By Andrew Batt:
Local government officials in Pattaya have petitioned the Thai government in a bid to relax the laws on foreign property ownership of condominiums in the Gulf of Thailand city.
Foreign ownership of condos throughout Thailand is limited to 49 percent of the space in any single building. The city reportedly wants to increase the limit to 70 percent, especially for condominiums in the higher echelons of the market where the 49 percent limit has been reached.
Pattaya is popular with foreign buyers, especially those from elsewhere in Southeast Asia and from Eastern Europe. The city wants to position itself at a major Asian destination ahead of the forming of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
City officials fear that the inability of many Pattaya condominium blocks to sell to overseas buyers and investors will mean it will be unable to take advantage of the economic benefits of the planned South East Asian free trade area.
Pattaya’s Deputy Mayor recently told reporters: “Pattaya needs to get ready for the AEC. If we wait until 2015 it may be too late as other countries in Asean are now preparing for the single regional common market. Pattaya has much to offer as a location for Asian industrial and service businesses, but if there is nowhere for management to live those businesses may look elsewhere in Asia such as Malaysia or Vietnam.”
Andrew Batt, Regional Group Editor for PropertyGuru, added: “Changed to Thailand’s foreign property ownership laws have been deliberated and debated for many years. The current Yingluck government has so far showed no signs of considering any changes, and I would imagine that other destinations that are popular with foreign buyers will be hammering at the government’s door if a relaxation was granted to Pattaya.”
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