Thailand 'looking at relaxing foreign ownership rules'

Thailand is considering relaxing the rules on foreign ownership of property to make it easier for non-Thais to invest there.

Global Property Guide figures supplied to the Seoul Times have revealed that while prices increased by 5.6 per cent in the year to the end of the second quarter of 2008, this represents a real terms drop of 4.18 per cent as the house price rise is lower than overall inflation.

The paper said that the Thai government is considering changing the ownership rules in response.

Another factor that could make it easier for investors to buy in Thailand is the price itself.

Udorn Olsson, managing director of the Para Development company, has said that the effect of the credit crunch will be to hit the interests of westerners, who make up the majority of high-end Thai property buyers.

As a result, he stated, developers may need to accept lower profit margins in order to adjust to the realities of the new business environment, the Bangkok Post reports.