Phuket Real Estate Slammed By BBC
Over the past few days I have been inundated by emails about a BBC news segment and subsequent magazine piece on "The Phuket Property Nightmare' by the BBC.
To read the BBC piece <link>http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34346620*CLICK</link>
Clearly the news has gone global and is inciting comments across many markets.
Jonathan Head who is the BBC journalist based in Bangkok is a longstanding and well regarded professional, though there is a debate on whether the piece in question is sensational or simply investigative.
From a non-partisan view the story has represented comments from both the aggrieved parties and local Thai government and legal sources so it remains well founded.
What is an issue is that there remains little recognition of the plights of foreign property buyers in Phuket and in reality all of Thailand. They are grouped under the status quo and remain unacknowledged in the wheels of consumer protection.
More worrisome is the reputation breach for Phuket real estate and the lack of a response by the local or national government.
As the focus continues to be on creating happiness in Thailand, the reality of public relations disasters like the BBC piece is they not proactively addressed and actioned.
Broadly speaking the island's property sector is populated by well-heeled developers from public companies like Laguna Hotels and Resorts, Charn Issara, Land and Houses, Sansiri, Pruska, Supalai and many more.
Though as everywhere in the world, there are those developments and transactions which run aground and threaten to under mind a larger marketplace.
What is needed here on the island is recognition by the provincial government of the importance of the sector and a vehicle to allow valid complaints from foreign nationals.
On an equal scale is a call out to the sector to create a method to address such widespread pr problems and mitigating broader damage. as they arise
Welcome to Phuket's latest nightmare.