With the resumption of travel between China and Thailand, Chinese investors are keen to seize the opportunity to buy Thai properties for investment and retirement purposes.
They see Thailand’s real estate market as offering better value than China’s and have been using the 30-day visa on arrival to Chinese passport holders until the end of March.
The Thai economy is getting an additional boost from China’s reopening, with the government forecasting 7-8 million Chinese tourists in 2023, down from 11 million in 2019.
Chinese buyers have been the largest group of foreign buyers of condominium units in Thailand since 2018, accounting for nearly half of units sold to foreigners, according to data from the Real Estate Information Center of Thailand.
Chinese buyers have been the largest group of foreign buyers of condominium units in Thailand since 2018, followed by buyers from Russia, the US, the UK and Germany.
According to the Real Estate Information Center of Thailand, Chinese buyers purchased 3,562 units worth a total of 17.94 billion baht ($511 million) during the first nine months of 2022, accounting for 49% of units transferred to foreigners. The average price of units bought by Chinese buyers was 5 million baht with an average area of 39 square metres.
Thailand recorded 2.14 million foreign visitors in January
Most of these tourists reportedly came from neighboring countries such as China, Malaysia and Laos, especially after China lifted its COVID-19 restrictions by Beijing.
At least 26 million international visitors are forecast to arrive in Thailand this year, contributing to the sector’s recovery to 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
Arrivals to China are expected to boost total revenue from domestic and foreign tourists to 2.4 trillion baht in 2023, or 80% of pre-Covid-19 levels, after the country’s travel restrictions are lifted on January 8.
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