There have been numerous newspaper articles published on this subject, some contradicting each other, so this is our personal opinion of the state of the market as related to the political upheaval in the country recently.

A couple of months ago, when the red shirts were holding their protest in Bangkok we at Hua Hin Finder thought that maybe there would be adverse effects on the Hua Hin property market for quite some time afterwards. Certainly, reports and sentiment from our Bangkok office during the protests were very negative, to the point that numerous sales fell though and viewing of properties in affected areas was non existent. Basically, business was not good!

Surprisingly, (and thankfully) that has proved not to be the case at all here in Hua Hin. While we did see a drop in the number of enquiries from overseas while the world’s media spotlight shined on the country and it’s problems, we were lucky enough to have enough residual enquiries from before the strife to see us comfortably through that rocky period of just over a month.
Since the rally has ended though and the political situation in Thailand has returned to its relative calm, enquiries have been back to normal levels, and rental enquiries in particular have been at an all time high for vacations throughout the year.

Property prices locally have not been affected to any visible degree as property demand in Hua Hin is not only foreigner led… Many Thais purchase their weekend homes and holiday homes here too, making the market slightly more resilient than other foreign driven resort markets such as Phuket or Samui.

It remains to be seen what happens at the end of this month when the property tax stimulus package comes to an end, as to whether we will see a reduction in activity at that point. So, with that in mind, I will comment on that situation in my next post!
Enjoy Hua Hin.

Wez Barber

I love Mexican dishes and when I saw a sign advertising a new Mexican restaurant off of Soi 94 I made a mental note to make sure to give it try.

Well as we do sometimes when we are out viewing many properties with customers we take a break to re-charge as visiting up to 5 to 7 of them takes energy, esp. with the hot season upon us and I suggested we try it.

It was a hit! The menu offers 6 Mexican dishes and everything we ordered was fresh, attractively prepared, delicious and served in a timely manner with friendly service.

If you drive up Soi 94 and make a left just after the Fitness Center and drive down about 100m you will see this little treasure on the left hand side across from Baan Jenny. The name of the Soi is Chriean Pattana, and they are open from 8am to 10pm. If you need directions call 085-976-3845.

Enjoy!

Hello Friends,

It has been a pleasure over these last two years in assisting you to locate and secure the best rental properties matching your lifestyle needs, specifications and budget.

We continue to have a high success rate with customers and owners for one simple reason; we listen and only select properties you would consider.

We continue to add new listings each day and stock over 500 rental properties on both our website and data base so as to be able to offer you a vast choice. Having this many properties directly benefits you as we have our finger on the market’s pulse allowing us to know the real current values for each property and can suggest realistic prices to owners so as to ensure you get a fair price and lease agreement.

Hua Hin Finder has recently been on a listing drive to populate its site with both re-sell condos and houses. Our aim is to offer you quality properties between 2-6m THB. We achieved this goal and have a wide selection within this price range.

I would also like to update you about a unique service we provide: “Place Your Order and We’ll Find it”. Myself and our team of agents have all been here for over 6+ years and we know Hua Hin and its neighboring towns really well and can explore overlooked areas, making sure you include the best possible choices in your property search.

As well if you are considering buying a property you have read about or visited, we can consult with you based on our local knowledge of reputable projects and builders and represent you in negotiating the best buying package and make sure all the right steps are done correctly and legally to have peace of mind in finalizing the closing of your purchase.

We look forward to hearing from you

As Hua Hin continues to grow and attract more foreigners living here on a full time basis, so do the services we want as part of our daily routine.

A new Fitness Sauna & Spa has recently opened on Soi 94 opposite the Amara Resort. The staff are friendly and the machines offered are new and allow for multiple types of cardio & weight training.

The cost of 1000THB for a month membership is very reasonably priced. I also like the free towel service! Prices are less expensive should you take a longer membership.

Here is the website for any additional information you may need; www.huahinfo.com

The New Year is just around the corner and we are all looking forward to a better business year than the last. Yes it was a lean year, however having rallied through it without going into the “red” reassured us we have a good and flexible business plan, easily adapting to market trends so as to be able to offer our clients exactly what they are looking for based on their budgets and needs.

We did this by asking ourselves what will be the positives outcomes from an economic downturn and how can we find the gaps to attract more clients. Clients still have money but are more cautious and also looking how they can gain from a market correction. It took a few months for the dust to settle so to speak and then it was possible to identify the best deals to be had and simply present them to our customers.

I once read, “if your not growing, your shrinking” and this makes a lot of sense when I look at the past year. Many businesses went the route of downsizing and this proved to be fatal as they were not able to offer what many clients were looking for; lots of choices to be able to compare prices and identify the best deals. Hua Hin Finder hit the street running, hiring more staff and getting more listings than anyone else, offering the most up to date product to meet the demands of some very savvy renters & buyers.

At present Hua Hin Finder is the leader in rentals and we will continue to hold this position by identifying and adding targeted listings to our website based on the most common criteria requested y from our customers.

Exciting as well this year will be our increased offerings of even more condos units for sale in Hua Hin. We have accumulated an impressive selection to offer our current and new clients .

Hua Hin Finder Wishes you the Very Best in the New Year and we look fwd to being your eyes and ears in Hua Hin when searching for the perfect property.

The New Year is quickly approaching and Hua Hin continues to impress and cater to the many wants of the International population living here for a good part of the year.

Services

A new delivery service to Hua Hin called Smile Hydro recently launched to offer Hydroponic Vegetables to the health conscious people of Hua Hin. No toxin spraying of any kind is allowed on these greens! They offer a wide variety of salads and vegetables such as Green Oak, Red oak, Butter Head, Cos, Spinach, Guangdong, and Canga. Contact Details: M: 0838864012/www.smileyhydro.com.

Activities/ Events/Entertainment

The Hua Hin Artist Group will be holding and Art Market Arbour from 29 Dec. 2009 to Jan 4th 2010 @ Baan Sillapin. Activities will include; Artist Studio, Art Classes, and Painting. Need more info, call 087-1673895.
A new radio show for foreigners will be broadcasted every Wednesday and Thursday mornings between 9 and 12. It will offer a mix of music, information; phone ins and chats of Hua Hin, Thailand. The show will be hosted by Phil Cliffe. Tune in at Sky Web radio on 98.5 FM. Also available online.

Activities

A few blogs ago I wrote about the new Cicada Market. Here are a few updated details to plan a day out there;

-www.cicadamarket.net
-Open every Saturday from 3pm to 10pm.
-Located next to the Hyatt Regency at Suansri Khao Takieb.

A really pleasant day out for the whole family!

Fitness

If your looking to get healthier but bored with gyms, go and visit The Palapon Holistic Fitness Center. It is located on the left side of the road on the way into Khao Takiap. The center offers gentle regimes to get back into working out, Wing Tsun Kung Fu, Tai Chi and yoga.

I’ve actually done some of the fitness training there and highly recommend it not just to get into shape but to also make a few new friends

You can contact Valerie at office@wt-thailand.com or call Klaus @ 086-8039085.

Yummy Food Deals

I always like a great restaurant promotion and here’s one of the best I’ve seen in a while!
The Hilton Resort & Spa is offering all you can eat Dim Sum @ its White Lotus Restaurant on the 17th floor @ 399++ THB per person. Be careful how much you take as you will be charged an extra 10 Baht per piece for what you don’t eat.

If your like me and eat out a lot then a 10% discount card can really add up over a year. The new Thai Restaurant Card is available free to new residents and costs 250THB for those of us who have been here a while. www.Thai-restaurant.com or call 084-415-7210.

New Places to Hang Out

The Villa Maroc Resort in Pranburi is now open for business and here is what makes it a little more special then your typical 5 Star resort. They have a very cool Shisha Bar Lounge. However if you decide to eat there bring a credit card..a burger costs 500THB!! www.villamarocresort.com

The new Hua Hin Railway Carriage Library in front of Hua Hin’s Railway station is now open. Looks cool from the outside but I have yet to visit..will let you know after I’ve had tour around the carriage.

Mondo Vino Wine Lounge and Retail Shop is now open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 9pm and 2pm to 9pm on Sunday. Located on Naebkehard Road next to the Phutaraksak Boutique Hotel.

Five years ago if a buyer wanted to buy a house in Hua Hin, Thailand they did not have much choice and this why off-plan sales were so popular. Maybe for some it meant to save a bit of money but for many it was the only option. Usually buying off-plan is done for investment reasons, to flip quickly and make a decent short term profit, not for a holiday home in paradise. This is confirmed in my day to day meetings with customers from around the world, the majority of people who buy a holiday home here do so with their hearts and not as an investment vehicle.

The difference between an investment opportunity and buying for pleasure is a very important distinction when it comes to knowing what our customers want, finding it, negotiating realistic terms and conditions and ensuring they are secure in their purchase. Our clients have worked hard to realize their dreams and it is our commitment to facilitate, inform and protect them in making the right choice to make it a reality.

In the past few months customers have returned to Hua Hin (or they were here already and put off buying and opted to rent for 6-12 months) as the economy gets back up on its feet again and are ready to begin searching for the perfect home for both holidaying and long term stays. However, clients are still swaying on the side of caution and are not willing to invest the bigger amounts of the past, 8-20 million THB, but are choosing houses and condos in the 3-6 million THB range. This makes perfect sense as it reflects the realities of the new economy.

To meet the new demand, Hua Hin Finder will be populating its site with homes priced between 3-6 million THB with at least 100 great homes over the next 2 months to meet our clients expectations and budget while still getting them what they want with as little compromise as possible. Yes it is a buyers market and both owners and developers are building or re-selling more affordable homes to meet the new market demands.

The recent economic downturn and its upward fight is one of the best price regulating factors to come about in years in Hua Hin, Thailand and will benefit us all much more than before. Prices are more realistic allowing even more international buyers to come and live here while still being able to keep some money in the bank.

This new outdoor market, next to the Hyatt Hotel, is in a pleasant park making it easy to walk around to look and buy artistic works,clothes and innovative SME products.

Cicada, promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, stands for “Open Mat, Open Mind, Open Idea”.

The organizers will offer workshops and activities like drama, dance, photography and busker performances.

The market will be open every Saturday in Suan Sri Park.

Hua Hin just keeps getting better!

If you need to get updates as to what will be offered in advance, call 032 536606.

Our philosophy at Hua Hin Finder is to never turn down a customer no matter what their budget is because finding a nice condo or house for a couple or family to live in and to be comfortable/safe is a basic need for all and it gives us great satisfaction to settle them into our community.

Sometimes I have customers with lower budgets who say to me, “we hope we are not wasting your time” and I sometimes quote them a line from Ms. Adina Azarian (president & CEO of Adina Real Estate), “Real estate is all about wasting time, the more time you waste, the better results you get.” Of course we listen to the client’s specifications and respect their budget while managing their expectations for what type of property they can expect to get within reason and normally close 70% of our deals working this way. But the main point is, while showing houses , I get to re-visit with owners and they will inform me about other houses they have for rent now or I may see new product in the area, giving me even more listings to ad to our website for future clients. Yes wasting time is a good thing in our business!

The rental market is doing much better than the sales side and it will be a little while yet before the condo and house sales return to what they once were a year and half ago. However there could never be a better time to look for fantastic deals to buy properties for sale at 30-40% off the original listed price.

As a renter, if you are looking for a condo, you are in a much better position than if looking to rent a house at the moment. Hua Hin has an oversupply of condos and 2 bedroom units that use to rent for 50-60,000THB on the beach can now be had for 35-45,000THB on a one year lease. Houses are quickly being rented out and prices for them are slowly climbing back up.

In this industry it is expected the client will use 2 or 3 agencies to find what they are looking for and to compare prices. However what makes us unique compared to some (not all) other agencies is our pricing and commission structure with owners. We do not mark up the rental prices to collect more from the original price at the end of each month. The owners pay us one flat rate and rent monies are payed directly from the tenant to the owner making us even more transparent when the rent is due.

Our rental and condo sales listings continue to grow each month and we have more choices than any other agency at the best rates. We have just added a property sales page to our site and will be adding what we think are the best re-buy homes on the market in Hua Hin and surrounding areas. As well we will be updating our off-plan sales pages for what we think are the best investments in relation to value for money based on our research , relationship with developers and valuable local knowledge.