Phuket real estate developments were on show at Saturday's annual Thailand Property Awards ceremony.
Held at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok, four Phuket properties bagged leading honors.
These were Bluepoint for Best Boutique Condo Development, Nchantra as Best Condo Development, Anantara Vacation Club Mai Khao in the Best Shared Ownership category and Banyan Tree Residences as Best Villa Development.
Rounding out the list of winners in the Phuket category was CBRE Thailand as Best Residential Agent.
In the national category, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels won Best Agency Deal for the transaction of the Moevenpick Resort Karon Beach Phuket.
Banyan Tree Residences also topped the Thailand category for Best Villa Development countrywide.
I've recently been viewing island photos from Helicam's Above Phuket website.
There are some pretty amazing images which range from 360 degrees to bird's eye views.
For businesspeople there is a wide range of stock photos available on the resource to use for advertising, promotional materials and other uses.
While we all talk about the rapid development of the island, I continue to be amazed at the amount of green spaces still residing the entire island.
To view the site <link>http://www.abovephuket.com*CLICK</link>
A dispute between property buyers and the developer over unpaid rental revenue at the Nexus Residence in Kota Kinabalu is gaining overseas media attention.
The program which offered 7% returns by means of a lease-back arrangement for five years now has over 100 owners clamoring over alleged delayed payments which are a year overdue.
An owners group called Nexus Property Owners Association has been formed in Hong Kong. Clouding the issue on mass legal action is that the developer currently has liens on the property by banks, hence the owners group hasto now fall into a line of creditor.
As Asia'a property market continues to soar, and guaranteed returns continue to be flouted, buyers should be aware of the adage -"if the offer appears too good to
true, it most likely is".
Cashed up property developers from Thailand are continuing to push their investment horizon into the international arena.
Recently, listed firm Property Perfect hit the news over a deal in Japan's Niseko resort area. The firm has also reportedly set up a Singapore entity to spur overseas expansion.
Leading group Sansiri was a trend setter with the 9 Elvaston Place development in London's prime Kensington area.
Also creating headlines has been Pruska creating opportunities in India and the Maldives and Land and Houses eyeing the United States real estate sector.
As Thailand's middle class continues to emerge with significant buying power, government and private sector consumer action mechanisms are becoming more vocal.
One key example of this is the class action claims by members of the financially failed California Wow Fitness Center.
While the listed company has filed for bankruptcy, Bangkok Bank has already pursued civil action.
The Foundation for Consumers is taking up the cause of the masses, in coordinating a case with the Thai Office of Consumer Protection.
Media attention has been captivating many but it's a positive to see that Asia is now embracing international standards for consumer practices and disputes.
Recently the Nation ran an article about the booming THB10 billion development stream of new condominium projects.
Familiar name Sansiri has slated three new projects totaling THB2.6 billion alone.
Another key player is Baan Ratchaprasong with the high profile Energy Hua Hin which the publication said sold out its first phase last year.
Other active property firms include SC Assets Corporation and LPN.
Pricing points for much of the product is at entry level THB2 to 5 million and is aimed at domestic buyers.
Thailand's publically listed firm BTS has announced the sale through a affiliate of a massive 455 rai greenfield development site in Phuket Thailand.
According to a filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Co., Ltd. with its major shareholder BTS divested its shareholding in the Kamala Beach Resort Co., which owns the land parcel.
The buyer's name has not been disclosed, except that it is a Thai company. The transaction was valuedat THB1.64 billion which equates to approximately THB3.6 million a rai.
BTS had previously planned to develop the site which has both a property division under and hospitality group U Hotels.
A portion of the site includes a prime beachfront portion on the Northern side of Kamala Beach and large inland piece near to the Swissotel (formerly Courtyard by Marriott). Next door to the ocean fronting side is the new Novotel which is moving towards completion.
Industry sources are viewing the transaction with interest given the high potential for both upscale hotel and residential property development on the land.
We aren't quite sure if the current National Park land encroachment dispute should be called Damn Wrong or Damn Right!
One thing for sure is that things are set to heat up on the heels of an announcement by Damrong Phidet Director-General of Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Conservation that come September 25th he will be instructing a large team of officers to review the alleged infringements by developers of a series of luxury hotels and resorts on the island's West Coast.
As is the fashion of headline grapping rumors that have been swilling over impending action by the Government to dismantle illegal structures and more bizarrely death threats to officials which may or may not have happened, depending the storyline in a given day.
While resort and luxury estate names are being flaunted here and there, the investigation seems to be a moving target. In reality the only immediate danger is that another national issue might come up in the next few weeks and push the story deeper into the news.
End of the day, each landowner and the Government will have the option to pursue the matter in a court of law and this will no doubt play out over a period of time.
The Philippines real estate industry's romance with mogul Donald Trump looks set to be taken up a notch.
After a successful launch of the 220 units Trump Tower Manila, which will be the tallest building in the Philippines, the two parties look to go to the next step.
Project developers Century Properties have spoken to the media about plans to bring more Trump branded property to the country.
Currently the Philippines is experiencing a surge in its real estate market, especially in the sprawling Metro Manila area.
