By Andrew Batt:
Pattaya property buyers and investors have been urged to exercise caution as some developers in the Gulf of Thailand city are struggling to get their projects off the ground.
In its Thailand Condominium Focus report, listed developer Raimon Land noted that construction of 3,258 units was suspended in the year ending Q2 2012. During the coming three years some 28,892 units are expected to be completed.
The majority of the suspended units were in low-rise, non-beachfront locations which struggled to attract sufficient pre-sales and, in turn, finance to allow the project to proceed.
Simon Derville, Deputy Vice President of Raimon Land, predicted as many as 10,000 units could face similar problems during the next three years. Those most susceptible, he said, were from developers with no previous track record and no brand image.
He said: "If you are buying from someone you have never heard of, you should definitely double check, ask a lot of questions and use due diligence,” highlighting incidents where developers have launched projects on land they do not own and without securing finance for construction.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor for PropertyGuru, said: “Buyers and their lawyers should always conduct due diligence, and any possible land ownership or financing issues should be highlighted at this stage.”
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