Paradise City Property has now been open in Pattaya just a matter of weeks and has a staff of four.  But the aim is to offer a country wide service in the medium term.  There is already a base in Hua Hin, another planned for Cha-am and a further possibility on Ko Samui.    
  
“Hua Hin traditionally has been different from Pattaya’s property scene,” suggests Gavin.  “Three years ago Scandinavians dominated the market there and the client base tended to be older, many of them golfing enthusiasts.  Pattaya was always more diverse and the infrastructure more advanced.  But there are massive building programmes now going on in Hua Hin and the differences from here are getting less all the time.”

   As regards the eastern seaboard as a whole, he feels the future is bright with infrastructure improving all the time, howbeit slowly, and the new airport soon beckoning lots of arrivals.  “It’s not only Pattaya and Jomtien in the frame now and Ban Saray, for example, is going to be the investment success story of the next few years.”

   He points out that condos can be still be bought by foreigners both outright or by using a company in which they are a minority shareholder.  As regards villas and houses, farangs can lease land for 30 years with an option to renew up to 90. “The recent restatement by the Thai authorities about nominee companies has caused some confusion,” admits Gavin, “but there are fully legal routes available to foreign buyers and there are plenty of them around.”

   The company has substantial listings throughout the area.  Gavin is particularly keen at the moment on Kinaree Estate, on Siam Country Club Road, and Siam Gardens, next to Siam golf course. Both these communities offer delightful and spacious living and are suitable for personal buyers and investors. 

   “The market in Pattaya is getting younger all the time and the old stereotype of buyers and sellers being mainly old male retirees is rapidly dying out.  It’s not only Europeans who are investing here, whether to live in or to rent out their condos and villas, but we are now seeing strong interest from Asians, especially Indians.  This is in line with the cosmopolitan atmosphere which is the resort today.”  For all your property needs, whether buying or selling, you can contact Paradise City Property on 038 373 966 or call in their offices opposite Carrefour.  Their website is at www.paradisecityproperty.com

Hua Hin now catching up with Pattaya

Paradise City Property at the forefront

by Barry Kenyon

   The most exciting provincial property theme of 2007 is proving to be the growing symmetry between Pattaya and Jomtien on the east coast and Hua Hin and Cha-Am on the west coast.  Traditionally, Pattaya has been seen as the hectic fun resort whilst Hua Hin has always seemed more reserved and even dainty.
 
   In fact, until recently, most property investment in the Hua Hin area was by Thai nationals.  But all that is now changing fast as farang investors and home hunters discover the delights of the provincial capital Paradise City, as Hua Hin is scheduled to be renamed once the Cha-Am and Sam Roy Yod national park becomes Thailand’s 77th province.  An announcement is expected later this year.

   Everyone knows that Pattaya has undergone gigantic redevelopment in the last few years. Sports facilities have expanded almost beyond belief and there’s a lot of emphasis on high class shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and entertainment.  The property boom has been particularly noticeable in high-end, luxury apartments and villas.  The resort’s image and profile have been transformed out of all recognition.

   Less widely known are the recent changes in Hua Hin.  Every major retailer is now represented there as are most of the hotel chains including Hilton, Evason, Sofitel, Marriott, Sheraton and Holiday Inn amongst others.  Golf is a major attraction with some of the biggest names including Royal Hua Hin, Black Mountain, Springfield, Imperial Lake View and Majestic Creek with four more glorious courses scheduled to be built in the area. 
   Paradise City Property now has offices in both Pattaya and Hua Hin (and potentially in Phuket too) and is in process of drawing the two cities together in terms of property potential and marketing product.  Gavin Perfect, managing director in Pattaya, says “Even though Hua Hin is a long way behind Pattaya in relation to the amount of development to date, it has a great infrastructure and, with the completion of the Bangkok to Hua Hin expressway later this year, communications are going to be quick and road-user friendly.”

   Gavin adds that once you leave Cha-Am and pass through Hua Hin, all the way to Parnburi, it can be safely predicted there’s going to be one large coastal city with very distinct local areas as well as terrain.  Chuck Heck, Paradise City Property’s managing director in Hua Hin, points to the eight different condominium projects scheduled to start in 2007.  “Some are fully serviced with a guaranteed rental return” says Chuck, “and others are designed to meet the needs of retirees.  The growth in the condo market is quite a new phenomenon in Hua Hin.”

   One of the key ways Paradise City Property is using to bring the east and west coasts together is by close collaboration with Pattaya Trader and Thailand’s Property Trader, a leading advertising medium for property listings and business opportunities.  Starting in February, the mid-monthly Property Trader will be distributed ever more extensively in Hua Hin and all advertising in the area will be channelled through Pattaya City Property.  It’s a bold and well thought-out marketing strategy.

   Until recently, such farang buying interest as there was in Hua Hin real estate was largely Scandinavian.  Swedes in particular were used to leasehold agreements back home and adopted this method when investing in property over here. Matters have been very different in Pattaya which has been traditionally more popular with the British and the Germans.  Given the recent Thai government restrictions on the establishment of companies for the purchase of villas and land, the use of leasehold arrangements is becoming much more common in Pattaya too.  “It’s just one of the ways in which the two areas can learn from each other,” says Gavin.

   Historically, it’s true to say that Pattaya and Hua Hin have not often been usefully compared like-to-like. It’s the differences that have been stressed.  And, of course, there are significant differences to be seen, not least the presence and impact of the Klai Kangwon palace, built as a summer residence in the 1920s, and now a popular home of His Majesty the King.  Then there’s the undoubted reality that Hua Hin is now entering a property boom period rather than sustaining one which began a decade or so ago.  Pattaya City Property, you can be sure, intends to be up there at the forefront of the new property realities.