Bangkok can be intimidating at first, but give it a chance and you will start loving love it. Embrace the chaos and find the beauty in what may seem like a dirty city, but there is so much going on it can be a bit overwhelming. Wat Saket, also known as Golden Mount, which is not too far from Khao San Area and offers great views over the city. 1. My favorite one? You can arrange a deal with a taxi driver or a tuk-tuk. 2. Enjoy a night out here; it is the most famous backpacker street in the world. A half day (4h) driving around should not cost more than $15-$20. Be amazed with the beautiful chaos you find here. 3. That is just a normal ferry. You will find the timetables, the prices and can directly book your ticket online. You will not see anything. Keep your eyes open for incredibly huge lizards that grow over 2 meters long.

4. Foodies can eat their heart out. Street food can literally be found everywhere. Later in the night alcohol too. 5. Bike tours take you to places you would not get on your own. Although the setting is a bit sober, views are equally stunning. 6. With so many sky bar around you would expect competitive prices, but be prepared to pay minimum $10 for any drink. This city is known to have some surprsingly affordable luxury hotels. 7. It is perfect to cycle around on a bicycle. As soon as you cross the river you will stumble upon bike rentals. 8. Bring only your swim wear, the rest will be provided. 100 a night? Check out some of the hotels I stayed in: affordable luxury hotels in Bangkok. It’s a cheap and fun place to learn wakeboarding. 9. Unique in its kind and still super authentic, no souvenir shops, just fruits, vegetables, fish and meat.

Developers have to obtain prime land from the resale market. The area is littered with high-end community malls, bars, restaurants and hotels. Is flanked by high-end luxury apartments. This particular street is noticeably wider than the usual sois. Of the five developments on my top five list, this development is located in arguably the most upmarket neighbourhood of the five. Ekkamai is a very popular area for expatriate tenants. More welcoming than traditional units. This developer has made a knack of coming up with innovative developments to cater to niche segments. Their developments are usually located close to a train station. This area houses a lot of offices. Loft units tend to feel larger. This just missed out on my top 5 for the year by a hair’s breadth. The selling point? The price and the location. Occupancy rates are high in this area because of the pleasant community. I have spoken on countless occasions about buyers having to go through what is provided by the developer.

This is the same for properties bought anywhere in the world. Many items in the show flat are provided as developer standard material. Moreover, these developments have gyms with rock climbing walls that run like treadmills to simulate continuous climbing, treadmills that move to simulate outdoor terrain and active fitness stations. I personally find it difficult to narrate these facilities in writing. In a nutshell, they are impressive. There is a 33 level vertical climb along the exterior of the building. Good location with loads of potential and pet-friendly status contributed to the development selling out pretty quickly. Along the way, the trail is punctuated by various fitness activities and the route is decked out in greenery. Local demand for good properties is strong. Household debt is increasing. In many cases, local buyers can finance more than 90 per cent of the property purchase price. Lenders will also not be allowed to provide advances that exceed the value of the property. This should impact the local demand for mortgages. Properties although the exact impact is difficult to estimate. This can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, foreign developers may extend special deals to foreign buyers and may be more accommodating and offer better payment terms to entice these buyers. On the other hand, they may end up trying to offload properties that were not intended for the foreign market to foreigners due to the possible slowdown in the local demand because of the new loan to value limits for locals. Bangkok’s rail network will be expanded greatly and this can only benefit commerce and trade within the city. In my view, the elections in the early part of 2019 should move along smoothly. Things to take note of.

However, property prices have been steadily growing in the past few years, fueled by foreign investment and a strong economy. There is a limit to the number of units in each condominium that can be sold to foreigners. For properties in very good locations, this foreign quota is rarely hit. There is a fallacy within foreign buyers that local demand is weak when the truth is the exact opposite. That limit is 49 per cent of aggregate floor space. Local demand is only weak for developments that are located far away from the city centres or popular residential districts. As this is a countdown, let’s start with number 5. To most property buyers, walking into a sales gallery with a mocked-up unit would mean trying to discount all the interior design work which the developer put into the sales gallery. Developers are starved for land and have to pay out landowners and displace existing businesses to purchase prime land.