The willingness among Chinese investors to invest in the housing market of Thailand has shown no signs of abating despite the global economic slowdown due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese tourists love Thailand, and more and more turn into investors in putting their money on Thai residential properties in the current scenario.

The largest investors in the real estate market

Apart from pristine and unspoiled beaches, Thailand also has low prices and quality health facilities. These features, coupled with the availability of a conducive atmosphere for investment in the real estate market segment of Thailand has always attracted the attention of Chinese investors.

The country offers a 10-year visa program for seniors, making it an attractive destination to own a home after retirement. For Chinese students, it is one of the most attractive study destinations wherein they perceive the best chances to acquire their college education.

When all these factors are added up, it accounts for the reason for the growing willingness among investors to invest in the residential properties in some selective cities in Thailand, including its capital city.

While the housing market of Thailand attracts the people of all nationalities alike, it attracts Chinese investors even more. One can gauge this from the fact that the investments from China in Thailand are primarily concentrated in the real estate sector.

COVID 19 slowed down the investment

The sudden appearance of the novel coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by storm. It emerged in Wuhan in early January and reached almost all countries across the globe in just a couple of months. Due to it, the governments of most countries have imposed a lockdown as a measure to deter its spread in communities, and impacts are important on the real estate market.

As the world grapples with the challenge to develop a vaccine for the infectious disease, experts predict an inevitable recession due to a disruption in the supply chain. Also, they do not write off the possibility of an economic depression.

Fortunately for Chinese investors, though, China has shaken off the worst part of the pandemic and is returning to normal life slowly and steadily. Experts predict that things are likely to slow down in China due to the global effect on experts but the negative impact of the pandemic will be lesser on the Chinese economy than the other economies around the world.

This accounts for the reason for the growing interest of Chinese investors in Thai properties despite the slowdown due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Why Chinese still want to invest in properties

The keen interest of Chinese investors in the housing properties in Thailand does not come across as any surprise. By and large, it is due to some specific reasons. According to Juwai.com, a portal dedicated to real estate dealings in China, Thailand has been the most popular destination for buying homes in the eye of Chinese investors.

In 2019, the majority of Chinese investors enquired about the housing properties in Thailand than that of Japan and other nations. Also, Chinese investors seemed to have overlooked the report stating a slowdown in the economy of Thailand.

Interestingly, “the majority of inquiries were for single-room apartments in the popular cities in Thailand such as Bangkok, Koh Samui, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya”, reports Samui Exclusive, a real estate agent located in Koh Samui.

One of the primary reasons for this surging interest is due to the cheaper cost of the housing market in Thailand in comparison to the other nations. Though some strict local laws prohibit investors from buying a piece of property on their name, the cheaper cost of living suffices for it.

Contrary to the perception that the current COVID-19 pandemic would evoke a lukewarm response in the housing market of Thailand, especially from China, it is the other way around. While the data from Juwai.com are affirmative, Chinese investors look forward to the response of the Government of Thailand and the dynamics of its housing market to make their next move.