BANGKOK – Vichai Wiratkapan, acting director of the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), said that in the third quarter of 2023, the number of condominiums in Thailand transferred to foreigners was 3,365, an increase of 0.4 percent.
The value amounted to 17,048 million baht, 2 percent less than the previous period. This brings the total for the first nine months to 10,703 units worth 52,259 million baht, an increase of 37.6 percent and 31.6 percent respectively compared to the same period last year.
The percentage of condominiums purchased by foreigners as a percentage of total condominium purchases also increased by 13.6 percent or 23.3 percent.
The location with the most condominium ownership transfers by foreigners was Chonburi Province, at 41.7 percent. Chonburi has surpassed Bangkok, which has now fallen to second place at 37.5 percent. Phuket was in third place with 6.4 percent.
Chinese nationals continued to be the leading nationality with 4,991 units transferred nationwide in the first nine months, or 46.6 percent. Russians were in second place with 962 units, or 9 percent. In third place were the Americans with 422 units or 3.9 percent. Taiwan was in fourth place with 378 units or 3.5 percent. France was in fifth place with 372 units or 3.5 percent.
The average number of condominiums transferred to foreigners per quarter is around 3,500 units, which is higher than the pre-COVID level of around 3,300 units per quarter. This shows that foreigners are returning to Thailand and that demand for condominiums in the major provinces and key tourist destinations remains strong. Chinese and Russian nationals are the main buyers in the country.
Wiratkapan also said that if tourism expands more than it did this year in 2024, it is likely to lead to an increase in foreign buyers of housing. This could help to compensate for the still-weak recovery in Thai purchasing power.
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