A flurry of marketing emails from Pattaya real estate agents is probably all you need to know about the current state of the property market in the Gulf of Thailand resort city.
Hit hard by the collapse of the Russian ruble, and already facing a possible oversupply situation in some areas and some sectors, “cheap” properties are being touted to buyers and investors in Thailand and beyond, where buyers from Russia are defaulting in the face of having to pay double what they originally budgeted for condominiums in Bangkok.
One look at the 12-month chart tracking the Thai baht versus the Russian rouble is again evidence of what any resort reliant on money from Russia is facing right now.
Some agents think Pattaya’s property sector needs a re-think, and perhaps more imagination in the way it is marketed. Certainly ‘cheap’ is not a word that most connected with the industry would be entirely happy with. Value-for-money springs to mind as a better alternative
Some quick Korean and Chinese language lessons wouldn’t be a waste of time for many developers and agents too, and more Asians will be looking for Thailand property as AEC 2015 approaches at the end of the year.
The worst thing agents and developers should be doing is … nothing. It’s a proven fact that in any downturn those who increase their marketing budget will gain a bigger slice of the business pie and also be better placed when things get better. Those who opt to reign in marketing and promotional budgets will have to spend two or three times as much when things pick up, just to stand still.
There is no easy answer to Pattaya’s predicament, but for sure the Russians – mostly – have gone and will not be returning for a while.
It’s time for developers and agents to start looking for new overseas markets for the thousands of unoccupied and unowned units in Pattaya – and a lot already have.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg