The last time I visited Mae Phim on Rayong's coast there were no developments under way. The town has a pristine beach that was only visited by Thais. Last week I went back there and the place is abuzz with new developments.
Scandinavian developers, such as Glen Asia and Logans Thailand have many of these projects already sold out and many more are in the course of being constructed.
The main buyers in the area are Swedish and ERA even have a sales office there and advertise their properties in their native language. According to reliable sources, the Swedes are leading an incredibly strong property boom in Rayong, especially in Mae Phim where Logans have set up their sales office.
Commenting on this property surge, I was reliably informed that it is because of the large number of Russians buying homes in Pattaya (they account for the highest percentage: 27% for all tourists there) that the Scandinavian investors want to move further south to a quiet haven away from all the razzmatazz that is Pattaya.
According to research by Colliers International (Thailand), Scandinavian investors were expected to invest up to Bt16.2 billion in residential developments in Thailand this year and the next. Rayong is seeing massive investment from Scandinavian investors, especially Swedes, who are interested in owning a second home or a property for vacations.
According to a quote in The Nation newspaper from Risinee Sarikaputra, manager at Colliers' research department: "Given the strong interest Scandinavian tourists have in Thailand, most of them are also interested in buying residential properties as a second home for vacations or retirement. Due to this, a number of property developers from Scandinavia have expanded their investment in Thailand.
"People from Scandinavia are known to be traditionally interested in resort properties in Spain and France. However, over the past three to four years, apart from Thailand, they have snapped up real estate in Turkey and Bulgaria though investment to the former country has now dropped."
But not every project comes from the Scandinavian architects. One Thai project, The Oriental Beach Village, is a unique and exclusive development of just 28 superior beach villas, with private access to one the best beaches of Thailand's east coast. The project is located in Rim Pae Beach. Unit prices start 4,698,000 baht.
