.3% from 82,629 baht a sqm in 2007. The difference in price between sea view units and those without this sought after view is 69%.
This is both because of scarcity of beachfront land and that the majority of the buyers, mainly foreigners, retirees and vacationers, seek units with better views.
This real estate agency cited a survey by Quality Houses Plc stating that 30% of condominium buyers in Chonburi are foreigners.
Moreover while demand from Russians dropped after the ruble weakened in 2014, which led to 50% drop in the number of Russian visitors, more buyers emerged from China. Thais working in eastern seaboard area also seek housing but their budget is below 5 million baht a unit.
CAPTION:
A woman watches the waves roll in on a rocky patch of Pattaya beach. Photo: Herry Lawford
By Thai Residents reporters
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