Chinese investors are buying less property in Thailand due to financial problems at home.

Chinese real estate investors, who used to buy up luxurious apartments and condos in Thailand, are cutting back on their investments due to the economic downturn and crisis in their own country. Many Chinese investors have been putting up to70% of their savings into real estate, which has been beneficial for the luxury apartment and condo market in Thailand for several years. However, this trend is now starting to decline. According to a report from Juwai IQI Group, which helps Chinese buyers find property in Southeast Asia, Thailand is no longer the top destination for Chinese buyers as it used to be. It now ranks fifth, with traditional English-speaking countries with prestigious educational sectors taking the top four spots.

According to the report, Thailand was the top destination for Chinese residential real estate investment from 2018 to 2021, but it dropped to fourth place by 2022 and fifth place in the first half of 2023. The Thailand Real Estate Information Center also reports that Chinese buyers were the largest group of foreign condominium buyers in Thailand from 2018, purchasing 3,562 units worth more than $511 million in the first nine months of 2022. According to the Juwai IQI report, the four most popular countries among Chinese buyers in the first half of 2023 are Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. Chinese are buying homes in Australia to move and live there permanently.

Neighboring Vietnam is ranked ninth in the Ansari survey and is less dependent on Chinese investors than Thailand, according to real estate agents. Nguyen Thanh Nga, chairman of real estate developer Global Green Real Estate sitting in Ho Chi Minh City, said that "Chinese investors are mainly interested in apartments in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City." He said the collapse in the Chinese real estate market has not affected Vietnam and investment by Chinese investors there remains stable. Su Ngoc Khuong, investment director of Savills Vietnam, said Vietnam does not depend on Chinese buyers and foreign buyers who contact his company come from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

A study by Shanghai Institute of Finance at Shanghai University and financial firm Charles Schwab found that overall financial confidence among China's wealthy citizens has declined slightly this year, causing them to hold back on buying luxury goods. Problems in the Chinese economy, such as high youth unemployment, an 8.8% drop in exports in August, a decline in household spending contributing to deflation, and a massive crisis in the real estate market, have sparked speculation that the next step in China's decade of hot economic growth could be stagnation. These domestic financial difficulties mean Chinese buyers are hesitant to invest in Thailand. Deals now take several months.

According to the founder of Taiheju real estateagency, which mainly works with Chinese clients intending to rent or invest in property in Thailand, it now takes several months to close deals. Professor Prashanth Parameswaran, who works at the Wilson Center and is the founder of ASEAN Wonk weekly, said that we are seeing a reassessment of post-pandemic economic reality, and this includes the current slow growth of the Chinese economy. He also noted that future momentum will depend on the actions of other Chinese investors and how Southeast Asian states can manage the effects of this downturn with both Beijing and other potential sources of investment.