Seasonality

Oddly enough the Tourism trade does affect the Bangkok and Thai property market.

This is starting to change as Indian, Russian and Chinese markets have their own optimal times of the year for a holiday.

Nevertheless it’s still around December and January when tourism peaks in Thailand, and many tourists are putting down a deposit on their holiday homes during this peak period.

This behaviour has a knock on effect in so much as it affects pricing strategies. The feel good factor that seasonal properties sales make has a noticeable effect on everyone from street vendors to hotel owners.

The canny property buyer will factor this in to their property hunting or decision to sell.

As a Credit Bubble Bursts

Credit Bubbles and a mushrooming property market go hand in hand with each other.

Financial institutions lend money with abandon when times are good and then clean up when times are bad, as interest rates rise, loans are disapproved and economic conditions deteriorate.

This is how banks make money. By creating an economic cycle they make a tidy profit when properties are handed over to them as the loan payments can’t be met.

The astute buyer uses this somewhat synthetic cycle to their advantage. All it takes is to keep an eye on the bank logos and financial institutions in the Thai media. Flick through newspapers, keep an eye on Television commercial breaks, observe posters and notice who is bidding highest for banner advertising on the internet.

A reasonably smart person can identify whether banks are selling loans quite easily as the genre or visual style if you wish is very similar all over the world for loans on cars and properties.

Too much loans advertising is a bad time to buy and a good time to sell.

Only You Matter

Most people will have purchased a Bangkok property to live in on a permanent or seasonal basis.

It’s in any rational person’s interest to make a profit when it comes to a sale, but from time to time the macro economic conditions are not favourable to the seller leaving the property owner in a dilemma.

They want to sell but at are reluctant to absorb a loss. At times like this is important to take a helicopter view of life. Holding on to something that isn’t making you happy is just as frustrating as taking a loss.

Life isn’t just about profit taking, and the ability to move on or move out has a value of its own that money can often not purchase.

Profit taking isn’t the purpose of life, and living with regrets can be detrimental towards people’s outlook and their health.

If the property owner is forced to take a loss when selling, because of short term economic conditions it’s important to remind yourself that the ability to be in control of your own life matters more than personal enrichment.

The owner’s well-being is what matters most, and factors outside of the seller’s control are not worth having regrets over. Put your own well-being first and profit taking second.