New vs Old Condo
Ok, straight off the bat I would like to make it clear that when I’m talking about Phuket Condos Investment, I’m including apartments and/or “flats” (if you live in Chelsea). There are subtle differences between the two of course, and we’ll cover those in a future blog.
The landscape in the Phuket Condo Investment market has changed in the last 7-8 years. Previously, nice sizeable units were commonplace with average sizes being 105-120 sqm for 2 beds, 60-80 sqm for a 1 bedroom. Three-bed condos are a little rarer but sizes were generally around the 240 sqm and beyond.
What’s in the box?
Nowadays, it’s a little different. It’s all small, tiny and “cozy”, oh yeah keep in eye out for that word in the marketing brochures. But just how small are talking about? Well, 28 sqm – 32 sqm is standard for a 1 bedroom, 38sqm -50 sqm for 2 bedroom units. What about 3 bedroom units? Forget it, they are very rare, but, if you did manage to find one, it would most likely be around 70sqm – 90 sqm. So, if they are all this small they must be cheap right? Well, that’s an equally rare “yes” and “no” answer. Yes, they seem cheap for a unit, and “no” they are very expensive when you consider the price per sqm.
Let’s look at an example here, a lovely resale sea view apartment, spacious at 153 sqm, and the price per sqm is THB 52k per sqm. Or what about this 3 bedroom unit at just THB 45k per sqm. Resale larger condos usually offer much better value for money and are a lot more spacious if you are considering living in the property for more than 2 weeks or so. Arguably, these units are going to be in better locations as there was more of a choice of prime land and it was cheaper to build 10 years ago. The majority of newer condos and the off-plan small condos are a minimum of THB 100k per sqm and go to THB 150k (plus) per sqm very quickly. Ouch.
What’s the best Phuket condo investment?
Should this bother you as the buyer/investor? Yes and no (again). “Yes”, the newer units are not cheap when looking at the price per sqm, but usually they will come with some kind of guaranteed rental return over a fixed period of time and Common Area Management (CAM) fees are normally waived when taking part in a rental pool scenario.
The older and larger condos usually cost more in CAM fees due to the increased size and there is usually no garanteed rental pool to take advantage of.
So, the choice is yours, new or old, big or small they both come with pros and cons. The big deciding factor should always be, what are you buying it for, mainly living or investment. Then all of this becomes a lot clearer as living in a shoe box becomes very tiresome very quickly.
For more information on the Phuket Condo Investment market or finding the right property for you, email [email protected].
