House Price Comparisons

[Yossarian]

Sorry, it seems kind of expensive for a one story home in that area ...?

[Naam Jai]

The seller does say O.N.O. The question would be,how near?
I haven't seen inside but many of these Thai built houses have a very small kitchen and the design leaves something to be desired.

[Yossarian]

My understanding is that houses of this style in Hansa sell for between 700,000 and 1,000,000 Baht.

[lee]

Lee

For the benefit of accuracy this house is 1.7 kms from the "Western Ringroad" and 5.2 Kms from the Fountain Circle at least

I copied and pasted the owner’s details; unfortunately I don't have the time to check the accuracy of all adverts posted. This is the responsibility of the advert owner.. Thanks for pointing it out though.

Sorry, it seems kind of expensive for a one story home in that area ...?

Apparently (so I’m told) new houses on that estate of the same size and spec are around the same amount of money.

The seller does say O.N.O. The question would be,how near?

Give him a call and find out. 

I haven't seen inside but many of these Thai built houses have a very small kitchen and the design leaves something to be desired.

This is not a Thai kitchen (see photo above) I was told the cost of the kitchen alone was over 200,000bt.

Please direct all other questions, enquires to the owner (telephone above), the owner is not a member of the forum and unable to respond to posts.

Thanks.

[lee]

My understanding is that houses of this style in Hansa sell for between 700,000 and 1,000,000 Baht.

Really, please give me more details. If you can find them for me I'll buy three.

[Naam Jai]

Lee
The one you quote is a one off! some smaller houses are in the bracket Yossarian mentions but most are asking more.
I meant to say that although the Thai built houses design especially the kitchen leaves much to be desired this house, from the photo enclosed, clearly has a kitchen that will be very attractive to some lady

[Yossarian]

LOL, I'm going to hold you to that Lee! I've got five of them lined up just for you! !

I think Naam Jai is right; the house(s) I'm thinking of are probably smaller and the house in question is probably larger. Just from looking at the pictures though, I think it will probably be pretty difficult for your advertiser to achieve his price objective considering I've known large two story houses, with modern western style kitchens and large yards (I think the English call them "gardens") to sell for about the price your advertiser is asking for his house.

As the saying goes, something is worth whatever another person is willing to pay for it so best of luck there. It's the problem with custom houses like this though is that it is difficult for the owner to get even on it.

[aznyron]

I am not in the market for a house but I do want to say it very beautiful and the kitchen looks great
as for the price I have no idea if it over priced or not. but I will say this a house like that built in AZ or FL or CA would cost you any were from 200K to 500K depending on location

[Prenders88]

I am not in the market for a house but I do want to say it very beautiful and the kitchen looks great
as for the price I have no idea if it over priced or not. but I will say this a house like that built in AZ or FL or CA would cost you any were from 200K to 500K depending on location

Aznyron,

In FL you would get a lot more land surrounding the house, a decent sized yard/garden. In Thailand the new builds are all fur coat and no knickers, you see a large garden out the front, with no room out the back.

[Yossarian]

I know back in the US there are small and medium-sized towns where you can buy nice houses with a 1/2 acre for 70K to 120K. And they have zoning laws that are enforced, good schools, a good police department, and I don't have to remember to renew my visa.

Hey Prenders:

Nice watchamacallit ... Do you know her?

[Prenders88]

I know back in the US there are small and medium-sized towns where you can buy nice houses with a 1/2 acre for 70K to 120K. And they have zoning laws that are enforced, good schools, a good police department, and I don't have to remember to renew my visa.

Hey Prenders:

Nice watchamacallit ... Do you know her?

Unfortunately no
Not in biblical sense.

[nola-udon]

Yossarian,
I don't know when you last investigated home sales in the U.S., but I sold a very beautiful home in the USA in April of 2006 and it sold for $128,000. The home had 2 bedrooms and 2 full baths plus 1 car attached garage. Very modern design, 10 ft ceilings, total brick and well insulated. The master bath even had a whirlpool bath for 2 and a separate shower. Total living area 1250 sqft and with garage 1650 sqft. under roof. The home was only on a 5000 sqft. lot in a gated community of 2 and 3 bedrooms. Lots were 50x100 for 2 bedrooms and 60x100 for 3 bedroom homes. Now this subdivision was located in a small country town of about 25,000 people in the deep south, don't know is there is a more inexpensive town in the US to live in. The house would sell for $145,000 today. So,I would have to agree with Aznyron that a home like this even in my old neighborhood would sell for far more than the $96,000 that is being asked. More like 3 times more.

[BKKSTAN]

I know back in the US there are small and medium-sized towns where you can buy nice houses with a 1/2 acre for 70K to 120K. And they have zoning laws that are enforced, good schools, a good police department, and I don't have to remember to renew my visa.

Hey Prenders:

Nice watchamacallit ... Do you know her?

WHERE In Tornado alley?

[Yossarian]

When I look at buying a house or real estate, to me it means much more than the house structure and earth underneath. You are also buying into the school system, the environment, the neighborhood, and the security (or rather illusion of security) that home ownership provides. In America, you are buying into a tax subsidy as well. In other words, I look at "value" rather than "price" and ask myself, what value am I getting for the price?

Using America as an example, I don't think it is very useful to compare a home in Udon Thani to a similar sized home in America. In most ways, America, and almost any developed country for that matter, is far superior to Thailand. The school system is better, the environment is better, there is respect for the rule of law, and there is more economic opportunity. Thailand, on the other hand, can't seem to manage the peaceful transfer of power from one oligarch to the other. (As opposed to America which can transfer power from one oligarch to another.)

Of course, when you add in the restrictions placed on foreigners, from a foreigners point of view, that reduces the value of a home here by at least 50%.

The home listed in Hansa is selling for 96,000 USD. I just did a quick search on www.realtor.com for single family homes in Florence, South Carolina listed for less than 100,000 USD. The search yielded a result of 103 properties for sale in that price range with some as low as 34,000 USD. If you wanted to go upscale a little bit to, say, Aiken, SC, you can find 92 properties for under 100,000 USD.

An objective way to determine the value of a property is to use yield. A rule of thumb for the real estate market is to use 1% per month. If you bought a house for 3.3 Million Baht, you would need to be able to charge a rent of 1% per month or 33,000 Baht per month for it to be a good value. In Udon, you can rent similar houses for 6,000 to 10,000 Baht per month at most. So, on an objective basis, the house would be a good value at about 1 Million Baht, in my opinion of course ...

[spaul]

Yossarian, you got nearly 200 results for properties listed for sale for less than 100,000USD, in SC America. and do you think SC has the same school system, enviroment and neighborhood, for comparison purposes, to Udon Thani?
If you answer No! - what's your point?

[arjay]

spaul, I would suggest Yossarian's point was that as the Infrastructure (schools, shopping, environment, services etc) in Udon Thani is inferior to that in SC, you would therefore expect to pay considerably less for a property in Udon than in SC.

[spaul]

Arjay - yes of course I understand that, but my point is you should do things on a like for like basis, for example, do the same exercise on comparitive properties listed for sale in, let's say, nong bua lampu.

[BKKSTAN]

Upkeep on Thai built homes is probably close to 1% per month,unless you get Aussieboy to build it

[LoveDaBlues]

When I look at buying a house or real estate, to me it means much more than the house structure and earth underneath. You are also buying into the school system, the environment, the neighborhood, and the security (or rather illusion of security) that home ownership provides. In America, you are buying into a tax subsidy as well. In other words, I look at "value" rather than "price" and ask myself, what value am I getting for the price?

Using America as an example, I don't think it is very useful to compare a home in Udon Thani to a similar sized home in America. In most ways, America, and almost any developed country for that matter, is far superior to Thailand. The school system is better, the environment is better, there is respect for the rule of law, and there is more economic opportunity. Thailand, on the other hand, can't seem to manage the peaceful transfer of power from one oligarch to the other. (As opposed to America which can transfer power from one oligarch to another.)

Of course, when you add in the restrictions placed on foreigners, from a foreigners point of view, that reduces the value of a home here by at least 50%.
The home listed in Hansa is selling for 96,000 USD. I just did a quick search on www.realtor.com for single family homes in Florence, South Carolina listed for less than 100,000 USD. The search yielded a result of 103 properties for sale in that price range with some as low as 34,000 USD. If you wanted to go upscale a little bit to, say, Aiken, SC, you can find 92 properties for under 100,000 USD.

An objective way to determine the value of a property is to use yield. A rule of thumb for the real estate market is to use 1% per month. If you bought a house for 3.3 Million Baht, you would need to be able to charge a rent of 1% per month or 33,000 Baht per month for it to be a good value. In Udon, you can rent similar houses for 6,000 to 10,000 Baht per month at most. So, on an objective basis, the house would be a good value at about 1 Million Baht, in my opinion of course ...

lol - USA prisons are busting at the seams.

It always amuses me when people use America as a comparison to Thailand with regards to home prices. On the surface I'll agree, homes in Thailand are over-priced. However, let's look below the surface a little and then see.........

Property taxes. I pay $1,700 a year on a modest home in Las Vegas. These taxes have almost doubled since 1997 and seldom do taxes go down. In Thailand no property taxes.

Home Insurance. Much higher in the states.

And........if one owns a home and lives in the USA then he has to pay higher costs for virtually EVERYTHING he buys day-to-day. This is where the real savings come in Thailand and more than make up for the house prices IMHO. Of course I'm stating the obvious.

(BKKSTAN - "Upkeep on Thai built homes is probably close to 1% per month,unless you get Aussieboy to build it")

Upkeep on a Thai home 1% per month? So if I spend 3 million baht on a home I will spend another 30,000 baht a month on upkeep? Can I have some of what you're smoking?

With regard to the home prices quoted in the US......agreed there are plenty of shacks in SC for sale below 100k.

I can have a home built here for $28 USD per square foot of the highest quality. I'm talking granite floors, grade-A tile floor-to-ceiling in the bathrooms, Smartblock, etc. etc. etc. Show me ANY REGION in the USA where that can be done........I'm waiting..........

Restrictions on foreigners? Huh? Let's see....yesterday I drove MY CAR to a restuarant of MY CHOICE. After that I had a haircut.....again....at a place of MY CHOICE. When I buy a home I'll have the Land Office attach a Usufruct to the Chanote; giving me a lifetime of living in the home and control of the land......the 'House Book' will show me as the owner of the home..........restrictions?


Happy New Year all!!!!!!!

[Yossarian]

I would agree that property taxes in the US are a problem. As property values have increased over the past few years the tax rates have remained the same causing an increase in actual tax paid. Then again, the property tax burden is offset by the federal income tax subsidy (itemized deduction of mortgage interest and property taxes). Property taxes usually fund the local school system so if you have a couple of kids in school that is also a benefit. By and large though I would agree that property taxes have become excessive in most places.

Perhaps it is a discussion for another forum but I think we can all agree that America is still the country which offers the most freedom, liberty, and opportunity in the world. It is still the place where people risk their lives to go. It is not perfect, however, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, it is the worse country in the world except for all of the others. From my perspective, debating whether America is better than Thailand is sort of like debating whether the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. I suppose the world will always be filled with those who would try and convince us otherwise.

Be that as it may, the fact that the prisons in America are filled with criminals indicates that the rule of law is enforced vigorously. The reference to rule of law as it relates to property has more to do with zoning ordinances and the various laws protecting a property owners quiet enjoyment of his property. Corruption and cronyism dilute the meaning and utility of law. For example, if you can hand a bag full of money to the local politician for a zoning variance for your property, there goes your chemical factory in the middle of a residential housing district. When your neighbor opens an all night disco at his house, try enforcing your rights of quiet enjoyment when his uncle is a local policeman. In America, and presumably in most developed countries, there is a professional, impartial judiciary with which to enforce your rights.

While a life estate (referred to as a "usufruct" here) is a perfectly useful estate in land, it is not fee simple ownership. Depending upon the agreement establishing the life estate, the beneficiary may or may not have any number of rights. Most agreements restrict the right fo the beneficiary to lease the property without prior approval of the owner. There are a number of rights which he definitely will not have including: the right to sell (transfer title to) the property, the right to mortgage the property, and the right to dispose of the property to his heirs upon his death. The owner of the property may transfer, mortgage, and otherwise dispose of the property as he sees fit. Additionally, the beneficiary must care for the property in a prudent manner and remains liable for any waste committed to the remainder estate during his use and enjoyment of the property. The life estate is a perfectly valid and strong interest in land, and, depending on the circumstances, probably a foreigner's best option in a "lesser of evils" analysis. Fee simple ownership it ain't.

Shacks in SC? LOL As opposed to shacks in Udon Thani?