Sale prices of Hua Hin property have hit an average of 6.5 million baht this year – a near 10 percent jump on 2020 – as expats and Thais swap city life during a pandemic for a beachside retreat.
When the virus first emerged last year average sale prices dropped to 5.9 million baht, according to Lazudi data, as sellers in need of fast cash or keen to offload properties they could no longer travel to offered heavy discounts.
But the distressed sales have cleared allowing the market to flicker back to life, driven by city dwellers inside Thailand making the jump to beach life.
The market has reshaped with holiday makers and overseas buyers staying away as the pandemic drags on and hits global travel.
But Thai and expat buyers have stepped into the gap, seizing the opportunity offered by ‘new normal’ of remote work to leave Bangkok and set up near the sea.
Push factors of pollution and lack of space in the capital city combined with the pull of improved roads, airport expansion, rail and infrastructure as well as a range of property types at attractive prices, are luring buyers southwards to the royal retreat of Hua Hin.
Most expat sales (81 percent) are of villas to buyers charmed by spacious living set inside gated compounds offering swimming pools, security and privacy.
For that ‘landed property’ market Hua Hin offers value for money compared to other well-established beachside areas such as Pattaya, Phuket, Samui, while constantly improving international schools, hospitals, endless golf course options, malls and a buzzing restaurant scene are making it a strong choice for families.
For Thais, the market splits between those seeking cheaper, smaller condo units close to the beach – in the 900k to 2.5 million baht range – and the luxury end of new, large beachfront condos and detached homes which go from 16 million to 80 million baht. Overall the average property enquiry has nudged up to 9.9 million baht so far this year, well above the 8 million baht pre-pandemic average in 2019.
