Thailand has come a long way in the last half-century in terms of how liberally foreigners can invest in local real estate. Read on to see how it has evolved from some of the first legal purchases back in 1979.
1979 was a big year for Thailand’s real estate industry. It was the year that put Thailand on the map, so to speak, for foreigner investors. It was the year of the Condominium Act; a statute allowing foreigners to legally purchase freehold condominiums under their own name. The historical constitutional change marked the country’s first true introduction to foreign investors, and just months later, Thailand began experiencing the beginning of its first real estate boom.
1980 – 1993 The 13 years between 1980 and 1993 were exciting ones for Thailand’s real estate market, as the country’s burgeoning economy attracted many people into property investment. In 1988 Thailand welcomed the first international real estate brand to the local industry, which began serving the new influx of foreign buyers. Other international companies started to take notice of the global attention Thailand was receiving and followed suit by setting their own corporate offices.
1997 It was almost becoming a trend for foreign real estate companies to expand into Thailand, but with the Asian Economic Crisis in 1997 came a lack of confidence in the market and those international real estate brands either had to close their doors completely or heavily scaled back on business to wait out the crisis’ three-year storm.
1999. Despite the poor economic climate at the time, 1999 gave foreigners another investment incentive, with a major loophole. Prior to 1998 a Thai woman who married a foreigner would automatically lose her right to purchase land in Thailand, however she could retain any land that she owned prior to marrying the foreigner. In 1999 the regulation changed to allow Thai national’s married to foreigners the right to purchase land.
2000 was the year the world saw $2 billion USD being invested into Thai property. As the global industry took notice, confidence in the Thai market grew while property investment prices in Thailand remained considerably low (compared to other Southeast Asian locations), and once again foreign investors started purchasing.
2009 marked the end of infancy for Thailand’s property market, as this was the year Century 21, the world’s largest real estate franchise opened a headquarter office in Bangkok. Century 21 Thailand was established and managed by a team of both local and foreign industry professionals with extensive understanding and experience in not just Thailand’s property industry but of the global market. Over the next five years, Century 21 Thailand would establish over 54 offices across the nation, each with access to the corporation’s global network.
2015-2020 With the upcoming ASEAN Integration, over the next five years the local industry will start to feel more pressure to do business by international standards. While Thailand does not presently have any laws requiring real estate agents to possess a brokerage license, Century 21 Thailand has plans to introduce their own branded licensing course within coming years, in hopes that it will provide foreign investors with peace of mind that their transactions are being handled in an ethical manner by international-standard professionals.
