EXCLUSIVE: Pattaya property developer Kingdom Property has been swamped with more than 220 new enquiries primarily driven by the launch of its “property with long-stay visa” promotion just three weeks ago.
The company has partnered with the Thailand Elite organisation to offer 20-year visas, along with other benefits, to property buyers and investors at its Southpoint condominium project in the Gulf of Thailand city.
With an entry price point of THB 3 million, buyers will be entitled to apply for five-year multiple-entry visas that are renewable every four years. This visa will entitle its holder to benefits that include fast-track immigration clearance, assistance with driving licenses, discounts and a bilingual helpline.
Speaking exclusively to Thailand-Property.com, Chief Executive Officer of Kingdom Property, Nigel Cornick, said: “The first applications for approval by Thailand Elite have been lodged, and we are expecting approval shortly.
“At that time contracts will be signed and deposits paid, and we would hope to have sold between 15 and 25 units by the end of July, with momentum to ensure a continual pipeline.”
Cornick added that the main nationalities that have been showing interest in the promotion have been Chinese, Korean, Bangladeshi, Australian and some Europeans.
This significant uptick in interest in albeit one Pattaya property development is defying the current depressed market in the city that many have been reporting in recent months. If anything it proves that the right product with the right benefits and marketed at the right price will attract interest. Buyers and investors still want to buy property in Pattaya.
The long-stay solution has always been a barrier for every Thailand developer attempting to sell its development overseas. Unless you have business reasons to reside in Thailand, a retirement visa or marriage visa, you are not permitted to stay for any significant length of time.
The visa on offer by Kingdom Property will be a part of the purchase of a unit at Southpoint. The unit owner can sell the property and the visa together, if he or she so wishes.
Currently Southpoint is the only property development in Thailand that offers the long-term visa alongside a property purchase, but other developers are watching keenly and will be eager to follow in Cornick’s footsteps.
The Thailand Elite programme is 100 percent owned by The Tourism Authority of Thailand, which, in turn, is under the control of the Thai government.
Southpoint Pattaya is a two-tower freehold condominium in Pratumnak, Pattaya, with 655 units ranging in size from 30 sqm to 97 sqm. Completion is expected during the second quarter of 2016.
Image: Kingdom Property CEO Nigel Cornick on site at Southpoint earlier in the construction period.
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