By Andrew Batt:
EXCLUSIVE: As reported exclusively by DDProperty.com in November, property in Pattaya is almost three times more popular than property in Phuket, according to TheMoveChannel.com’s latest At a Glance report.
Their latest report, published this week, depicts activity on the overseas portal over the last 12 months, shows the Chonburi province accounted for one-third of all searches for Thai real estate – almost three times as many as the city of Phuket.
Phuket and Pattaya have long rivalled each other for investors’ attention, but the latter’s beaches attracted more interest than the former’s nightlife in the 12 months from December 2011. Both cities dwarf the capital of Bangkok, which accounted for only 5.38 per cent of searches by buyers, making it the sixth most popular destination in the country.
When it comes to enquiries, though, the report paints a different picture, with Phuket responsible for the most buyer activity. Property in the province of Phuket generated 44.1 per cent of enquiries, ahead of Chonburi, which received 42.9 per cent.
Again, both areas eclipse Bangkok, which took just 0.18 per cent of enquiries, highlighting the dominance of the two tourist hotspots. Indeed, the closest competition facing the pair is the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, which accounted for 5.22 per cent of buyer enquiries. The beach resort of Hua Hin is the main attraction in Prachuap, accounting for 10.91 per cent of searches on the site. But Patong Beach is not far behind, with Phuket’s island coastline responsible for 6.62 per cent of searches.
The ‘At a Glance’ infographic also analyses investor behaviour on Google over the last year. Buyers most commonly search for "Thailand property" and "property in Thailand", with activity steadily rising throughout 2012. "Houses for sale in Thailand" are the most popular type of property, which may come as some surprise given the number of condos on the market, but while house searches remained static from May 2012 onwards, searches for "Thailand apartments" showed signs of increasing.
Ivan Radford, editor of TheMoveChannel, commented: "Phuket and Pattaya have been dulling for years now on TheMoveChannel.com and the At a Glance infographic gives a clear picture of which is more popular. Buyers are committed to purchasing property in Phuket, but the age-old appeal of a seaside home means that the majority still look to Pattaya first. The beach resort’s profile would have been boosted further by the fact that it remained unaffected by last year’s floods."
"But that might change next year. In 2011, the province of Chonburi took the highest number of enquiries on the portal (39.1 per cent vs. 30.4 per cent), only for Phuket to steal the title this year by a margin of 1.2 per cent. Chonburi’s enquiries peaked in April 2012 before steadily decreasing, while Phuket’s enquiries remained steady throughout the year. Is it simply because Phuket had higher quality properties on the market? Or with the country’s housing market back at full speed after the flooding, are buyers finding a new favourite?
"Judging by the data so far, Phuket is currently on track to become 2013’s most searched-for destination in Thailand. Will Pattaya fight back? Either way, one thing that isn’t in question is the country’s popularity: enquiries for Thai real estate on TheMoveChannel.com have almost trebled since 2010 and with searches for property in Thailand increasing on Google, demand is only set to keep on climbing."
Full infographic – http://www.themovechannel.com/news/2c572e21-515c/
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@allproperty.com.sg
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