Hua Hin has been a favourite escape for Bangkokians for decades and is the retreat of choice for the Royal family, where the King spends time at the Klai Kangwan Palace there.
Its lengthy beaches, laid back atmosphere, tourist facilities and three-hour drive from Bangkok all add up to an attractive package. For this reason, Hua Hin has a robust property industry (which encompasses mostly condos), appealing to Bangkok weekenders, and retiring foreigners alike.
Because of strict laws that forbid foreigners owning property outright, the popular trend of acquiring real estate is the buying of condos and apartments in Hua Hin. It’s close to Bangkok and has a much more respectable image than Pattaya, and considerably more beachfront. Developers have thus aggressively built condos and apartments in Hua Hin in recent years.
Hua Hin has seen its housing development market sky rocket over the last three years, and development firms have cleared huge portions of the town’s hinterland to break ground on several construction projects. Once a small seaside village, Hua Hin is now a hotspot for condos and apartment development, as many foreigners consider it to be a quieter and cheaper alternative for sun and sand versus other resort cities of Thailand.
Renting condos and apartments in Hua Hin has also become quite popular among retiring expats, who have either worked in Asia for substantial amounts of time or who simply wish to live out their retirement in a warm, moderate climate.
Europeans that would normally retire in the warmth of southern Europe are beginning to shift to Thailand and Hua Hin as its inexpensive housing, infrastructure and golfing are far more attractive. From luxury apartments all the way down to cheap condos, there are properties to comfortably suit every budget.
First generation condos typically appear on the market for 2-3 million baht (US$66-100K), while plush, new, themed developments on the beachfront or hills behind the town have price tags beyond 5 million baht (US$166K).
Many of the latest developers are certainly trend-setters, with their interpretation of cutting edge design and luxury lifestyle pasted all over the numerous large billboards found along the highway entering the town.
With a large stretch between Cha-am and Hua Hin boasting beachfront, there is certainly plenty to choose from while still being conveniently close to the city. The prime beachfront located between the Hilton and Ta-kiap hill has largely been developed and is a lot more expensive, with hotels and condos mainly occupying much of this prime area, yet there are still some new projects under development.
Hua Hin central is now quite congested on weekends as Bangkokians flood in. This however, has encouraged increased infrastructure, such as the Market Village Mall and others facilities that provide good services. The town centre itself is loaded with cafés, restaurants and bars.
