Phuket Post - A Different Kind of Newspaper
Location, location, location
Location, location, location
(2008-12-15 09:56:11)
SURIN Park, a luxury sea-view condominium in the heart of Surin village, provides the ultimate in life-style options at prices which enable an optimum return on investment.

The exclusive neighbourhood is a guarantee of superior capital growth, and the rental program ensures excellent rental yield.

Property comes in all shapes and sizes with prices to suit the most moderate to the most extravagant of budgets, but at the very high end of the property market, a good location is not always synonymous with luxury property.

But a luxury property is nearly always synonymous with a good location.

But when it comes to developing a luxury property, you have to look more into the
specifics of the location.

Think of Phuket as an uncut gem, polished in places but still a little rough around the edges.

Not every area could be considered a ‘luxury location’ for property.

Almost every developer, and certainly the majority of sales agents, will tell you that their property is in a fantastic location, irrespective of where it actually is.

It is not always wise to take those claims on face value.

Before you buy, you should take an in-depth look at the area in question to determine if the property has the dynamics necessary to support a luxury lifestyle.

As a developer of high-end resort-style condominiums, the Surin Park Corporation is willing to pay a premium for the right land in the best location.

“Identifying and securing the right location is our single most important consideration before commencing development,” said Surin director, Tero Borvornpotsakul.

“Condos have moved away from simply being mid-range market products with a select number of developments at the high-end creating a new luxury niche in the market for those seeking an alternative to the villa lifestyle,” he said.

“With luxury villas dominating the top-end of the market, it is essential that any truly high-end condo project is in a truly high-end location.

“For us, as a developer, having decided to focus our product at the luxury sector of the market, I then set out to determine what my customers want, and find a location to meet
that criteria.

“The first thing I do when buying land is look at the surrounding area, to determine whether or not it is an already an established luxury area, whether it is close to the beach, whether it has sea views, and whether the infrastructure is already in place, such as five-star hotels, fine dining, shopping and transport access.

“It is essential that all those things are in place,” he said.

Mr Borvornpotsakul said there was no point investing in building a quality product if the location was wrong.

“Absolutely nothing can correct a wrong location,” he said.

“You can’t subsidise a bad location by building a bigger swimming pool, or improving your clubhouse facilities.

“A true luxury high-end condo requires sea views, proximity to the beach and services.

“It would be difficult for me to convince my customers that they are buying into a high-end condo unless the surrounding area reflects the high-end status.”

Mr Borvornpotsakul said condominium’s commanded premium prices and, therefore, customers expected a premium in terms of quality, services and location.

“This is why areas such as Surin and Bangtao on the west coast, tick all the boxes in terms of luxury location,” he said.

“They have all the essential ingredients such as proximity to the beach, sea views and an established luxury infrastructure.”

He said Surin Park Corporation’s next project was Arcon, which represented the ultimate in creative contemporary design.

Mr Borvornpotsakul said it was already being slated as the new benchmark standard for condominium development in the exclusive Surin village.

“This is a significant accolade from real estate agents, based in an investment-savvy community, which has already enjoyed unparalleled returns on investment, both in terms of capital growth and rental yield,” he said.

“Arco’s architects have achieved the optimum benefit from the elevated position of the Arco site,” he said.

The project will include 20 two-bedroom units, each with outstanding ocean views.

There will also be five penthouses on the top 3 floors, with private pools and roof decks.
Each penthouse will have a total of 400sqm of living space.