Buyers from mainland China will be the number one overseas nationality buying Thailand property within five years, according to one property industry veteran.
Nigel Cornick, the Chief Executive Officer of Kingdom Property and former boss of Raimon Land, is rarely wrong. He was first to correct predicted the dominance of Russian and Eastern European buyers in the Gulf of Thailand resort city of Pattaya more than 10 years ago, and now he is predicting the same will happen with Chinese buyers.
Later this month Cornick will be taking his latest development, Southpoint Pattaya, to Beijing. Yesterday he announced buyers at the project would be entitled to a 20-year visa – one stumbling block he has come across many times when attempting to sell overseas.
He said: “China will be the number one supplier of overseas buyers of Thailand residential property within five years.”
Who can argue? Tourism numbers from China have exploded and there is a proven link between those numbers and eventual property purchases.
“Chinese buyers will be a critical mass in Thailand, and once it starts it will keep growing,” he concluded.
Whether most Thailand real estate agencies are ready for an influx of buyers from China with little or no English language skills is another matter altogether.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
