• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result

Restrictions On Foreign Ownership Of Property In Thailand,…

Lief Simon by Lief Simon
Oct 17, 2014
in Real Estate
0
A skyline view of all of the property of Kuala Lumpur
209
SHARES
3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Top Property Markets In Asia For The Investor And The Retiree

A parking spot sold in Hong Kong this year for US$547,000.

Land in Hong Kong is expensive and the limited inventory of parking spaces has driven up the cost to more than that of a decent home in most of the world. Hong Kong, though, isn’t typical of the region, and prices on this island shouldn’t scare you off the idea of real estate in Asia altogether.

More daunting and potentially intimidating when shopping for real estate in this part of the world are the foreign ownership restrictions. Before entering any Asian market, you want to be sure you’re clear on what you can and cannot own as a foreigner.

The Philippines restrict foreign ownership to condos…and in any given building foreigners can own only up to 40% of the units. Still, this country makes sense for both retirement and investment. Real estate prices in some parts of it are unbelievably cheap. Focus on the more active areas where you would have an easier time reselling on the local market. You don’t want to be limited by having to find another expat buyer when you decide to resell.

You can find small apartments in Quezon City for less than US$60,000. That would buy you a one-bedroom apartment in a new building.

Prices in the better areas of Manila range from less than US$1,000 to more than US$2,000 per square meter. You need to do some ground work, as anywhere, to identify the particular neighborhoods that’d make most sense for you, depending on whether you’re shopping for a place to live or for a rental investment.

My favorite spots in the Philippines for pure investment are the resort towns of Cebu and Boracay. You can invest in a condo hotel in either of these beach locations for well under US$100,000 and expect good rental yields into the low double digits (question heavily anything projecting more than 12%).

Thailand places similar restrictions to those in the Philippines on foreign ownership of property, except in this country foreigners can own up to 49% of a condo building. In this country, the resort areas can offer opportunity for rental yield; Pattaya is Thailand’s biggest and best known beach destination. As in the Philippines, you can find one-bedroom apartments for less than US$60,000. Expect yields to be in the range of 6% for long-term rentals and a bit higher for short-term.

Pattaya might be a place to consider a rental investment, but other parts of Thailand make more sense as places to live. A top lifestyle choice in this country is Chiang Mai, where you can find one-bedroom apartments on offer for less than US$45,000 in some new developments. That would be for a unit in a building with amenities like a swimming pool. On the other hand, that apartment wouldn’t be much bigger than a large hotel room. Still, if you’re a retiree with limited resources who wants to own your own place, you’re not likely to find a property you’d actually want to live in anywhere else in the world for less than US$45,000.

Malaysia‘s foreign ownership restriction is based on the price of the property. Foreigners have to spend at least 1 million ringgit (about US$300,000 right now) to own a piece of property in Malaysia. Note that it must be 1 million ringgit invested in a single property; can’t be an aggregated amount among multiple properties.

That limitation makes buying for rental yield difficult. The sweet spot in the Kuala Lumpur market is apartments in the 120-square-meter range, which go for US$150,000 to US$250,000. Push the purchase price over US$300,000 to meet the minimum ringgit criteria and your yield will drop.

Still, Kuala Lumpur is a good, steady market. Also note that the U.S. dollar has seen a surge in value against the ringgit in the last few months. It’s close to its high of 3.30 ringgits to US$1 reached back in February.

Whatever the exchange rate in Malaysia, you could sell your parking space in Hong Kong and buy yourself a great apartment in the best neighborhood in KL.

Lief Simon

Comments

Tags: 'Philippines''Thailand'foreign ownership restrictions in asiaHow-toinvesting in malaysiainvesting in philippinesinvesting in thailandLief SimonMalaysiaproperty in boracayproperty in cebuProperty In Malaysiaproperty in pattayaproperty in philippinesproperty in thailand
Share84Tweet52
Previous Post

Off-The-Beaten-Path Travel Adventures In Hanoi, Vietnam

Next Post

Political Risk For Investors In Nicaragua

Lief Simon

Lief Simon

Lief Simon has lived and worked on five continents and traveled to more than 60 countries. In his long career as a global property investor, Lief has also managed multimillion-dollar portfolios of rental properties, for others and for himself. He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches.

Related Posts

Scenic sunset in Lisbon, Portugal.
Real Estate

How To Invest In Property 101: The Pitfalls You Should Avoid

by Lynn Mulvihill
January 18, 2021
0

Among the new trends we faced last summer in Ireland, a country home being snapped up by a foreign buyer...

Read more
Tropical waterside house with moored boat on lagoon side of Placencia in Belize.

Buying Real Estate In Belize: What You Need To Know

January 12, 2021
Red For Rent Real Estate Sign in Front of Beautiful House.

How To Make Sure You Profit From Your Overseas Rental Property

December 20, 2020
Panama City, Panama

How To Find A Rental In Panama City

December 18, 2020
House on top of a map. Invest in real estate concept.

Invest Now, Earn Later: Best Places To Invest In Real Estate

December 8, 2020
City skyline at Panama City, Panama.

Why Investing In Panama City Today Is A Different Ball Game

November 30, 2020
Real estate concept with icons of location, contract and price diagram

11 Questions You Need To Ask Before An Overseas Property Purchase

November 15, 2020
Next Post
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega sitting at a table addressing the microphone

Political Risk For Investors In Nicaragua

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

how to retire overseas

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2021

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

WANT TO RETIRE OVERSEAS?

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll immediately send you a free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE in style overseas. Each day you’ll learn about the best opportunities for international living, retiring overseas, offshore diversification and asset protection, and investing in real estate around the world.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.