......Kate Olgeirsson’s philosophy is a fairly straightforward one: “If people won’t come to us, we simply have to go to them.”
And so when the opportunity to take an exhibition area within Pattaya’s Floating Market came up Kate and the rest of her team at Global Pacific (GP) seized it.
It was a decision that, just 10 days into the arrangement, Kate was very pleased with. “We have signed to take this area for two months from May 1,” she said. “Already we have had more than 40 enquiries – mostly from Bangkok visitors – and we have been very busy.”
Will GP look to stay on beyond the two months? “I’ll say a big ‘yes’ to extend,” said Kate with a big grin on her face, adding, “of course, that’s provided we can get the right terms. We may hope to secure more space here.”
There is more than one entrance into the market and Global Pacific have managed to secure an “island” site very close to one of them. Visitors must pass their exhibition area to get into the main body of the market.
GP exclusively feature the developments of the Iguana Group in their display as part of an exclusive deal they have with the developers.
The fact that the floating market attracts large numbers of Thai nationals as well as foreigners is seen as a bonus by GP as they strive to sell some of the 51 per cent that must be sold to Thai nationals in the various Iguana condominium projects.
“We get a really mixture here,” said Kate, “Thais, Chinese, Koreans, Germans, Brits, you name it. We get different people every day here.
“We have quiet moments and then it can go mad. The other day things seemed to be quietening down about 7 o’clock and we got ready to leave. As I was getting into my car six coachloads turned up so it was a case of get back to the exhibition – and quickly.”
Was it possible to predict when the coaches will roll up? “No. It’s a fairly steady flow and they just seem to keep coming which is great. But no set times so we cannot plan for anything.”
Why the floating market? “As I said earlier, we have to go where the customers are. It will be nice if we can help bring the investors back,” said Kate, “and we are not just trying to do it here. We are also looking to get into direct marketing to customers in Bangkok and Phuket. At the moment we are thinking just in terms of Thailand but it would be good to have a roadshow we could take elsewhere.”
Kate added: “The message that we are trying to get across is that we (the property people of Thailand) are still here and the offering is still great.
“Every country has its ups and downs, but life goes on. I see little point in people keeping their money in the bank earning next to no interest when they can get much higher returns here in Pattaya.
“At the floating market we have far more contact with people. For me direct marketing is the way to go. We (in the GP team) take it in turns to work at the market while continuing to run our Pattaya Tai office.
“Here we tell prospective investors about the projects and try to gain their interest. If people want to know more we send them an email giving price details and floor plans.
“If they live in Bangkok and continue to be interested we will send a car to collect and bring them back to Pattaya to go to look at the projects for themselves.”
On the stand there is a Powerpoint-style presentation on the TV. “My colleague, David, put in many hours of work to get it converted into the Thai language,” said Kate, intimating that the effort was well worth it.
“There are still buyers out there,” said Kate. “Now it’s the Koreans and the Chinese who have the money.
“We also know that some economies – such as the American one – are on the turn so we have to be positive.
“We are trying to ‘fly the flag’ here for property investments. We know expats and we know their problems. But Thailand in general – and Pattaya in particular – are still top tourist destinations and we have to build on that.
“The mayor has played his part by offering 20,000 free rooms to the MICE (conventions and exhibitions) market to stimulate visits here.
“I hope hoteliers will meet us halfway if we try to bring prospective buyers back by offering reduced rates.”
Does anything else need to happen in Kate’s view?
“It would be nice to see developers make it easier for people to buy by offering easier payment terms. Also it would be nice if the government could make things easier in terms of ownership rights,” said Kate. Ω