Bangkok, Chonburi top choices for foreigners buying property
Bangkok and Chonburi are the two provinces where most foreigners bought condominiums in the first nine months of 2022, the Government Housing Bank’s Real Estate Information Centre (REIC) said.
The centre reported on Wednesday that 75.2% of condominium ownership that had been transferred to foreign nationals from January to September this year were either in the capital or the eastern resort province.
Bangkok saw 3,325 units sold to foreigners, or 45.6% of all condo units sold to foreigners, while Chonburi recorded 2,155 units sold, or 29.6%.
Other provinces on the list, but at significantly lower numbers than the top two, are Samut Prakan, Phuket, and Chiang Mai.
The REIC noted that about 30% of condo units sold to foreigners are pre-owned.
“Sales of condominiums to foreign customers have been gradually rising in the past two years, but are still lower than the pre-pandemic level,” said the centre. “The reopening of borders, lifting of Covid restrictions, recovery of the tourism industry and the local economy are factors that have driven up property sales to foreigners.”
The REIC added that the biggest foreign clients of the condominium market have always been Chinese. However, since China has yet to fully reopen, Thai property sellers must seek buyers from other markets, such as Europe, the US, Australia, Russia and India.
The centre said that the recent announcement by the Chinese health authorities that the country will scrap quarantine measures for overseas arrivals starting January 8 could be an immediate gamechanger for Thailand’s tourism industry, but the impact of the measure on the property sector would be visible only late in the second half of 2023.
“The property market trend for foreigners next year remains to be seen, as Chinese buyers might not have the same purchasing power as before, due to the battering the Chinese economy has taken for nearly two years because of the strict zero-Covid policy,” the REIC pointed out.
“Plus, to boost its economy the Chinese government could impose measures that promote domestic spending rather than overseas purchases.”
