Thailand hasn’t been known for outbound real estate investment with only limited activity recorded in the past 30 years. The primary reason for this was due to Thai investors not having the money required to buy overseas property. The trend seems to be changing, according to CBRE Thailand.
“With the country’s economic outlook set to be subdued in the medium term, limiting opportunities for local property development, and with a growing desire among domestic companies to diversify their asset holdings, local investors are increasingly exploring international opportunities for property investment,” says Chotika Tungsirisurp, Senior Manager, Research and Consulting, CBRE Thailand, to the Bangkok Post.
Several developers from Thailand have made significant international investments in the past few years. Land and Houses reports revenue of THB 666 million from its US residential projects while Supalai has revealed that it is looking at building residential projects in Australia and the Philippines.
Other developers have chosen to work with local partners to build international projects. One such example of this is CPN’s mixed-use scheme in Malaysia. Despite a willingness by developers to be active outside of Thailand, doing so can prove to difficult if not fully prepared.
“Investing in overseas property can be challenging for those unfamiliar with a particular market. The most favoured cities for first-time overseas investors are those with the greatest transparency, in terms of availability of information such as transaction prices and rental yields,” says Chotika. “Other significant factors include having a trusted legal system and access to finance. Liquidity is also an important aspect, with markets such as London always benefiting from active sellers and purchasers.”
The main reason for focusing on international development includes the limited opportunities currently available in Thailand. There is also a desire from some companies to diversify their assets. The focus of developers moving forward will be on a range of property types in different locations across the world, concludes CBRE.
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