......Each year, I like to look back at the past year and highlight some of the outstanding developers and developments found within our Eastern Seaboard real estate industry, but I must admit, looking back over the past year, Pattaya’s ‘Movers and Shakers’ look more like the ‘Shook and the Shaking’ as Thailand’s entire real estate sector has been pretty much ‘brought to its knees’ by one debacle after another.
Yes, with all of the ‘doom and gloom’ realities brought forth by the Thai government and its ‘coup revolution thingy’ and the recent ‘turnstile’ of prime ministers coming and going, it is a wonder there is any business left at all in this country. But there sure is!
Thank God – the Thai government has not totally destroyed foreign business and foreigners interests to live and retire here.
Thank God – people just cannot stay away from this wonderful country.
Russians are buying property here on the Eastern Seaboard and there are British, Americans and Europeans looking for a ‘place to put their money’... and just as 2006 and 2007 brought us a broad spectrum of new and innovative marketing and construction expertise here on the Eastern Seaboard, 2008 brought its own ‘new developments’ for our area.
It was during 2008 that the Eastern Seaboard’s Real Estate Broker Association was officially registered as a Thai Non-Profit organisation.
It was during 2008 that the Eastern Seaboard witnessed five of its top real estate brokers become Certified International Property Specialists (CIPS) following an intensive seven-day training seminar at the Bangkok Shangri La Hotel put on by America’s National Association of Realtors.
It was during 2008 that the Eastern Seaboard was first recognised by the Thailand Property Awards annual awards at the Bangkok Conrad Hotel. It was the ‘Best Villa Development’ and ‘Best Condominium Development’ categories from the Eastern Seaboard that were recognised with special Thailand Property Awards presentations.
This prestigious event also featured two of the Eastern Seaboard’s real estate personalities presenting those awards. Yes, the Eastern Seaboard’s real estate developments, developers and professionals have finally ‘come of age’ and entered the national arena of property expertise.
Speaking of property expertise, the last couple of years I have made a point of highlighting the ‘Showroom of the Year’. So, after seeing a fabulous showroom designed and constructed on site and then repeated identically within the building itself, I have to mention the Ocean’s Edge ‘new showroom’ as they really have done an incredible job in material and design innovation.
I think that it is also fair to comment that there are a number of very well designed and built showrooms out there within our area as a good number of our Eastern Seaboard developers have really done great jobs in ‘Showroom Design and Construction’.
The professionalism we see regularly in our advertising, including some fabulous development brochures, shows just how far we have managed to come in this very competitive business of property marketing.
The marketing of a top class residential development (house or condo) is not just about beautiful photos and poetic accolades. No, it is a lot more than that ... a lot more! Merely ‘displaying’ a beautiful house or a gorgeous condominium apartment just isn’t enough anymore.
To successfully market a top class residential development these days, a developer needs to sell a lifestyle and that is exactly what Horseshoe Point was able to do this year in wooing the five Eastern Seaboard Thailand Property Award judges.
Khun Jate Sopitpongstorn and his entire staff ‘went above and beyond’ in presenting their Horseshoe Point development home designs to the five award judges. The over-riding impression felt by each of those judges was the ‘Horseshoe Point Lifestyle’!
In addition to the ‘Horseshoe Point Lifestyle’, I do not think that any of us would mind living the Siam Royal View Lifestyle or the View Talay Marina Lifestyle either.
The Siam Royal View Lifestyle will soon be featuring a café, lounge and ‘fine dining’ at its highest degree with the new restaurant facilities that will be opening this year. That’s café, lounge and ‘fine dining’ with one of Pattaya’s most beautiful sea views.
For those that would like to be close to the ocean and enjoy the ambiance of a top class marina lifestyle, View Talay Marina is for them. You will be absolutely impressed with the beautiful hardwoods, marble and granite throughout these gorgeous homes with lovely private gardens and pools.
I am very sure that both Siam Royal View and View Talay Marina are going to be right on top of the list in next year’s Thailand Property Awards event – both featuring very exciting lifestyles for the discerning luxury home hunter.
And what condominium developments impressed this year’s Eastern Seaboard judges? Ocean Marina Yacht Club’s Portofino scored very high and was greatly appreciated along with Rayong’s beachfront Phuphatara Resort with its impressive showroom and marketing materials.
It was a challenging decision this year in scoring the Best Condominium Development, but in the end it got down to ‘Lifestyle’ ... and the overall winner was Raimon Land’s Northpoint on Pattaya’s beautiful Wong-amat Beach.
Starting with the Northpoint’s construction and design team and the highly trained work force behind them, you know when you drive on site at Northpoint that you have ‘arrived’ and quickly you realise that this is not ‘typical’ Pattaya design and construction.
The entire Northpoint ‘Experience’ for the Thailand Property Awards Eastern Seaboard judges was most impressive. Once you have been to the top of the Northpoint building and looked out over that incredible sea, island and sunset view and then step into the showroom to walk through the show units you get the picture ... of the ‘Northpoint Lifestyle’!
In addition to the Northpoint Experience I must mention The Cove. The Cove’s developer has been doing everything right and at a level unseen in Pattaya. If The Cove keeps up the pace, I’ll definitely be looking for them to be in the running for next year’s Thailand Property Awards.
Yes, to be a winner here in property development you need to be world class. And that is exactly what our area did this year – we showed the entire country that Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard is ‘on the map’ when it comes to luxury living.
Even though times are tough this is still a fabulous place to live and we certainly have some fabulous ‘lifestyles’ to choose from within our luxury developments.
Thank God … the Thai government really does appear to be focusing on foreign business and foreigners’ interests to live and retire here.
And ... for all of us ‘in the business’... thank God people just cannot stay away from this wonderful country.
l The views of our columnists are not necessarily those of REm.

By Clayton Wade, Managing Director
Premier Homes Real Estate Co Ltd
081-634-2915
clayton@premierinternational.com