How is the credit crunch affecting you in Thailand?
Unless one has cash to buy property, then I reckon one should fasten their seat belts for the rough ride. It is now affecting quite a few banks etc in the UK similar to the US. My mortgage is up for renewal soon like many others I suspect and this morning the bank I mortgage with has withdrawn quite a few of its products, namely mortgages in the region of 6%, 2-year deals that sort of thing. The result being one has to choose a variable rate of 7.5%. This is happening in the UK, the US has its own way of dealing with things, but probably on the same lines, Europe I suspect is doing the same thing. All causing problems in the mortgage market. Now unless one has cash to pay for property, then it is going to be a rough ride for property. Why have I posted this on the Thailand board because ultimately it will affect people who want to buy in any country for that matter, who want to get a mortgage to buy it. I suspect a lot of people who buy 2nd homes will have an element of cash to put forward, but it is affecting prices already. It is predicted to get worse, which in turn will affect property prices - well that has already happened in the UK - a newly built flat in Ipswich (have you heard of that town heheheh) was on the market for ┬г268,000 but was auctioned off for ┬г133,000, an extreme case, but you get the picture.
There you go you have it. However, predictions of this credit crunch are that it will go on for at least till around November of this year, which is when the US elections take place. I tell you Bush has a lot to answer for - no, I'm not blaming him, and strangely enough it all started "apparently" when the Clinton regime was in power - we are all living in the land of "credit".
This credit crunch is also affecting credit cards and such like. It is affecting any way you can borrow money.
Will it be over with in a couple of years!!
let's lighten the load a little ...
... a little negative here, let's lighten the load a little - this time next year, things will seem a lot rosier, I'm sure. There is money about, lots of it, apparently, and the banks are holding on to it and that's for sure, until the this whole mess has been cleared in about a year's time - that is not me talking, but senior economists. The only reason I brought this subject up is that my bank was reminding me that my 3 year deal was coming to an end and that there were very little options to go over to, apart from a variable rate mortgage. All this cheap money is "out of the window" for the time being, but I'm sure it will return, but with caution.
For certain what is currently happening, as has been said before, the Americans are not visiting Thailand in droves, if the pound continues its way south, that will happen also to the Brits. However, the Euro is very powerful at the moment, so there is still room for the Germans etc to visit Thailand, and the Chinese, Russians etc. It's time to learn a new language!!!
