Pattaya Property Buyers Are Waiting. But What Exactly Are They Waiting For?

By KC Cuijpers, CEO, Town & Country Property Co., Ltd.

The Pattaya property market is quiet at the moment.

That doesn't necessarily mean there are no buyers. It means many buyers are waiting.

But waiting for what?

I have seen this before. COVID was probably the clearest example. When uncertainty suddenly enters people's lives, property decisions tend to go in two completely opposite directions.

Some people put their hands firmly in their pockets.

Others start reconsidering where they actually want to live.

Uncertainty works both ways

Look at Europe today.

France has just experienced some of its worst civil unrest in years, with violent clashes, looting and widespread property damage following much larger peaceful demonstrations. Milan has also seen serious disturbances, with police clashing with protesters after demonstrations over rising living costs and deteriorating public services.

Whatever your politics, headlines like these create uncertainty.

For one potential property buyer, that means:

"Better keep my savings in the bank for the moment."

For somebody else, the reaction can be almost exactly the opposite:

"Perhaps it is time to get out."

And I suspect there is a third group too.

Foreigners already living in Thailand who look at what is happening elsewhere and quietly conclude:

Thailand isn't that bad after all.

They settle down. They invest. They put down roots. They grow as they go.

Sometimes instability elsewhere actually makes Thailand look more attractive, not less.

Then we have the land-and-house buyers

There is another group currently sitting on the fence for a completely different reason.

Foreign buyers who would like to buy a house and land in Thailand in a completely legal, secure and transparent way, but who don't consider a standard 30-year land lease sufficiently attractive.

The recent government crackdown on nominee structures has made that question much more important. The crackdown is real, and enforcement has intensified.

But the underlying legislation has not suddenly provided foreign buyers with a simple new alternative.

As of October 2026, the ordinary registered lease term remains limited to 30 years, and no generally available 99-year residential lease or new broad foreign land-ownership route has become law.

There may, however, be movement

In September, Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad interviewed Deputy Interior Minister Polpheer Suwannachawi about exactly this issue. He said the government is looking at ways to make ownership of a small piece of land easier for foreigners and expects to present a legislative proposal before the end of this year.

The precise details have not yet been disclosed. According to the interview, the government first wants to continue its crackdown on illegal nominee structures before introducing whatever new legal solution may follow.

That is why some buyers are waiting.

And frankly, so am I.

If Thailand can replace questionable nominee arrangements with a clear, secure and workable legal structure for genuine foreign homeowners and investors, that could remove a considerable amount of uncertainty from the residential property market.

Are Pattaya sellers panicking?

From what I see: no.

I don't see an exodus of desperate owners trying to get out at any price.

Most sellers seem to understand that the market is quiet and are prepared to sit it out.

Property markets have always moved in waves.

A little like windsurfing: without wind and waves, you don't get very far.

Then the wind comes back.

It always has.

That doesn't mean every asking price is correct, of course. Some properties will always be overpriced. But I don't currently see widespread panic pricing or distressed selling across Pattaya.

Owners are waiting for activity to return.

And buyers are waiting for some magical signal telling them it is safe to buy again.

Which brings us to the problem with waiting.

Somebody else may not wait

Over the years, I have watched quite a few buyers lose properties they really wanted.

They view a house.

They love it.

Then they decide to think about it.

Then think some more.

Then perhaps visit another agency, and another one, to make absolutely sure there isn't something better somewhere else.

Meanwhile somebody else buys it.

Back to square one.

One reason this happens in Thailand is the open listing system.

Many foreign buyers come from countries where an estate agent usually has an exclusive instruction from the owner. They therefore assume another agency will have a completely different selection.

Pattaya doesn't work quite like that.

Good agencies frequently have access to much of the same quality stock.

So visiting six agents doesn't necessarily produce six completely different property markets.

Sometimes it simply produces six versions of the same listings.

The important thing isn't finding the agent with the largest number of properties.

It is finding somebody who knows which ones are genuinely available, realistically priced, legally sensible and actually worth viewing.

Waiting is also a decision

I am certainly not suggesting people should rush into buying property.

Quite the opposite.

Do your homework. Take proper legal advice. Understand exactly what you are buying. And don't allow anybody to pressure you into a decision.

But don't confuse due diligence with endless hesitation.

There will never be a newspaper headline saying:

TODAY IS OFFICIALLY THE PERFECT DAY TO BUY PROPERTY IN PATTAYA.

Markets don't work that way.

The best opportunities often appear while everybody else is still waiting for certainty.

And by the time everybody agrees that the market is booming again?

Well...

You probably missed the quiet part.

KC Cuijpers
CEO, Town & Country Property Co., Ltd.