Uli Kaiser: How did IGUANA get into property development?
Miki Haim: About five years ago, IGUANA started with condo renovations, doing more than 160 units at Baan Suan Lalana and Metro Condotel. Based on this experience the management decided that Pattaya was a great place to do development and they decided to build Hyde Park 1, the first condo project in the city featuring a rooftop swimming pool.
This was great success and the 79 units quickly sold. Also the idea of the rooftop pool has been adopted by many other developers since.
After Pattaya Heights, for our next projects IGUANA came up with two different concepts: Sunset Boulevard, an upmarket project on Pratumnak Hill and the Park Lane project featuring low-cost, high-value condominiums in Jomtien.
The Park Lane project was launched in November 2008 with 609 units and the concept was one-bedroom apartments starting at a price of 1 Million Baht and a 1,600sqm lagoon pool around the building.
The success is unprecedented. The project is fully sold and nearing completion now. The first three phases are complete and Phase 4 will be ready by November this year. The speed and efficiency of this project are absolutely unbelievable. It’s a big, tear away success.

UK: So what sets Park Lane apart from other projects?
MH: Quality and value for money. You will find it hard to discover another development with these features that is so competitively priced.
Also, if you look at our showroom and the actual units, you will see that our clients are actually getting even better interior decoration and equipment than we presented in our showroom. We are dedicated to deliver excellent value for money.

UK: And on the back of Park Lane you decided to build Paradise Park?
MH: That’s right. It’s a little bit smaller, we have 550 fully furnished one- and two-bedroom units around a courtyard centre.
Paradise Park has a huge lagoon pool with an island at the centre with a sandy beach, a restaurant and a gymnasium. There’s also a shallow part of the pool and a children’s play area to take care of the needs of families.
This will be a full feature resort, just like Park Lane. The difference is that the development is open at the front, so there will be three buildings.

UK: How about the prices?
MH: The Bt1m price point has been well accepted in the market and proven to be a great success with our clients, so we will also start again at Bt1m. Building 1, with 140 units, has just been launched six weeks ago and 20 per cent has already been sold.
The top-of-the-range apartments of Paradise Park with direct pool access are priced at just under Bt2m. That’s what we call “affordability”.

UK: What does your typical client for Paradise Park look like?
MH: Almost all of our buyers are end users who buy either for themselves to live there or to rent it out.
We also have a larger share of overseas buyers who have discovered Pattaya as an investment location. These buyers are impressed with the value we deliver.

UK: At the price tag, the rate of return should be very good for the “buy-to-rent” investors.
MH: Yes, it’s a sustainable 10 per cent. Higher priced units have invariably a lower return on investment (ROI), that’s the way the market works.

UK: What’s the planned completion date for this project?
MH: The first building will be ready in September 2012 and the last the following June.

UK: Final question: In Pattaya, do you sell direct or through agents?
MH: Real estate agents are a vital part of this industry and IGUANA recognises the role of the agent as an advisor and specialist who understands the needs of the client and consults with both us and the customer throughout the selling process.
We are proud to work with some of the best agents in Pattaya and we encourage our clients to contact their agents and talk with them about Paradise Park and visit our showroom at our offices in Chateau Dale, Thrappraya Road. Ω