EXPATS

List: China has over 50% of all foreign-owned condos in Thailand

 

 Friday, June 18, 2021 

 Over 50% of all foreign-owned condos in Thailand have Chinese buyers

A list was recently released to the media regarding condo ownership in Thailand and from what countries condo owners originated. Foreigners have purchased approximately 1.4 million condominiums throughout the country. Of those, the top 10 list showed that over half of all foreign-owned condos in Thailand hail from China.

Nearly 730,000 condominiums throughout Thailand are owned by Chinese nationals, just shy of 52% of all foreign-owned condos in Thailand. China topped the list by a huge margin with nearly 10 times more condos being owned by people from the nation than any other country. Figures like this help explain Thailand’s China-centric tourism schemes, often heavily focused on bringing in the Chinese new middle class and their tourism and investment money.

The second most common country for Thai condo ownership is Russia, with over 76,000 homes, about 5.4% of the total foreign-owned condos. France was third on the list, with about 57,500 condos throughout the Kingdom, just over 4%, followed closely by the United Kingdom at 4% with just over 56,000 condos owned.

Fifth on the list, with 41,767 condominiums own in Thailand, is the United States. The remainder of the top 10 list of foreign-owned condos is all countries whose citizens have purchased around 30,000 homes in Thailand each. Germany was sixth on the list, followed by Japan, then India and Taiwan. The top 10 list is rounded out by Australia.

The list was released in reference to a proposal by the Thai government to entice high-spending foreigners to come to invest their money in Thailand. The plan estimated they could bring in a trillion baht in foreign spending by targeting 1 million travellers with deep pockets in 4 categories.

One way they intend to draw foreigners in is with incentives and relaxed restrictions. These tourists will get a 10-year visa and be able to work without a permit while paying lower tax rates, and also be allowed to own land and properties. In exchange, they are expected to pour money into Thailand with business or investments, and one of the options is property investment, like buying a condo.

This top 10 list gives some insight into who has traditionally bought condos in Thailand in the past as tourism officials set their sites on attracting new foreign investors.