Newspaper Features: 2007
Archive of Bill's regular newspaper columns.
From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Rental Market Comes of Age
A few years ago, you could count on two hands the number of rental villas and resort condominiums-cum-resorts in Phuket. Coming into 2008, the market has developed into a significant market force and guests are benefiting...
Posted: 29 Dec, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 219
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: A Property Market Named Desire
Going by the numbers, the sunny isle of Phuket has seen a flourish of economic growth in 2007. It’s been a banner year for tourism with arrivals looking to exceed five million. Hotel occupancies together with average...
Posted: 8 Dec, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 241
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: In Memory of Tucker Bishop
Living on a small island such as Phuket, it’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of life. Seeing friends marry, children being born, families growing up and people we know die, all of these play a central role in our...
Posted: 24 Nov, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 261
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Danang Muscles In on Regional Market
It is astounding to see the rapid emergence of the property market in Danang, central Vietnam. For markets such as Phuket, it’s important to track existing competition and to look at up-and-coming destinations vying for...
Posted: 10 Nov, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 208
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Keep Your Eyes on the Green
One of the greatest signs you’ll see around the world of a growing affluence for luxury items is in the golf industry. Be it Tiger Woods stature as one of the most recognized personalities of our era or the upswing in...
Posted: 28 Oct, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 216
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Khao Lak – Back to the Future
Fabulous west-coast, white-sand beaches at the doorstep of your five-star hotel, close to an international airport and kilometers of natural rainforest. If you hadn’t guessed by now it’s our northern resort neighbor...
Posted: 13 Oct, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 208
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Going for the Green
Landscaping is a discipline inherent to architecture, yet it is often overlooked with amazingly little time and money spent on it. Although landscaping is one of the most important elements of a house or home development,...
Posted: 22 Sep, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 236
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Groundhog Day
Those of us involved in the property business in Phuket over the past six years know that it’s been a bit of a wild roller coaster ride, with its ups, downs and in-betweens. But each year as the rains come and our...
Posted: 8 Sep, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 220
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Number Crunching Pays Dividends
Deciding what to spend on sales and marketing for a new development can be a daunting task. Taking a big picture approach of key financial numbers for the project and then working through the details makes considerably...
Posted: 25 Aug, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 213
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: A fresh Look At Kamala
For some reason Kamala remains an enigma in the Phuket property market. Despite being home to arguably the most multi-million-dollar villas on the island, Kamala is rarely mentioned in the same breath as its...
Posted: 11 Aug, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 361
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Time for Timeshare
Travel around the world and no matter where you land, be it North America, Europe or Asia, you’ll find vacation ownership and timeshare being offered. Although timeshare in the past experienced some growing pains, it...
Posted: 28 Jul, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 219
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Upscale Fractional Ownership Comes of Age
What do esteemed luxury brands such as Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Hyatt and St. Regis all have in common? All are players in the global surge in fractional ownership, and it’s a trend that is growing in the worldwide...
Posted: 14 Jul, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 222
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Can Patong Reinvent Itself?
Everyone has an opinion on Patong. Either they love it or hate it, but there never seems to be a lack sentiment when the subject comes up. No matter what you think of the place, no one can deny Patong’s significance to...
Posted: 20 Jun, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 215
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Low Cost Travel Boon for Developers
Looking at the current phenomenal regional expansion of Asian low-cost airlines (LCCs) such as Air Asia, Nok Air, Tiger and Jet Star, the question that always comes up is just how much more market demand can they...
Posted: 16 Jun, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 221
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: The Next Big Thing
Writing this column is a great icebreaker when I meet people. Without a doubt, two questions I am asked the most are “So, what’s the next big trend?” or “What little known spot will be tomorrow’s real estate...
Posted: 5 May, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 241
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Solid Legal Planning Prevents Pain
Whether you are buying a resort villa, selling a piece of land or developing investment property, transforming any financial deal into a profitable investment can be a rocky road. Aside from sound accounting and tax...
Posted: 2 Jun, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 216
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Designing for Success
While the practice of architecture and design requires innovation, experience and technical knowledge, it should not require the arcane practice of mind reading. Whether you are building your dream home, a small...
Posted: 19 May, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 212
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Tax Lessons Learned Hard
In the property developer’s world of revenue and expenses one of the most overlooked areas is tax planning. All too often at the beginning of a project the lion’s share of a developer’s time is spent with...
Posted: 21 Apr, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 221
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Lifestyle Investment Rents and Raves
Lifestyle investment and its reliance on rental options and ongoing yields is quickly becoming a hot topic in the Phuket property market. From hotel-managed residential units connected to hotels to short- and long-term...
Posted: 10 Apr, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 212
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: The Lowdown on Paying Up
Turn back the clock a short five or six years and you’d find only a handful of property agents in Phuket. Many of the accepted practices such as commission rates of 3% were in place simply because that was what the...
Posted: 7 Apr, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 200
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: A Legal Look at Buying Hotel Residential Units
When buying into mixed-use, hotel-managed projects, there are important legal issues that must be clearly understood. Buying such a property differs from usual sale and purchase, or lease agreements of residential homes...
Posted: 24 Mar, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 207
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Battle of the Brands
A new era of brand mania is currently sweeping the Phuket property market in the form of “lifestyle investment”. Mixed-use hotel and residential projects are not only grabbing headlines here, but are becoming a global...
Posted: 24 Feb, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 257
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From the Phuket Gazette Property Watch: Krabi – On The Cusp of a Boom
Krabi, by all reports, is about to experience a boom in the property market. Out of curiosity I set out with a map, a small list of developments, and three days to find out more.The search was not an easy one. Unlike...
Posted: 10 Feb, 2007 12:00pm | Viewed: 233
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