Phuket property boom fuelled by Russians and Asia-based expats

Growing interest from Russian expats and expats working in Singapore and Hong Kong has boosted property sales in Phuket, according to the Bangkok Post.

Meanwhile, property buyers from traditional markets such as the UK are still picking up the slack due to the impact of the global financial crisis.

Piya Sosothikul, Managing Director of Phuket-based Erawana Co, noted minimal local demand, although sales for the first half of the year rose 25 percent year-on-year.

Piya expects the market to remain solid for at least 12 to 18 months. He is, however, unsure that the market can replicate its 2006 peak, when it topped sales at US$334.31 million (THB10 billion).

Aside from the still-weak economies in Europe and North America, a potential rebound is being hampered by the lack of consumer confidence. The majority of home buyers who made large down payments are unable to obtain refunds on their condos and villas, after 29 of the 168 projects failed.

This hampers speedy recovery for the Europeans, who were the major buyers prior to the financial crisis in 2008.

He said Erawana will launch 15 villas at Tanode 3 in the Laguna area, valued at US$10 million (THB300 million), before the end of this month.

At the start of this year, the property developer also launched the five-villa Peykaa, with villas valued at US$33,400 (THB1 million) each. To date, it has sold 20 percent of both projects. The developer also expects to gain approximately US$6.68 million (THB200 million) in sales each year.

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