Starting in 2019 Thailand has had many issues and these have ranged from air pollution added with political uncertainty and changes to the law with regards to property loans. There is also a shift to mixed commercial and residential property as well as a shift to leasehold property in the inner city. The government is also looking at encouraging development on the outskirts of the city. What does this year old for the market?
Thailand Property 2019
The year has started off with the issue of pollution and it has made the headlines for weeks. Pollution levels have been very high and there had been blame laid on just about everything. Sugar cane burning, car usage as well as the talk of all the building projects creating dust. These issues had been solved mainly by the weather changing as the wind picking up blowing the pollution away. I am sure this is not the last time we will hear about this issue.
Politics has an important role in Thailand and each party is also looking at foreign investment in Thailand. Investor sentiment will more likely show after the election and this has an effect on the property market as some people may hold off on purchases. The new laws coming in with regards to buying a second home for Thai nationals may suppress the local market and foreigner buyers might be their biggest option. This is why the election is so important.
Come the 1st April this year the new tighter mortgage lending rules for second homes comes into effect. This is going to hit speculative local buyers who have been buying second and third homes to place them into the rental market and then waiting for the property prices to rise and then sell it. There is of course the issue with higher transfer fees on property flipping however many are not discouraged by this extra fees. What this is however going to do in 2019 is to trim down local property speculation and we should be seeing more real property buyers who actually wish to live in the property. The new land and buildings tax, coming into effect on Jan 1, 2020 may also prove to be an issue. Speak to a lawyer in Thailand about new laws and their possible effects on your investment.
Foreigner buyers might be big this year however with the local politics as well as the global economy this can prove to be a bit of a hit and miss and nobody really knows how the global economics will pan out for the local Thai property market. How sustainable the foreign buyers’ market is going to be is clearly uncertain.
Other issues on the horizon is also the new Bangkok City Plan which is still in the planning stages which will be looking at property zoning laws which will take effect in 2020 which is next year. Smarter growth is what the plans aims to achieve however how this is going to work is still uncertain at this time. Newer developments will be taking this into account during the next stage of property developments and we will have to wait and see.
2019 may be an interesting year for the property market in Thailand.
