China threat: fear of Covid makes mainland Chinese buyers move faster

Ready-to-move-in apartments in Thailand are attracting Chinese buyers as most of them want to speed up their move to the country due to concerns over the future of the zero-covid policy Beijing.

Kashif Ansari, co-founder and group CEO of Juwai IQI, a real estate marketing company that owns juwai.com, an international real estate portal in China, said Chinese buyers have a sense of urgency that was not there before the pandemic. "If the Chinese are planning to move to Thailand, they want to do it immediately, not in two years. These are the first migrants," he said.

According to Mr. Tritecha Tangmatitham, chief executive of developer Supalai Plc, Chinese buyers resumed buying apartments in Bangkok in early 2022 as they were concerned about the lockout in their home country. "The Chinese were buying large-sized apartments and wanted to transfer them immediately as they wanted to move in immediately," Mr. Tritecha said.

Tongchai Busrapan, co-general manager of developer Noble Development Plc, said the purpose of apartment purchases among Chinese last year was to buy a second home, rather than investment or speculation, as was the case before the pandemic. "Active Chinese buyers last year were looking for large-sized apartments as they wanted to live together with their families," he said. "Chinese demand has also shifted to low-rise homes."

Pongsethorn Jom Salakshana, chief executive officer of property developer Fynn Development Co, said Chinese agents approached the company as their Chinese clients showed interest in the Fynn Asoke project, a recently completed condominium. "More Chinese want to own a second home outside China after the experience of the zero-covid policy," he said. "Now they want ready-to-move-in apartments, which was limited in the condominium market in Bangkok as the new supply was put on hold for three years."

Mr. Ansari said there would eventually be more Chinese buyers who would need more time to wait for a project, not just the urgent demand seen today. "Thai developers have to satisfy the anxieties of buyers.

He said the countries that most interested Chinese buyers in January 2023 were safe havens and top destinations for education. Australia was first, followed by the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

According to Juwai IQI's inquiries data, in the first full week after China announced its reopening, inquiries from Chinese international real estate buyers rose 55% in January and peaked at 70% compared to December 2022. "In January, Thailand came out of the top five. Southeast Asia has always been a favorite destination for Chinese buyers, but none of them made the top 5 in January," Mr. Ansari said.

He said inquiries from Chinese buyers plummeted by more than 60% in Thailand during the pandemic. They started to slowly recover in January and were expected to increase in the first quarter. Although most countries in the top 5 introduced new measures on Covid for Chinese arrivals in January, he did not think the testing requirements would have a significant impact on Chinese travelers. "The requirements are minor and easily achievable. The big issue is airline capacity and the cost of flights," he said.