The largest group of expats in Thailand comes from Japan and much of this population lives in the Chon Buri province with the city of Sri Racha being very popular, reports local media. This has created opportunities for property developers and investors looking to expand into the region.
“The industrial development centre in the Eastern Seaboard has created many blue- and white-collar jobs for workers, and many expatriates who are employed in the manufacturing plants are Japanese. These factories are located mainly on industrial estates in Chon Buri and Rayong. Due to the location, most Japanese expatriates will choose to live in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Sri Racha,” says Chotika Tungsirisurp Associate Director at CBRE, to the Bangkok Post.
Sri Racha is popular with Japanese expats since it is close to their workplace and also near Bangkok or Pattaya. The city also has Japanese-style supermarkets and community malls like Aeon and J-Park and also has a Thai-Japanese Association School.
One difference between Japanese expats and other nationalities living in Thailand is the preference of the former group to live in serviced apartments. These feature facilities and hotel-like services not found at condo units and are more suited to Japanese executives who are likely to be working in Thailand less than five years. Because of this fact, many workers want a hassle-free, fully serviced living experience.
“Most of the hotels and serviced apartments are located within a two-kilometre radius of the city’s largest retail development, Robinson Sri Racha. As expatriates usually do not own a car, the better-performing serviced apartments are typically located within a walking distance of amenities. Most serviced apartments offer shuttle services for tenants to ferry them around popular amenity locations,” says Chotika.
As many new factories have opened in the region, there has been an increase in demand for serviced apartments. Developers have built more and this new supply has led to a rapid growth in the Sri Racha serviced apartment market.
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