These past few weeks I've been rambling about the city.
Is it just me or are all these fancy-dancy skyscrapers they are building insanely raising the cost of living?
I stay in one of the 20th century era apartments that is great bang for your buck. Approx 10 - 12k per month serviced apartment. I go to these new ones and the fairly new ones and the monthly rentals are, at the cheapest end of the spectrum - about 30+ to 40 grand per month. The more up-scale ones are 50 grand to even 80 grand a month. There seems to be another two dozen or so going up in the meantime with the olde-world structures being pulled down.
Now I know some of the folks on here will be like 'So what Ramble, deal with it, move outside BKK etc.'
I will probably do just that, I already paid a month down and a month deposit so I'm here for 2 months as it is. But seeing it all changing makes me nostalgic for the old Bangkok I had great times in.
Here's the thing. The people in these new skyscraper places are, from what I've seen, mostly Chinese and Thai folks of a high-income bracket. Is this building boom even sustainable? I look out and see few of these new ones being occupied. Often no more than 30% occupancy, even after some years (from the ones built in the last five years or so) they are hardly occupied!
I've been in some of the commercial ones and they have had a few businesses shut down as the gamble didn't pay off. It looks like a borderline White Elephant thing to me folks.
TL;DR - I think we are seeing another bubble like in 1997 guys...