Thailand's oldest seaside resort has never sought international recognition. It has continued to provide a peaceful and relaxed sanctuary in a picturesque environment that comes with a true sense of historical identity.The Hua Hin house market is booming. Over the past twelve months, many new housing developments have started up in Hua Hin. It is estimated that in Hua Hin there is something around 1,500 new homes under construction and the large majority are not located close to the sea.
"Over the last year Hua Hin has begun to boom," says Mr. Moore, a real estate agent. "People looking for retirement homes seem to be investing early. They have caught on to the fact that prices are going to increase rapidly over the next few years, they already are. I'm finding probably about 40 per cent of my traffic at the moment is from people intending to use the home as a holiday home over the next few years with a view to retiring here permanently."
Projects initially involved building homes for tourists who wished to settle down in Hua Hin. There were only a handful of developers and these almost all Thai. The development industry quickly grew, and soon large plots of land were being bought from locals and divided into plots for sale. As land prices skyrocketed resulting from the tourist boom, large property development firms with huge investment funds stepped in. Now there are many developments all over Hua Hin, not all are Thai owned or operated. Hua Hin developers are targeting up-market buyers - therefore houses are built to higher standards. Also most of the developments are not on the beach front.
Hua Hin's property market is attractive to both Thai and foreign investors especially upper-medium priced condominiums, according to the real estate firm Knight Frank Chartered (Thailand).The company's research shows that 18 condominium projects with 1,732 units in Hua Hin were launched this year. They are priced between 30,000 and 100,000 Baht per square metre and 75 % had been sold. Thai buyers made up 70% of total purchasers and foreign investors 30%. 'A new trend sees more Thai buyers buying into resort properties for the sole purpose of leasing to foreigners. Sustainable growth in the Hua Hin condominium market for the rest of the year is anticipated, driven by Thai buyers seeking lifestyle properties and affluent foreign investors. The demand has pushed the average asking price up by 10-20% and improved the absorption rate in the past two years.
The housing market will continue to rise supported by, higher quality materials and strong demand from Thai visitors, retirees and expats from Bangkok. Let us not forget the highway between Bangkok and Hua Hin expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
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