Excess condo supply and falling demand from foreign buyers have prompted developers to slow, freeze or even revise their new developments in Pattaya, according to property consultants.

Surachet Kongcheep, associate director for research at property consultant Colliers International Thailand, said only 307 condo units were newly launched in Pattaya in the first half, a sharp drop from the second half of 2015 and the lowest level in years.

Since the first half of 2011, new condo supply launched in each half totalled over 3,000 units. The amount in the first half of 2016 declined consecutively since the first half of last year, according to Colliers' research.

"This was due to many factors such as the drop in the number of Russian tourists who have been the main buyers in Pattaya's condo market for the past few years," he said. "Some of the new supply is still waiting to be sold."

A total of 72,000 condo units were launched from 2011 to the first half of this year with over 17,000 units still available as of the end of June this year.

The average take-up rate was 77%, a slight increase from 2015, due largely to the government's property tax incentives, which boosted sales of ready-to-transfer units before they expired in late April.

Mr Surachet said many Chinese buyers have been investing in condo units in Pattaya during the past two years but they have been unable to offset the drop in the number of Russian buyers.

"Pattaya, like other resort destinations, will slow down until next year as it is a second-home market," he said.

Tirachai Pipitsupaphol, managing director of Ocean Property Co, the real estate development affiliate of the Assakul family's Ocean Group, said the company still had remaining units worth a combined 1 billion baht at Ocean Portofino Condominium in Jomtien Beach, which was completed several years ago.

"Pattaya's property market is likely to take several months to return to normal as there are no entertainment activities during the mourning period," he said.

Bangkok-based condo developer Fragrant Property Ltd is another developer facing sluggish sales. It decided to put a new condo project in Pattaya on hold since last year due to the low sales rate.

Magnolia Quality Development Corporation, a property developer owned by the Chearavanont family, is revising its plan for a large-scale project in Pattaya it will co-invest in with a Chinese partner.

According to Colliers, there were 4,326 condo units completed and registered in Pattaya in the first half of 2016, the highest in years and taking the total number of condo units in Pattaya to 70,577.

There are over 5,000 units under construction, scheduled to be completed before the year-end.

Jomtien was the most popular location for new condo supply launched in the past 5-6 years with more than 25,600 units launched from 2011 to the first half of this year, the highest in Pattaya.

This was due to the availability of plots in the location and land prices suitable for mid- to low-level condo projects. This meant a lot of below-mid-level projects were launched in Jomtien.

Wongamat recorded the lowest amount of condo supply launched in the past few years due to limited land plots. Most new condo projects in the location were high-priced.

The average selling price for a beachfront condo in Wongamat was the highest in Pattaya at 120,000 baht per square metre while the starting price for a non-beachfront unit was 60,000 baht per sq m.

Mr Surachet said the average selling price in the second half would be similar to that in the first half as most developers tried to attract buyers with campaigns and the market was still sluggish.