Contributed by REP_newsdesk:
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 Let's get REAL!
comment: it's "low season" but apparently not for the real estate sector here in Phuket ...
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18 June, 2006
Realty bites. And it seems to be biting hard on the heels of investors, who are busy making hay while the sun shines all over idyllic Phuket island. It is no secret that investments continue to pour in and property developments persistently find buyers month after month regardless of rising costs and the global economic outlook in the near term.
A cursory read of recent articles venture the same paradox and all concur that Phuket must be doing something right. Two months ago we wrote "Phuket sets the trend!" and offered our views why the property sector is kicking in and indeed, moving forward. Billions changed hands since then! The Phuket Area Revenue Office (PARO) reports close to 30% increase in taxes collected compared to the same half-year period last year.
You might have read of the recent 3.6 billion baht (about US$1 billion) purchase of Crowne Plaza Hotel at Karon Beach by the Dubai-based hotel group Kingdom Hotel Investments, chaired by the Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Before that, Karon Phuket Hotel, a joint venture 50% owned by Central Hotels and Resorts Plc, had purchased the 316-room Phuket Islandia Hotel in Karon Beach for 1.05 billion baht.
On 19 May 2006, the Bangkok Post reports, "a European joint venture led by two Spanish business groups has acquired Phuket's first five-star hotel, Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club, for around 1.3 billion baht. Through Puravarna Holdings Plc, its Hong Kong-incorporated holding arm, the consortium bought the prime property on Nai Harn Beach from the US investment bank Lehman Brothers in a fiercely contested international bid", going on to say that "the new owner will continue to run the Le Meridien banner until the marketing contract expires at the end of 2007, when the property will be rebranded as The Royal Puravarna Yacht Club."
Puravarna aims to invest another 200-250 million baht to appeal to an even more upmarket clientele raising the average annual room rate by 30% to about $350 per night - to "make it more than five-star in terms of luxury".
Luxury living aside, Phuket is also a renown sports destination as it continues to host the Asian X-Games, F1 PowerBoat Racing, the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, King's Cup Regatta and International Golf Competitions. Topping this month's agenda was the official submission of a 6-million-baht feasibility study of Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s idea to build a world-class sports complex (reportedly costing 5.2 billion baht) in Tah Chat Chai at Mai Khao, north-west of the island - a step closer to realising Phuket's dream of hosting more internationally acclaimed sporting events. In many ways, Phuket is coming of age, fuelling positive notions of where it's headed and eagerly proving investors right at every turn.
This current wave of hyperactivity has not gone unnoticed. Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the region’s premier travel and tourism exhibition, announced on Tuesday, 16 May 2006, that the Thai resort island of Phuket had been honoured with the inaugural New Frontiers Award 2006. The award was presented during the annual ATM exhibitor’s party at the Grand Hyatt Dubai for Phuket’s outstanding resilience and positive contribution to tourism development in the face of the overwhelming devastation caused by the Tsunami.
We are not only back from the brink in terms of economic recovery, we are on track to revisit and surpass past glories if investor confidence is any indicator. That said, it will not happen quickly but rest assured, it is happening and if you haven't done your homework, don't worry ... seems like others have! It's your call.
postnote:
The Phuket Gazette reports that, "Statistics show that the Phuket Land Provincial Office (PPLO) issued permits for development of 42 plots last year and 30 plots so far in 2006".
Editorial Desk
GreenAcres Consultancy (GAC)
member of The REP_newsdesk
greenacres@realestate-phuket.com
* the article above may be reproduced in its entirety with written permission from GAC.
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