Story : Pattamaporn Kittipanachol   
Images : courtesy of projects
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A recent visit to Pattaya, located 150 km southeast of Bangkok along the eastern seaboard of the Gulf of Thailand, revealed a city abuzz with luxury real estate projects.

For a leading entertainment and recreational beach resort destination which welcomes more than 4 million tourists annually, Pattaya has also attracted an ever expanding core of permanent and long-stay residents. Several high quality hospitals and international schools serve scores of retirees and more than 10,000 working expatriates and their families.

Value for Money
At present, approximately three-quarters of Pattaya’s property market is priced below 3 million baht. Luxury projects worth 10 million baht or more comprise 10% of total offerings. Unlike Bangkok, Pattaya’s premium projects sometimes combine condominiums with houses, five-star hotels or resort style low-rises, while spacious villas in gated communities sometimes sell freehold land for buyers to build their own homes. Sites range from gorgeous beachfront projects and marinas to scenic hillside villas and even nearby islands.

For prices on par with Bangkok, Pattaya can sometimes offer better value. New one bedroom luxury condominiums near the skytrain in central Bangkok range from approximately 55 to 65 sqm in size, while a similarly priced unit in Pattaya would be around 70 sqm with a sea view and private beach.

Local developers generally reveal innovative and distinct designs, and many incorporate a high level of customisation. The number of Pattaya based developers targeting the luxury market has grown, like Siam Best Enterprises with its 91-storey Ocean 1 Tower and Saraan Group’s Ocean’s Edge north of Pattaya, while Siam Royal View and Phu Tara are famous villa developers.

Cees Cuijpers

Developing Markets
I recently spoke with Mr. Cees Cuijpers, Managing Director of Town & Country Property, a leading real estate agent and project developer based in Pattaya over the past decade, to provide an overview of recent changes in the market and its future prospects.

Cuijpers remarks how demographic shifts have fundamentally driven these changes, “It seems that Pattaya has outgrown a questionable image, attracting tourists and residents of all levels of society demanding a broader scale of sports and leisure venues, hotel accommodation, tourist attractions, restaurants, bars and shopping malls, with larger budgets to spend.  Both condominium and villa developers are rapidly catering to this more discerning buyers-group.”

Mr. Cees Cuijpers elaborates on how high demand coincided with the availability of a wide selection of new and innovative building materials which has enabled project developers “to start ‘building dreams’.” As demand outstripped supply, “this led to capital-growth whereby property values doubled over the last 5 years.” In fact, “ten years ago a private residence of 20 million baht was difficult to find; in today’s market there are so many quality properties to choose from that you would get dizzy.” Nonetheless, “healthy competition created a much better environment for buyers.”  

The Best Investment
Is growth sustainable? Cuijpers says, “It seems that there is a lot of confidence in the market. A democratic leader in Thailand would certainly help to further establish a healthy investment climate with transparency in place. As long as there is no lack of end-users, properties will continue to grow and deliver a feasible return. Especially in the luxury-market, I see a growing interest much larger than in the low-end category.”

Even though most developers focus on condominiums, Cuijpers points out that houses are probably a better match for corporate rentals. “I believe that quality housing projects are getting short in supply. By having more families residing in Pattaya, a studio-condo is no longer sufficient to fulfill their needs.” Thus, Cuijpers recommends a sensible real estate portfolio of condominiums and houses. Nonetheless, he says that “‘Super-condo’ projects tapping into European prices are making the housing projects an interesting attraction for the years to come.”

Jomtien, south of bustling central Pattaya, has grown most dramatically over the past two years along with the contiguous coastline towards Sattahip punctuated by luxury projects. New developments are sprouting in North Pattaya, in Wong Amat’s expatriate enclave and Naklua, which is predominantly Thai.

Moving Forward
The next hotspot Cuijpers predicts is “a wider spread towards East Pattaya and further to the South (Na-Jomtien/Bang Sarea).” As Cuijpers jokes, “Countless large investments made by multinationals such as the Central Group, Tesco Lotus, Carrefour and leading hotel-properties...They can’t all be wrong!?”

When Cuijpers flew “over Pattaya [in September 2007] to study road-works on the motorway and the 2nd Sukhumvit parallel to the railway, improvements on Chonburi’s infrastructure looked to be stimulating further growth for the near future.” He concludes, “Probably more than anything else it is the accessibility of Pattaya-Jomtien that makes living, working and investing here worthwhile.”

With the prospect of growing numbers of long-term residents who demand quality, Pattaya will mature respectably. Its legacy as a top seaside resort town provides a wealth of amenities of a larger city, which will enhance the lifestyle of its cosmopolitan residents.