by Peter Lloyd

I HAVE been an avid reader of global real estate articles this trip, because I have to sell some of my own in London.
     There was one article about British buyers of overseas property running into ‘significant difficulty’, with the usual shocking examples of fraud, naivety, risky investments and greed from emerging markets around the world (none from Thailand however), with grim photos of newly-poor investors lamenting huge losses.

     Then there was a very interesting article in a UK Sunday newspaper which listed Thailand as having the world’s third highest price rises in the first 3 months of this year recording a 2.7% increase (Jersey and Finland with 5.6% and 4% increases were above Thailand). I don’t know how they got their statistics, but let’s assume there is some proof to justify them, however they were collated.
     Worst performer was Dubai, with a 40% drop in prices, followed by Singapore with 16%, although Ireland didn’t feature in this article, and I know for a fact that the Irish real estate market has been hit very badly, with prices collapsing dramatically. Another survey I read reported US real estate prices down nearly 20% over the year.
     To give you an idea of the wild fluctuations in real estate agents moods, valuations and outlook in London, I was quoted two different “firm estimates” by the same real estate company for the same apartment I wished to sell, over a space of 3 weeks.

I think this one’s on the market

Incredibly, the second quote was $40,000 higher than the first one, only because people seem to be cheering up about the economy and real estate prices, and there had been a number of very positive reports on demand, prices and mortgage applications in the UK during the time between quotes, so suddenly everyone was becoming less negative.
     Similarly, I think it has recently become fashionable (and sensible) to talk down Thailand and its real estate markets, both at home and abroad, especially following the country’s self-inflicted wounds. But with no more bad news being beamed around the world, if it stays like this until high season, we may see an upturn in Pattaya’s real estate fortunes.
     One factor delaying a recovery in Pattaya is the big and growing inventory of unsold property here, with a glut of unsold units in many completed developments and in many other developments which are due to complete shortly. However the availability of these units and the willingness of sensible developers to do deals to get rid of them may make Pattaya attractive to buyers again.
     If the Thai Baht dramatically weakens against the world’s major currencies it may encourage more overseas buyers to invest in Pattaya’s real estate, although I think prices have to fall further, in order to make it more attractive to foreign buyers.
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                                                                           The “Crystal Triangle”

YOU'VE got to hand it to the boys and girls at The Tourism Authority of Thailand. They have a mountain to climb to attract more tourists, to explain why Thailand is still safe and still offers good value, and they stick at their task well, garnering considerable international publicity by coming up with imaginative phrases, cocktails and other good and bad PR stunts.
     The latest one to get international press attention was their imaginative rebranding of the area from Bangkok to Koh Samet and down to Kop Chang (including Pattaya of course) as an emerging tourist region called the “Crystal Triangle”, describing it as a “multifaceted region still relatively free of mass tourism”.
     They then paid (well, he was their guest) some bloke from an Aussie newspaper to come and visit it, and he wrote an interesting, upbeat article about his experience. What I liked most in his article were his comments on Pattaya. When he visited, the beach was spotless, and he obviously hadn’t noticed the double pricing at many of Pattaya’s attractions, probably because he hadn’t paid for anything himself.
     If the Tourism Authority of Thailand really wanted to help tourism in the region it could start by campaigning to ban the double tiered pricing system operated shamelessly by many attractions in the region.
     I decided a couple of years ago that I would never go to an attraction which charges foreigners more than Thais, nor recommend my friends to visit them. It is an unacceptable practice and it is very bad for business, especially in these straightened times. It should be stopped.
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                                                                      Do you really want to hurt me

Who Ate All the McDonalds ?

I WAS with a mate having my traditional pre-boozing meal of a McDonalds, in Hampstead, London, when two greasy, dodgy-looking blokes started taking photos through the window with long lenses. Vain as I am, I realised they couldn’t be trying to get shots of me in an unguarded moment, so I turned round to see who they were photographing.
     It was Boy George, the ex Culture Club singer, who had recently been released from prison for the distinctly Pattayaesque crime of having handcuffed and falsely imprisoned a rent boy.
     I hadn’t recognised him when he came in and walked past me, as he has become supersized on his prison diet, but as he left, he was pursued down the road by these two photographers, who were stalking their prey like hyenas. There was some thing threatening, seedy, and unsavoury about them, but Boy George didn’t seem to mind as I suppose it’s all good publicity for him.





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                                                                                     Thailand News

BY far the biggest Thailand news covered by foreign media recently was the tragic death in a Bangkok hotel of American actor David Carradine, in what looks like an auto-erotic accident but which his family thought might have been murder. Living in Pattaya we are used to reading about auto-erotic incidents going wrong. Even when there are circumstances surrounding the death which make suicide look unlikely, many people feel the police will generally call it suicide to close an awkward case, and there isn’t much families can do, because the crime scene has been totally compromised and probably not investigated thoroughly in the first place, as the rapid conclusion of suicide had been reached.
     But in Carradine’s case, if there are some circumstances suggesting murder, I am sure his family, already asking for FBI help, will not be so easily shaken off. However, incomprehension and grief can mean families are unwilling to accept the evidence in such high profile, lurid cases.
     The publication of a death scene photo of the dead man, still bound, in a Thai paper has also been greeted by a storm of revulsion and anger in the US. But again, sadly, living here, we are used to such horrors.
     Contact me at pattayatodaypete@yahoo.co.uk