The website claims 100,000 members, as many as 2 million visits a month (with 8.6 million page views) and more than 145,000 property listings.
At the launch event at the Watermark restaurant in Boat Lagoon, DDproperty’s Country Manager Jedsadakorn Na Lamphun said that the launch of the office in the Phuket market is “a big and important move as the market on the island has become as vibrant and competitive as that in Bangkok”.
“Phuket is not only a highly developed city, it is also considered one of the country’s important economic hubs. We can see this from the new developments and improvements to public facilities which have happened during the recent past.
“In terms of the property market, new launches have reflected the current demands from local buyers and foreign investors who have seen increasing opportunities and potential in the market”, he said.
“We have more than 140,000 properties listed on our website and have noticed a growing number of Phuket listings – numbers of which have doubled from last year.
“We believe in the strength of this market. After our debut in Phuket we are hoping that our Phuket database will become second to none and answer all the needs for all property hunters.”
DDProperty is part of a cluster of property websites called PropertyGuru, which includes sites covering residential and commercial property, and mortgages in Singapore, and property sites for Malaysia and Indonesia. The site is at ddproperty.com
The group’s International Group Editor Andrew Batt warned, however, that the Phuket property market faces a number of threats and challenges. He enumerated these to give those at the event something to chew on:
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In a regular survey of the places people search on the web for property, Pattaya recently overtook Phuket.
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Of Thais looking for property in Thailand, only 3 per cent looked at Phuket. Bangkok, Hua Hin, Pattaya, and even Haad Yai all outranked the island.
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Competition from overseas is attracting Thais, with CBRE noting that rich Thais are increasingly buying in London.
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Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia are all looking at changing ownership laws. Some markets are offering residence status to property investors spending over a certain amount. Thailand isn’t doing any of this.
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Smartphone users prefer apps to mobile websites. DDProperty claims 400,000 downloads for its smartphone apps, generating 17.5 million page views in October alone.