Thailand: Pattaya and Eastern Seaboard Property Newsletter, January 2012

January 2012 Having spent a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Year in the UK with my son, so he could enjoy a true English family Christmas and also get a taste of the winter weather, it has been extremely nice to return to a hot, sunny climate again. It was my first time in truly cold weather for nearly 15 years and served as a good reminder as to at least one of the reasons why Thailand is such an attractive proposition for so many people, especially at this time of the year.

Now back I have been extremely busy with a combination of catching up on that work that couldn't easily be done back in the UK and at the same time keeping up with new inquiries. In general terms, the local property market continues to tick over quite nicely, even though it is probably fair to say that the traditional increase in interest from Western European buyers, and in particular the British, has not yet properly kicked in. That said, it is not especially unusual and I believe that particular demographic will do more in the coming weeks and months as increasing numbers arrive for their winter breaks. While it does not tend to be a particularly big market for us, I understand that the demand for local real estate from Russian visitors has increased significantly already, as high season arrivals grow again after an initial lull due primarily to the pre-Christmas flooding in and around Bangkok.

The extremely impressive sales of, in particular, off plan condos achieved in Pattaya over the last couple of years or so have created strong interest in the city amongst many property developers, both those with prior Pattaya experience and also those who have not previously developed in the area. Accordingly, there has been a noticeable increase in the amount of interest in prime development sites recently. However, there is now a shortage of good sites, particularly close to the centre of town. The logical conclusion to draw therefore is that development will start to move a little further down the coast, and mainly to the south, rather than to the less attractive and more industrial north. Already there are new developments just to the very southern end of Jomtien, technically in Na Jomtien, such as the new, very large and high end Centara development and the Nam Talay project. There is also new development down further towards and in Bang Saray and I fully expect this trend to continue over the coming months and years.

The continued growth of the greater Pattaya region has recently earned further recognition. The International Association of Golf Tourism Operators named Pattaya as the best golfing destination in Asia/Australasia at its recent annual conference. The area will shortly become even better in that respect with Siam Country Club announcing that they are developing a further 18 holes to complement the, I think, 45 top quality holes that they already have.

Towards the end of last year, in one of the weekly property reports that I do on local radio, I suggested that on the back of the floods, particularly in the industrial areas north of Bangkok and in Ayutthaya, the Eastern Seaboard and thus Pattaya would perhaps benefit. In particular I said that I thought a number of big companies would relocate to the Eastern Seaboard industrial estates from those areas, given that they appear likely to flood again in the future. So I was very interested when a good friend of mine based in the Amata City industrial estate told me last weekend that in the previous week alone 8 new companies had signed deals to move from those very areas into the Amata City property, which is just outside of Pattaya.

I am not sure what has happened in the weeks before or what is happening in other industrial estates on the Eastern Seaboard. However, I would find it very hard to believe that 8 contracts were signed for Amata City in the space of one week but none before that and none in the many other industrial estates. Therefore, I take it as a strong indication that exactly what I thought might happen is indeed happening and it must be a significant positive for the Eastern Seaboard.

Whether or not it is connected, I don't know, but I noticed in a recent school newsletter that 25 new students started at St Andrews International School this term alone, which is of course half way through a school year. Bearing in mind that the school only has a little over 400 pupils, I think such a significant influx of new children halfway through an academic year provides a further indication that more expats are moving into the area. Of course there are lots of different indicators that one can look at to determine how an area such as Pattaya is doing, but, at the moment, most of the things I see, read and hear appear to be very positive. Long may that continue.

Of the new properties that have been listed with us recently, as usual, a few deserve particular mention. Firstly, we have a couple of rental properties in the La Royale beachfront condo development at the southern end of Jomtien Beach. The development itself is new and sits on an absolute beachfront plot. As I mentioned earlier, it is a location, technically in Najomtien, which is now seeing a lot of new development, and from where one can quickly and easily get both to Sukhumvit Road and into Jomtien. The two units in La Royale are both brand new and each have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The first is 106 square metres and the second 148 square metres. Both are fully furnished to a high standard. Somewhat incredibly for a new beachfront development, the first is available for just 20,000 Baht per month and the second for only 30,000 Baht per month.

We have just been instructed to sell a truly lovely pool villa in a nice gated community in East Pattaya. It is a sizeable property, with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, some 205 square metres of living space and a generously proportioned private swimming pool. It is fully furnished to a very high standard and has just been reduced from 7.5m Baht to 4.5m Baht for a quick sale.

In terms of condos for sale, we have a couple of similarly impressive deals. Firstly, we have a gorgeous and very large 148 square metre, 2 bed, 2 bath foreign name condo in a development on a lovely golf course close to Sriracha, just 20 minutes drive from Pattaya. Bearing in mind its size and how lovely it is, the price of just 4m Baht is an incredible deal. Another condo that deserves a very close look is the absolutely stunning penthouse unit (below) in a nice, new development very close to the centre of Pattaya. Again, it is a foreign name unit and at only 5m Baht for a 115 square metre 3 bedroom unit of such high quality, again it is an extremely attractive price.

Our associated financial advisory company has this month advised that the UK Government tax office (HMRC) has recently announced proposed changes to the existing legislation governing UK Pension Transfers to offshore jurisdictions (QROPS). These changes, if not amended during the consultation period in January, will come in to force on April 6, 2012 and will then be applied to all UK pensions transferred offshore thereafter. I understand that, as a result, anyone considering transferring their UK pension overseas would be well advised to do it sooner rather than later. As always, anyone interested to find out more can arrange a free initial assessment with one of the partners of our associated company.