Bangkok Property Price Dips But General Thai Market Remains Resilient Due To Rising Tourism
Property prices in Bangkok, Thailand, specifically in the prime real estate sector, appear to be on the decline due to reported market saturation. However, the outlook on the overall Thailand property market remains optimistic and credit goes to the increasing tourism activities seen in Phuket and Koh Samui.
The trend trajectory in the Thai capital seems locked at a worrisome level, per the report by Thailand Property News, adding that property prices have been on the retreat since the last six months leading to the end of 2017. In the same period, prices shrunk by 0.4 percent when compared to the data recorded in the first half of the year.
Likewise, the first quarter of 2018 proved gloomy for Bangkok’s prime property market. During the first three months of the year, property prices slid by another 2.0 percent, indicating that buyers’ interest on acquiring properties in the Thai capital have been weakening since the latter part of 2017.
“Prime Bangkok prices and the associated trend lines to the end of 2017 showed a distinct plateauing of prices,” the report said.
Market Saturation
The same report did offer some insights as to why Bangkok’s prime property prices are retreating. It could be that the targeted market has been mostly satisfied, meaning many affluent buyers have made their purchases, and as a result the hunt for upscale properties is no longer in level as it was in the recent past.
While this might be the case at the moment, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the general Thailand property market is in trouble. In fact, the same report stated that Bangkok’s real estate industry is pegged at a healthy state as the city’s prime market even climbed by 2.3 percent on year-on-year basis.
Tourism Seen To Spur Property Growth
Elsewhere in Thailand, growth seems the norm in effect as rising tourism arrivals have been mostly equated to eventual property purchases. In Phuket, for instance, visitors from Asia, Europe and China continue to make their way to the popular tourism spot that the island has been labelled as among Asia’s top holiday destination.
One glaring benefit of the exploding tourism is that foreign visitors tend to acquire properties in support of their regular vacation plans not only in Phuket but also in other Thai holiday destinations such as the island of Koh Samui.
This applies too in many Southeast Asian countries, where beach properties have been luring in visitors from abroad. Investors, many coming from China, have been snapping up real estates in Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia as the purchased properties have been deemed premium and bargain at the same time.
