The basis of Thailand's property market in the major resort areas relies on the strength of the tourism industry.

Phuket Meanwhile, Phuket has had no trouble recovering from the tsunami as there are currently 25 airlines offering direct flights and over 4 million tourists visited the island in 2006. There are ten brand-name hotels, including Raffles, Hyatt, Shangri-La, Peninsula Hotels and Four Seasons, which currently have new projects under development on the island selling very expensive villas thanks to their hotel brands.

Pattaya The major resort destinations in Thailand include Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin and Koh Samui. Last year Pattaya was the number one stop for 'top-of-the-line' visitors who stayed in 4 and 5 star hotels. Nearly 6 million visitors descended upon Pattaya in 2006. In fact there has been an annual increase of 10% since 2001. There are increasing numbers of tourists from China, Russia and Korea as well.

Koh Samui In the southern part of Thailand, Koh Samui has only one airline servicing the island, but that doesn't stop the classy tourists from visiting. In fact in 2006, Samui had over one million visitors mostly from the UK, USA, Germany and Australia.

Hua Hin / Cha Am In 2006 nearly 5,5 million affluent Thais, local expats and foreign tourists flocked to Hua Hin and Cha Am, as these popular 'something for everyone' resort areas are bursting with new developments.

2006 Condominium Market in Thai Resort Destinations

73% of the condominium market comes from Bangkok and the other 27% is from Resort Destinations. 44% of the resort market is attributed to Pattaya, 38% from Phuket, 14% from Hua Hin and 4% from Samui.

In December last year the average price/m of units sold in resort areas was just nearly 90,000 baht which is an increase of 39%. In resort areas the newly proposed investment regulations should have an effect on demand for condos by foreigners. Foreigners can own condos on a freehold basis with foreign units below 49% which will most likely charge premium prices regardless of whether or not the units are new or second-hand.

- The condo market in Thailand's resort areas is increasing as a result of strong tourism and foreign investment. The Thai government is currently considering increasing the foreign allocation for condo projects in selected areas. Additionally, many private real estate developers are urging the government to extend the current leasehold period of 30 years. The real estate sector is also asking Thai banks to extend mortgage loans to foreigners. Adding all of these elements into one equation, there is only one natural result : Thailand is the hottest destination in the world... and therefore, real estate in Thailand is booming!

Company Vauban is here to help you with our substantial amount of experience in the Real Estate business and expert knowledge of the Thai market. Our aim is to provide our clients with properties for both pleasure and investment. Imagine, a second dream home in an earthly paradise where you will live your life in the way you always wanted, while making a satisfactory return on your investment.

By specializing in the sale of Real Estate properties in Thailand, we can invest at the initial planning stage, in high quality projects, selected by ourselves and our partners worldwide, through our own independent board of Investment.

Make Thailand your next stop, contact us today to discover all of the possibilities.