Asian cities lorded over the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living report, out last week.

Names from the continent dominated both lists of the costliest and most affordable places to live in the world, per the report’s Cost of Living Index. Five of the world’s top six expensive cities are all in Asia, while cities in the Indian subcontinent make up half of the 10 least costly cities on earth.

Some traditionally expensive alpha cities have become more affordable of late. Due to the post-Brexit depreciation of the sterling, London is now only the 24th most expensive city in the world, while Manchester registered the biggest fall, from number 26 previously to a distant 51, making it cheaper than Beijing and tying it with Bangkok.

London is now a far greater lifestyle bargain than New York City, at ninth place, for the first time in 15 years, and Paris, at eighth place.

To arrive at the results, EIU tracked 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, including clothing, food, transport, home rents, utility bills, private schools, and recreation, in 133 cities around the world.

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The city is sorely lacking in green space per capita

Thai architects are partnering with the government on plans to turn Bangkok and other big urban areas into “public cities for all,” with green spaces that are commensurate with the needs of their inhabitants, The Nation reported.

The Thai Association of Landscape Architects (TALA) announced Wednesday it is pitching the Health Ministry a policy promoting more green, public spaces in the city.

The architects will be working closely with the National Health Commission Office and “brainstorming” with the private sector and civilian stakeholders, according to landscape architect Yossapon Boonsom of TALA.

“We live in a sick city, full of pollution and limited in public spaces, and many urban dwellers are physically ill,” he said.

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Non-beach-related activities hold their own in the popular Thai resort hub amid improving air linkages

Phuket is transforming into a more well-rounded destination as a preponderance of visitors takes advantage of the Thai resort island’s expanding air transport infrastructure.

Tourists as well as property seekers are finding new purpose in the renowned island in the Andaman Sea: spending time and money on activities not necessarily related to the beach.

Almost 200,000 square meters’ worth of premium-grade leasable retail spaces are in the pipeline for Phuket, offering travellers and new residents options beyond the sand and surf, a new report by hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks showed.

Developers are also adding more serviced apartment units to mixed-use projects in a bid to attract real estate buyers, underscoring Phuket’s changing consumer landscape. Ten upcoming mixed-use properties are set to have a hotel-residence component, comprising 28 percent of total incoming supply.

“Phuket is gradually transforming to a more urbanised holiday destination rather than a pure beach getaway,” said C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett in a statement.

Four retail complexes are under development in the island — extensions to Boat Avenue and Central Festival Phuket among them — as demand for “non-beach centric activities” rise, C9 Hotelworks noted in the report.

“With the strong purchasing power of tourists, especially Chinese, Russians and Australians, more retail and tourism attractions are developing on the island.”

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Will buyers ever tire of the Land of Smiles?

For Australians, the phrase ‘the lucky country’ has strong resonance. The nickname, coined by author Donald Horne in his novel of the same name, has been used to describe the Antipodean nation’s weather, lifestyle and is often invoked to describe its good fortune from gold rushes to economic booms.

Despite its roots Down Under, the description could just as easily be applied to Thailand: a nation whose spectacular natural attributes, incredible cuisine and long-established cache as one of the world’s most appealing places to live has enabled its property market to ride out storms and setbacks that might have floored those in other countries.

“Thailand’s infrastructure, accessibility, and general reputation for being a laid-back leisure destination are still vastly superior to other neighbouring countries,” says Andrew Gulbrandson, research head at JLL Thailand. “While certain destinations within Thailand may become less popular, it’s difficult to envision a scenario where Thailand’s desirability as a place to invest substantially decreases.”

Indeed, the country’s reputation for being Teflon-coated when it comes to deflecting troublesome news, events and economic tidings is as resonant as ever. In August 2016, bombs exploded in the tourist hubs of Hua Hin and Phuket while last October saw the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the nation’s much revered monarch.

This year has, by Thai standards at least, been relatively light on potentially seismic events. However, the military-run government, in power since a coup in 2014, preside over an economy that continues to be lacklustre. The economy will expand 3.3 percent a year on average from 2017 to 2019, according to the World Bank, the weakest among eight developing Southeast Asian nations.

Given all this you could be forgiven for thinking that the country’s once-thriving real estate sector might be showing signs of lethargy, if not out and out fatigue. Not so, say analysts, experts and developers, pointing to booming demand for luxury property in the capital Bangkok and healthy interest from investors, both foreign and Thai, in popular secondary markets such as the paradise islands of Phuket and Koh Samui and the well-located beach resort of Hua Hin.

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The luxury senior housing industry is dawning on the kingdom as more and more Thais retire in independence

Thailand is greying fast. The kingdom holds the highest share of elderly people of any developing nation in East Asia and Pacific, the World Bank reported. As it stands, 11 percent of the Thai populace, representing 7.5 million people, are aged at least 65 years. The figure in 1995 was 5 percent; by 2040, it will have increased to as much a fourth of the populace or 17 million people.

In any other market, the vintage of a populace would be a bonanza to property developers. But this is Thailand, land of multigenerational households; to capitalise on the astronomical growth of its geriatric demographic, one has to fight against a tide of ingrained mores.

As with many Asian countries, the notion of children booking their parents in retirement communities and nursing care homes was once unthinkable in the kingdom. If anything, empty nesters are loathe to leave their homes, many bequethed to them across multiple generations. Upwardly mobile children will simply hire private nurses and nursing aides as their caretaking proxies.

“Some people are getting around this by living in a condominium where they own units side by side,” said Kipsan Beck, managing director of the supertall MahaNakhon mixed-use project in Bangkok, at the first PropertyGuru Thailand Real Estate Summit. “But imagine that elderly people have some special needs. They need medical services on-call; they need slightly different furnishings from those for a 20- or 30-year old.”

Granted, the luxury senior housing market in the country remains “relatively small,” Jones Lang LaSalle reported in July. Slowly but surely, however, wealthy baby boomers are growing comfortable with the idea of active ageing, independent of family members.

“Senior living in Thailand is a key growth sector that we will see over the next 10 years,” said Andrew Gulbrandson, head of research and consulting at Jones Lang LaSalle Thailand.

Several consortia and joint ventures have made a headstart on such a captive market. In Chon Buri, the Sunplay Bangsaray project invites active retirees to live out their golden years in highly amenitised pool villas and condominiums alongside a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse. Along the beaches of Kamala in Phuket will rise MontAzure, a 454-rai mixed-use development whose central components include Kamala Senior Living, an upscale retirement community, as well as Thailand’s first Café del Mar.

Kamala Senior Living is  geared toward leisure-oriented, high-net-worth property seekers of a certain age. “These are active retirees who would like to enjoy their lives,” said Jonathan Umali, director of project and asset management at Hong Kong’s ARCH Capital Management, a lead investor in MontAzure. “There are activities organised for residents, so that they have something to do every day. It’s like being in a cruise ship.”

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PHUKET: Central Pattana Plc (CPN), Thailand’s largest retail property developer, today (Sept 10) celebrated the grand opening of Central Phuket, its B20-billion luxury flagship mall.

CPN Deputy CEO Wallaya Chirathivat said, “Visiting Central Phuket will fulfil all types of lifestyles: eat, shop and have fun throughout the day.

“This project highlights our excellence on a global scale in three aspects: a ‘World-Class Project’ – it is a world-class mega project and Central Pattana’s luxury flagship store, a fulfilling shopping experience making Phuket the perfect ‘Beach Lifestyle Destination’; ‘World-Class Experience’ – creating a world-class experience to meet the ‘Luxury & Leisure Lifestyle’ travel trend of people from around the world, with a selection of global brands and launching international events throughout the year under the concept of ‘The World Comes to Play’; and ‘World-Class Attractions’ – the new destination for tourists from all over the world with the ‘World’s First Ever’ attractions,” she added.

“Central Phuket helps to emphasise us as a global player and it is in line with the provincial development policy to elevate Phuket to be one of the most complete travel destinations in the world,” Ms Wallaya noted.

The positioning of Central Phuket is set to be ‘The Magnitude of ‘Luxury & Leisure’ Resort Shopping Destination’, a seamless combination of Luxury and Leisure lifestyle in one place, a release issued today explained.

The entire project comprises the newly opened today ‘Floresta’ building, which focuses on tourists and customers “who prefer a luxurious lifestyle, enjoy shopping for leading brands and like to visit world-class attractions”.

Meanwhile, the already long well-known ‘Festival’ building aims to attract “family-group customers who regularly visit the shopping centre to shop, enjoy good food and watch movies”, the release added.

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Asia Center Foundation (ACF) is a christian charity registered as a Non Government Organization (NGO) on Phuket, Thailand in operation since 2002. Our mission is to help disadvantaged children and children-at-risk by providing care, training and education so that they will fulfill their God-given potential.

The ACF’s vision is to restore children to God, transform and develop them into leaders influencing their world.

ACF employs local Thai staff and also makes use of the help of local and international volunteers to engage and work with underprivileged, impoverished children and children-at-risk on Phuket.

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PHUKET: The Chief of the Phuket Immigration Office, Col Kathathorn Kumthieng, has confirmed that all foreigners registered as living in Phuket must re-report their address to immigration after being registered as staying in a hotel within Thailand, even for just one night.

The confirmation follows complaints from long-term expats that they were fined B2,000 for not re-registering their home addresses after travelling within the country.

“By law, it is a requirement to register your address within 24 hours after being registered elsewhere, such as at a hotel or a guesthouse,” Col Kathathorn told The Phuket News this week.

“This is because the hotel or guest house will have to register you, also by law, as residing somewhere other than your residence. So when you return to your residence, you must inform immigration,” he explained.

The same also applies for foreigners living in Phuket who leave the country and return, say for a weekend trip to Singapore.

Col Kathathorn played down concerns for honest, law-abiding expats.

“Although it is the law, if it’s a short stay, for example a day or two, and nothing happens to prompt officials to check then there usually won’t be a problem,” he said, for stays away from home within the country.

“However, if you become involved in an incident and become a suspect in a case for example, not re-registering your address will be a big problem. So it’s better if you do.”

Regardless, although the overall effect for most foreigners caught not re-registering their address each time on returning home to Phuket might be deemed negligible, foreigners will be liable to a B2,000 fine for each infringement and the incident will remain on their immigration record.

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