Overseas interest in Thailand property investments declined slightly during May, according to searches for overseas property conducted on one of Europe’s top overseas property websites.
After rising for three consecutive months, the Kingdom recorded a minor decline in share of enquiries, decreased from 4.61 percent in April to 3.61 percent last month, but still placing it above popular favourites Brazil, Canada, France and even the United Arab Emirates.
Thailand ranked in sixth place by searches from overseas property buyers, down two places from last month, but remains the only Southeast Asian nation in the top 15 ranked countries.
After a year of instability, Thailand returned to the Top 10 in February 2015, before rising into the top five, where it remained for two months. It then tumbled out of the top five in May 2015 as the country faces competition from Turkey for the coveted fourth spot.
Elsewhere overseas property investors are still in live with the American dream, according to the monthly survey published by TheMoveChannel.com.
Foreign buyers appeared to have woken up earlier this year, as demand for U.S. property plummeted to an all-time low in February 2015. America’s share of enquiries halved month-on-month, as rising prices, the strong dollar and low inventory left the country less attractive than Europe’s ultra-affordable destinations.
It was only the second time since July 2013 that the USA was the not the most popular country on the overseas property website, but Spain continued to dominate for another two months, holding the number one slot in the Top of the Props chart through to April 2015.
In May, though, investors went back to America. In real terms, US property enquiries on TheMoveChannel.com jumped 51 percent month-on-month as the country’s share of activity on the portal rose from 5.78 percent to 8.49 percent.
Spain slipped into second place, its share of enquiries falling from 9.72 percent to 6.66 percent. France’s share of enquiries also decreased, as the country fell from sixth place to 10th in the Top of the Props chart. Europe, though, remains a key driver of activity on the website with Spain, Portugal, Italy continuing to make up three of the top five destinations.
Dan Johnson, Director of TheMoveChannel.com, said: “The American Dream is not over for foreign buyers. The country’s rising house prices and recovering economy has seen domestic U.S. buyers return to the property ladder in greater numbers, but overseas investors remain active in key hotspots.
Florida remains a central part of the USA’s appeal to international buyers, but Detroit is increasingly the market of choice: demand for property in Michigan overtook the Sunshine State in May 2015 for the first time since October 2014.
The U.K.-based website claims 800,000 overseas listings from more than 100 countries around the world.
Although Thailand’s position declined last month, the fact is that the Kingdom is moving ahead in terms of infrastructure projects. Ones that were sgoing nowhere prior to last year’s coup and nw getting underway.
Property prices in most parts of Thailand have shown no indication of any declines, and anyone who invested in the country five years ago will be extremely unlucky not to be sitting on a healthy 40 percent+ capital appreciation.
Foreign buyers are still active, but their demographic appears to have shifted from Europe to other parts of Asia, as well as from India, China and the Middle East.
Certainly, the number of foreign buyers on the ground in Bangkok has shown no signs of faltering, according to agents who monitor these figures closely.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
