Demand growing for luxury property in Asia

Despite the credit squeeze that’s affecting much of the world’s financial system, these are exciting times for the luxury property market in Thailand and other emerging Asian countries.

“Sure, 55,000 new mortgage defaults in California over a couple of months shocked the system, but sales of US$1 Million-plus properties are still very strong in Asia” says Tom Travers, Managing Director of Phuket-based Indigo Real Estate, who’s attending the Annual Luxury Real Estate Membership Conference in Vancouver, September 29th through October 2nd at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

“In Asia there is no mortgage market in luxury property, all deals are made in hard currency and this adds to their resilience”, states Travers, a Canadian-born real estate agent who relocated to Phuket three years ago. “The supply of luxury property only started in earnest over the last couple of years meaning continued under supply for high quality resort-managed villas and beachfront property.”

As an example Travers points to the initial offering of nine villas in a seaside development on Phuket’s Naithon Beach called the ISTANA which sold out in 30 days. The large 3 or 5 bedroom luxury villas on 17,000 ft² to 35,000 ft² plots sold for up to US$1.1 Million.

Overseas real estate investors are indicating with their wallet that some of the best opportunities are outside traditional American and European markets. These investors have discovered the differences global real estate offers over their domestic real estate markets.

“International real estate has a better chance of appreciating faster than domestic real estate and it’s a nice way to hedge against a domestic market downturn”, says Travers. “It’s a smart and relatively safe way for investors to move some of their assets overseas.”

International real estate also offers the investor a personal retreat as a part-time residence or vacation destination while generating nice rental returns. The trend of global migration to areas with better weather, less pollution and slower paced lifestyle, coupled with lower real estate prices and lower cost of living, has also added to the appeal.

“It’s now feasible to live, work and retire anywhere in the world you desire and people are doing so” adds Travers. “Investors who have identified this trend will be in a very good position to profit from these oversea investments in the future.”

Travers picks the following as Asia’s top three hottest luxury property destinations:

1. Phuket, Thailand: “In Asia there is no place that compares to Phuket in terms of offering five-star beachfront availability with solid infrastructure and access to an international airport and world-class hospitals, golfing and shopping. The Phuket property market is proving very attractive to people looking for pure investment opportunities, holiday home purchasers and business buyers alike. Five-star resort operators coming in the near future include The Taj Group, The Four Seasons, Raffles, Hyatt Hotels, GHM Hotels, Jumeirah Group, Six Senses and W Hotels.”

2. Natai Beach, Phang Nga, Thailand: “Natai Beach is quickly becoming known as “greater Phuket” with a locale just 25 kilometers from the Phuket International Airport. It’s perfect for tropical nature lovers wanting to live among national parks, waterfalls, sparsely populated islands and hundreds of kilometres of untouched, pristine beaches, but who still want to be a short taxi ride to Phuket’s world-class restaurants, shopping centers and golf greens.”

3. China Beach, Hoi An, Vietnam: “Vietnam’s famous China Beach, voted by Forbes magazine as one of the world’s ten most beautiful beaches, is going to see a big boom in master plan developments and world-class golf courses in the next year. Hoi An is a colourful and well preserved traditional Asian trading port with an exciting fusion of cultures dating from the 15th to 19th century. The ancient town’s influence reflects indigenous Vietnamese culture, with Chinese and French colonial buildings combining to create this unique UNESCO World Heritage listed site.”

For more information visit: indigore.com.