Investors 'cautious' over Thai property market

Many people considering purchasing property in Thailand remain cautious, despite the fact that the risk to investment is "not large", according to one expert.

Commenting on the Thai market, Marsha Lu, head of the legal, diligence and compliance department at Property Frontiers, said that media reports on the recent military coup has prompted some investors to be wary of buying property there.

"No market is a bad market … It's just what the expectations of investors are," Ms Lu argued.

To invest in freehold property, foreign buyers currently have to go through a company scheme, Ms Lu stated, suggesting that this can raises concerns over how secure an investment is likely to be.

Earlier in the month, the Bank of Thailand said that conditions within the US housing market were unlikely to have a negative impact upon the Thai economy, Thomson Financial reports.

Suchada Kirakul, the bank's assistant governor, said the property market had not "over-expanded", so it was "certain" the problems faced by the US housing market would not happen in Thailand.
PUBLISHED : 22ND AUGUST 2007