The search for the next big resort destination in Thailand is an absolutely big ask. An expansive country with 77 provinces and an amazing array of diverse geographical locations, Instagram-worthy aspects, and distinctly different nuances. Out of this brazen travel chaos, the endearing term ‘same same, but different’ was born and remains highly relevant.
Yet, one of the simple truths of emerging destinations remains the adage “you can’t stay there if you can’t get there”. Potential is one thing but reality bites when getting to it is just too painful for words. Here in Thailand, one of my favorite places is Koh Samui. It marches to its own drum beat, and the vibe is undeniable. Still, access is never easy, the cost to get there is on the high side, and options for access are limited.
Scanning the Gulf of Thailand, other bohemian beach islands including Koh Chang, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan all are lovely but suffer a similar challenge, limited transportation access. The search for a modern-day Robinson Crusoe can’t be this hard? Or can it?
The search for azure blue seas stretches of long white sand, and coconut-lined beaches brings me to Khanom. For so many travelers the mention of the name draws a blank stare and the perfunctory ‘where’? Set on the Southeastern Coast of Thailand’s mainland between Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat. On a clear day, you can see Koh Samui and the famed five islands on the horizon.
Perhaps the cherry on top for Khanom, is that it offers the same stunning beaches as Koh Samui but being on the mainland is a far simpler proposition for a holiday or second home. Drive-to destinations in Thailand during the pandemic and after have been a boom for travelers, and are now an even stronger draw card for hotel and real estate developers. Look at the success of Khao Yai and Hua Hin where nature, space, and accessibility are key ingredients in the mix.
One of preferred demand generators when evaluating resort destinations is airlift. Simply put, the magic carpet effect. Khanom is easily accessible to Surat Thani International Airport and Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport where Thailand’s Department of Airports (DoA) has upgraded infrastructure to double capacity.
Stepping back and looking at property in the area, there is still access to larger land parcels. According to leading Thai property portal FazWaz, investment-grade real estate opportunities with reasonable land cost basis reflect pricing of early stage development.
Based on C9 Hotelworks’ ongoing analysis of Thailand’s resort residential markets, a defined shift back to end-users and urge in second or holiday-home buyers has pushed the sector to the beginning of a new cycle. This signals an uptick in growth but unlike more developed markets like Phuket, Hua Hin, or Koh Samui with prime land parcels soaring, Khanom offers an accessible beach destination with considerably lower underlying land costs. It has airlift, and a well-developed road network.
Taking a final look at Khanom, one of the key success factors in a resort location is DNA and aspect. The memorable views of the nearby outer islands in the Gulf of Thailand give a strong sense of place. Moreso, the nature in the area is amazing, highlighted by an abundance of pink dolphins. If you want wow, you got it. Coming out of the pandemic the pick-up in demand for lifestyle properties is going in a single direction and that’s up. If you haven’t been to Thailand’s Southeastern coast, there is no better time to visit than right now.
One of the most notable transformations for both domestic and international travelers in Thailand post-pandemic has been the realization that the old-school beach holiday stereotype is out the window. Rivers, mountains, farms, or even a jungle trek are now the hot ticket. For those who went to the just-wound-up Wonderfruit, you’ve already caught the vibe, and it won’t go away.
One of the latest destinations in Thailand that are buzzing is Khao Yai. A quick two a half hour drive from Bangkok, it can best be summed up as a ‘drive in’ getaway. Moving into the adventure zone, or going back to nature is also about escaping the four walls of a traditional cookie-cutter hotel, complete with those miniature umbrella-topped welcome drinks.
Set to the tune of a road trip soundtrack, it’s high time to admire the great outdoors with a visit to Marasca Khao Yai. This is a new boho-chic getaway with a tasty collection of 18 glamping tents, glamper suites, villas, and one very, very cool glamper van.
If you want space, you got it. Nature, a posh little bolt hole in the woods and next to the stunning World Heritage registered Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai Forest Complex. Complete with hiking and biking trails, it’s a place to try and get lost in (and hopefully found). Wander by a waterfall and, indulge in the cool weather. So cool in fact, you might want to light up that personal firepit or dive into your wooden hot tub at the Marasca.
Meanwhile back to the mountain chatter, another red-hot escape is the spanking new Intercontinental Khao Yai Resort which was designed by the creative icon Bill Bensley. This is a thematic-styled outing and homage to travel by rail. It’s romantic, has flair with all the mod-cons, and definitely goes over the top as only Bensley can.
Taking a step ahead is a fast-developing trend in the area, the country home property market. Bolstered by the ‘Zoom Boom’ and work-from-home shift, city-weary Bangkokians are increasingly buying or building estate homes in the area at a frenzied pace according to leading Thai online real estate marketplace FazWaz.
For Thailand’s adventure set, another top journey out of the box and into the tent is the 9 Hornbills Tented Camp on Koh Yao Yai Island in Phang Nga Bay. A quick trip from Phuket International Airport to the Ao Po Grand Marina and a chance to unwind on a scenic boat trip lands you at one of the country’s most picture-perfect locations. Small, intimate, and stunning views of the famed Bond islands create a fine opportunity to reconnect with nature.
With glamping now coming into more and more Thai holiday destinations, one of Asia’s best glamping tent and fit-out suppliers is Bali’s Escape Nomade whose motto is aptly summed up as ‘Living Without Walls’. Their designs, quality, and attention to detail are world-class.
With that, I have to get back to tending my firepit at Marasca, a name that means ‘cherry on top’, Now if I can just find a bottle of single malt scotch, I have a sky full of stars to gaze up at, and no box in sight.
This article also appeared in TheThaiger
Phuket’s Banyan Tree is rolling out two new products under their Grand Residences estate.
Ten premium oceanview villas are priced in the THB100-150 million range and 40 seaview condominiums with median pricing of THB85 million.
Located within the Laguna Phuket integrated destination resort, the group is expected to bring more real estate products to the market in the near future.
Given an uplift in villa demand on the island, developers are anxiously gearing up new developments to catch the surge in demand.
Leading Japanese hotel operator Hoshino has inked a deal for a luxury resort in Niseko with developer Zekkei Properties.
Located in a prime ski-in and ski-out location in Upper Hirafu Village, the 62-unit hotel and residence property will be named Hoshinoya Lodge Niseko.
With one of Hirafu’s best locations, the site was formerly occupied by the Yamada Onsen and was the first onsen hotel in the area.
An opening date is planned in late 2026. with construction starting in the summer of 2023.
Zekkei is a well-established developer with a strong track record of luxury properties in Japan, Thailand, China and Hong Kong SAR.
To download and read C9 Hotelworks recent Niseko Tourism and Property Market Review 2022 CLICK
Japan’s winter ski hotspot Niseko is set for a strong post-pandemic market rebound due to one simple thing – airlift. Timing is everything and the key touch point for airlines everywhere, moving out of a prolonged period of grounded commercial aircraft, has been to get them up and flying again onto high-demand routes.
In a right time, right place scenario, news of the 11 October 2022 lifting of restrictions of travelers to Japan and seasonal timing of airline winter schedules has created a potential windfall for Hokkaido’s international aviation gateway New Chitose Airport.
Singapore Airlines’ low-cost airline Scoot jumped the gun and was the first to announce a return of winter schedule flights commencing November. More recently Thai Airways will resume daily flights from the first of December this year. Last week Thai AirAsia X also made public plans to restart the Bangkok to New Chitose service in December.
The Thailand Hokkaido connection is driven by a strong Thai domestic ‘snowseeker’ market, and also Bangkok as an Asia hub for the broader international market transiting to Japan given favorable airfares. One key issue for Thais is whether a visa waiver will be put in place with the new reopening program, given a cost issue of approximately THB1500 and paperwork requirements. Japan has been slow to roll out extensive guidelines for the reopening which is creating some unrest for hotels and tour organizations in Japan.
Under a new mantra of ‘have plane, will travel’ the alpine destination of Niseko has seen winter bookings come at a blistering pace. Property developers in the destination are reporting a sharp uplift in inquiries given resort real estate is often an emotional buy, and potential purchasers want to get their boots on the ground, given the extended period they were unable to visit.
The newly released C9 Hotelworks market research report Niseko Tourism and Property Market Review gives the forward outlook that the combination of the favorable dollar-yen exchange rate and pent-up demand will see a return to high transaction levels from this winter through the rest of 2023.
A selection of properties creating a buzz at the moment range from the luxury ski-in and ski-out hotel and branded residence development Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, Zeikki Properties Intuition, Hinode Hils at Niseko Village, HakuVillas and the Andaru Collection. One key destination trait of Niseko remains that majority of tourism accommodation is in luxury and upscale condominiums and vacation homes and not traditional big box hotels.
Despite its airlift and demand trajectory, one immediate challenge for hotels and rental accommodations is how to gear up staffing levels for the upcoming winter, given the market typically relies on a large influx of foreign seasonal workers. Expect a strain on service levels for this season but moving forward the critical mass of international brands and impressive new developments bodes well for Asia’s dream ski destination.
If you are interested in branded residences, vacation ownership or fast-emerging adventure tourism, glamping/tented camps, and treehouse market, there is an event you won’t want to miss – AOCAP.
AOCAP 2022 will take place 18-19 October in Singapore at the Fairmont & Swissotel The Stamford.
Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks will lead a session focusing on the outdoor industry featuring Karl Plunkett, Owner & Director, Eco Structures Australia, Michael Sagild, Co-Founder & President, Cloud Collective, Aanvi Singhania, Head of Sales & Marketing, Escape Nomade, Louis Thompson, CEO, Nomadic Resorts.
Another session of interest is resort development trends that will dive into the shift to wellness, reinventing all-inclusive, and repurposing of non-performing hotel facilities.
For more information and how to register CLICK
Japan’s upcoming tourism reopening on 11 October has created an onslaught of bookings for the winter season in Asia’s leading alpine destination – Niseko. As the favorable dollar yen exchange rate and the low-interest regime have spurred investors’ interest. C9 Hotelworks takes a closer look at this dynamic marketplace.
Despite the government’s closed border policies shutting down the overseas market for over two years, Niseko’s domestic tourism has been resilient. In Q12022, total visitors to Niseko were 288,670, growing by 14% compared to the same period in 2021.
Niseko’s winter tourism market and high-value foreign segment is connected to the real estate sector. As a result, commercial land prices in 2022 decelerated. This trend was also seen in residential land prices, where growth was 12% in 2022, down from 40% in 2020, and 25% in 2021. Comparing Niseko to other Japanese alpine resort areas, Furano was 18% and Hakuba 17%.
Hanazono, Hirafu, and Niseko Village/ Higashiyama remain the top three destinations in the project pipeline. There remains a strong push for luxury projects outside of the mainstream Hirafu area driven by the lack of prime land and rising prices.
Two factors that may hamper wider destination growth are aging ski facilities and potential changes to the area development and more restrictive zoning by the government.
In C9 Hotelworks opinion the restart of Japan’s tourism sector and favorable dollar yen exchange rate will revitalize the transaction market in the short to medium term, as pent-up demand will induce a market tailwind.
To read and download C9 Hotelworks Niseko Tourism and Property Market review CLICK
As Thailand’s monsoon season continues with what seems to be an endless line-up of thunderstorms and massive rain showers, the real story in Thai real estate is the baht.
The Thai currency is precariously sitting at a 16-year low against the US dollar and has depreciated by nearly twelve percent this year. As the exchange rate hovers near the 38 baht to the dollar marker, the best the market can say is, to expect continued volatility. In other words, it may very well get worse.
Heading down South to the resort-driven real estate sector in Phuket, the mounting global economic and political turmoil has somehow created a sense of calm in the eye of the storm. Tourism which is the leading economic indicator has partially rebounded with broad hotel occupancies in the fifty percent range. More importantly, airlift is on a recovery trajectory as direct international flights are returning, spurred by the upcoming winter schedules in October.
What is perhaps the more notable storyline though is Phuket’s rapid real estate trajectory which has seen an influx of foreign buyers. Winding back to the two-year pandemic era and main market movers were wealthy Thai villas buyers snapping up the stock of luxury properties as second or holiday homes. The period also witnessed an inflow of expatriates from Hong Kong, Singapore, and even from as far away as North America, with the focus being on longer-term property rentals.
Over the past six months, as both Asia and the world have experienced a constant stream of countries reopening to travel, with the latest change of rules in Japan and Hong Kong, real estate on the resort island has gone into high gear.
Looking inside the numbers and analysis by C9 Hotelworks market research, key buyer segments that are leading the pack are end-user buyers who are looking to relocate to Phuket in an unclear worldwide political and economic environment, high-net-worth individuals, and family offices snapping up properties amid growing portfolios and a vibrant luxury and upscale rental market, with demand outpacing supply.
Speaking to leading Thailand online property marketplace Chief Executive Officer Brennan Campbell of FazWaz he says “the current transaction activity has become a feeding frenzy. Month-to-month trading levels are rising faster than the floodwaters in Northeast Thailand.”
And continues with “eyeing the remainder of the year and into 2023, the eventual reopening of Mainland China is expected to supercharge the sector and trends across a broader spectrum that will include institutional and private investors, lifestyle seekers, and families looking to relocate. The latter continues to be driven by a growing number of new international schools under development and ongoing fragmentation into micro-communities across Phuket.”
As we move into the final quarter of 2022, conversations on the ground with island brokers are punctuated on how the ongoing Thai baht exchange rate differential is creating a call to action for buyers and creating more competitive deal tension in transactions. While for sellers, exchange rate mitigation of currency risk has been pushed to the back of the deals given hyper-growth in market prices for their properties.
In the latter months of the year, the annual rainy season will gradually diminish and thunder clouds clear, but for Phuket’s real estate market, the rising migration to the island is expected to continue as property buyers and investors look to shelter in the mounting global storm of uncertainty.
Urban flight and a continuous stream of incoming lifestyle residents to Phuket are dramatically shifting Southeast Asia’s leading resort real estate market landscape. The new island property mantra is dominated by surging demand for single-family homes and larger condominiums.
Phuket has witnessed a sharp change from 2019 when over 9 million tourists sought a place in the sun, highlighted by soaring numbers of Mainland Chinese. At that juncture, entry-level investment properties sprouted up though-out Phuket, mostly in large block condominiums. Many were hotel branded and promised high levels of guaranteed returns.
COVID19 cooled off that trend in short order and even the foreign buyers who have purchased off-plan properties were unable to visit for handovers of completed units. For the island’s brokerage community, the change of faces resulted in a lift in rental demand for villas and an uptick in purchases for completed homes. Thais from Bangkok flocked to Phuket, and expat families from Hong Kong, Singapore, and further afield were lured by a strong lifestyle community of international schools, hospitals, marinas, golf courses, and the promise of slower, outdoor-oriented living.
Today nowhere epitomizes the change in real estate demand than the rising resort West Coast area of Greater Cherntalay. Often referred to as Laguna, which is the namesake of the leading integrated resort, the development virtually rewrote the island’s map.
C9 Hotelworks latest market research has taken a dive into the key players and trends in the area and emerging micro bedroom community districts that are reflecting the highest level of real estate transaction activity. According to new data, there are five main boutique villa property developers who are amassing impressive levels of completed and sold-out projects.
These groups are led by Phuket Exclusive Development (Wallaya), AAP Architecture Properties and Development (Botanica), Pearl Island Property (Anchan), Attitude Club (Mono), and Bangtao Paradise Construction (Trichada). To date, they have amassed nearly 50 projects with over 1,100 units. The latter name in parenthesis is the developer’s flagship brand.
What has been impressive from a business standpoint is these groups have been above to evolve and grow pricing points over relatively short timelines. For some, who played in the THB15-20 million level, their developments now are in the price band of USD30-80 million. This of course represents a critical change in the affluence of incoming buyers.
Another key trend that C9 Hotelworks research reports are that many real estate buyers have moved to not only residential properties but into commercial units, that can be leased out to restaurants and bars, offices, and retail shops. One developer that is centric to this is Boon Yongsakul of Boat Pattana. The group has unleashed an innovative model of uplifting traditional Thai shophouse strata-titled units and gained enormous pricing gains by modernizing them together with amenities in the Boat Avenue micro-community. These recurring investment properties are being snapped up quickly by both Thai and foreign buyers.
Turning to the resort-grade condominium market, the past few years have seen this sector splinter into two segments. There remains a market for entry-level investment type units as can be seen by the strong take-up rates of lowest-priced properties at developments with median pricing at THB5 million.
On the opposite end are end-users taking up one and two-bedroom units with a median price range of THB9-15 million. This segment is either younger individuals or couples looking for more spacious living and empty-nest older couples who in some cases are trading down as their children move away, or want a second/holiday home. This trend has been demonstrated in demand for larger multi-bedroom units at Laguna Beachside and Skypark.
Taking a step back to access the longer-term growth of Phuket prime West Coast real estate, clearly, there is a move inland as there are strong barriers to entry for oceanfront and seaview land. Micro areas are continuing to witness growth but as land prices appreciate, new areas heading both further inland and North will see more development. A new set of international schools on the outskirts of Cherngtaly and retail lifestyle malls like the new Robinsons are setting the stage for urbanization and redevelopment of mid-rise buildings on main roads.
Speaking with Brennan Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of leading Thailand brokerage group FazWaz who says “the pandemic has disrupted the mass investment property trend and both domestic and macro-economic and political elements have been the trigger for higher levels of transaction activity and growth in property prices. We have never been this busy.”
Assessing market trends and data, C9 Hotelwork’s view of the West Coast property market remains favorable given the increasing numbers of end users and full-time and part-time residents. We have seen a shift in what was an overheated speculative marketplace into a more grounded and fundamentally sound island real estate sector. As the Thai baht is expected to breach the THB38 to USD1 rate in the fourth quarter of the year we expect strong inward levels of foreign investment and transaction activity.
