We chat with Andres Pira, the CEO of Blue Horizon Developments, one of Thailand’s leading real estate developers.
Hi Andres, can you tell us a little about your background, education and early working career, please?
I am originally from Stockholm in Sweden, I moved from Sweden fairly young when I was only 20 years old. I was never really happy in Scandinavia and I always had a dream of living in a tropical country with sunshine all year round. I was supposed to travel around Asia and the first country I visited was Thailand, I ended up staying here until now.
How did you get into the property industry and what was your role within it?
I got my first job in Thailand as a marketing executive for a real estate developer and my duties were to give out brochures outside their real estate office hoping someone would be interested enough to walk inside to get more information.
How did the transition to developer transpire and was it a big learning curve?
After my job as a marketing executive, I got promoted to be a sales agent and I became very good at selling properties, so within a year, I got promoted to Sales manager which gave me the responsibility to coach and lead the team of sales agents within the organization.
A year after that they made me sales director of the company since I was achieving outstanding results and I worked there for another 2 years until I decided to open up my own real estate agency.
Another 3 years passed by and I started to acquire several property investors who believed in my ideas and had full confidence and trust in me after many successful property transactions and great investment allocations. That led to my very first development having trusted investors to fund it.
What lessons did you learn and what would you do differently if given your time again.
Being a property developer means you need to have many years of planning ahead and pay attention to details since it involves so many departments so many steps of construction and dealing with all different government officials which is very time consuming and delicate. I have learned to be very patient in many situations within this industry. Hasty decisions can lead to big losses.
Why did you choose to develop in Thailand?
Thailand is a world top destination and we keep seeing an increase of arrivals year after year so it was an easy choice to decide in developing real estate here. I love the country as well, the food, the people, the nature and the cost of living.
Can you tell us a little more about your past and current developments?
Our past developments are The Beach Front, Skylight and Signature Villas and Himalai
The Beach Front
This collection of apartments & Villas in a resort like environment on Phuket East Coast is one of the last available beachfront locations, commanding stunning views over Chalong Bay, marina, and surrounding tropical islands.
The location of The Beach Front offers buyers excellent investment opportunities in prime real estate populated with Luxury resorts and world class facilities. Located in a picturesque area in Rawai, the Beachfront is directly on the beach and within walking distance of shopping centres and International / Thai restaurants. However, the residence location ensures complete peace and privacy at all times.
The Beach Front presents an amazing property investment opportunity combining a unique and beautiful beach front location with a no risk investment. Beachfront as of today has won several awards at the Thailand property awards and the south-east Asia property awards such as best condo development Phuket, best mix used development and best hotel construction categories.
The Beach Front offers a variety of apartments and villas surrounded by lush tropical landscaping.
The beachfront comprises of 189 apartments divided in 5 buildings, offering a large choice of units, from Studios of 25.8 – 34.6 sqm., one bedroom 44.6 – 54 sqm., to amazing sea views of 2 bedrooms 110 sqm. units of great functional designs that are built to western standards.
Skylight Villas
Luxury Skylight Villas – set on a secluded spot with breathtaking mountain views, yet just three minutes from Kamala Beach, one of the most pristine beaches of Phuket Island, these 19 stylish and beautifully appointed one, two and three-bedroom villas are the ultimate in tropical island accommodation. Guests can enjoy uninterrupted views over the Kamala hills and mountains. Enjoy nature from your private rooftop terrace or watch the stars, sky and sun- lights from your very own living room via the glass roof skylight features.
The villas have been designed to complement the natural environment. All villas come with their very own private infinity swimming pools and waterfall features. Outdoor showers and garden areas have been carefully designed to complement outdoor living to the fullest.
www.skylightvillas.com
Signature Villas
The villas have been designed to complement the natural environment. All villas come with their very own private infinity swimming pools and waterfall features. Outdoor showers and garden areas have been carefully designed to complement outdoor living to the fullest.
• Two, three and four bedroom luxury villas
• Fully equipped European style kitchen
• Sundecks with outdoor gardens and BBQ area
• Luxurious bathrooms with built-in wardrobes
• Large pool terraces and spacious decking infusing into tropical gardens
• Each villa has private parking
• Every villa also has waterfall features and outdoor garden showers
• Luxury furniture packages designed individually
www.signaturevillasphuket.com
Himalai
Himalai is one of our largest developments consisting of 446 condominiums and it will be managed by Best Western Premier. The development is located on the Millionaire Mile Road in Kamala Beach, surely the most exclusive coast of Phuket where top 5-star resorts and multi-million-dollar villas are situated and even the King of Thailand has his own Palace.
This fantastic development is constructed on a mountain hill just beside Andara’s top 5 star villa estate.
The project is developed to maximize the ocean views and guarantee a fantastic ocean view from 85% of the units. 5-star facilities include several glass edged ocean view Swimming pools, clubhouse, several restaurants, kids club, fitness club, sauna and a fantastic viewpoint on top of the hill complete the frame of this wonderful 5 star vacation place.
The investment opportunity is empowered by the 70 years of hotelier experience of Best Western that will manage this fantastic project with their top luxury brand Best Western Premier.
Our consolidated partnership with this professional group, allows us to promote a great return on your investment in this new amazing development.
All the units at ground floor have direct pool access from the balcony and in the higher buildings they are also full ocean view. Units modules are 33.29 sq. m. studios which can be combined in 2 bedrooms 66.58 sq. m. or 2-3 bedrooms 111.75 sq. m. Connecting units with a simple double door will offer even more flexibility and return on the investment being able to be rented separately or combined in a family room.
www.himalaiphuket.com
Grand Himalai is our latest development and the one we have paid most attention to inform of details, planning and design. We wanted to create a landmark or Icon in Phuket and we are confident that we will achieve that upon completion since we have already as well won several awards for this development such as best mid-range development ad best mix used condo development.
The project is located on the Millionaire Mile Road in Kamala Beach, the most exclusive coast of Phuket where top 5 star resorts and multi-million dollar villas are situated and even the king of Thailand has his own Palace.
This fantastic development is constructed on the hill just beside Hyatt 5 star Resort.
The project offers magnificent ocean views and guarantees a fantastic sea view from all of the Residences.
5 star facilities include glass edged ocean view Swimming pools, Beach club, Spa and recreational area, 5 star restaurants, kids club, fitness club, sauna and a fantastic view point on top of the mountain completing the frame of this wonderful 5 star vacation and investment retreat.
This investment opportunity is empowered by the global hotelier of Ramada Plaza.
In this pre-launch phase, prices are amazing starting at 3.9 MB only!!
Units sizes are 33.92 sq. m. studios which can be combined in 2 bedrooms 67.84 sqm
www.grandhimalaiphuket.com
Who are your biggest customers?
Our biggest customers this year are the Chinese, we have seen a massive boom in Phuket over the last 24 months.
We even have clients investing in our properties online without even being here since we offer great returns and guarantees on their investment.
We are the only condo developer in Phuket province that works with the largest hoteliers in the world, such as Best Western and Ramada which gives our clients and investors great trust and commitment to our investment properties.
You have become one of Thailand’s leading real estate developers, how have you achieved that and what would you say distinguishes you from the competition?
We are now one of the leading property developers not only in Phuket but in the whole of south Thailand and we have gained that reputation and status because we strive for excellence and we make sure to only work with the very best in this industry, such as architects, contractors and agencies in the region.
We follow the market intensively and as well pave the way for new concepts and designs making us leaders in this industry. Since we also operate Phuket’s leading and largest real estate agency we have an upper advantage in following our competitors closely and can clearly see how the market is moving and what’s in demand and popularity, that gives us an upper hand and clear ideas on what our next development should be like.
What is the current state of the real estate market in the country and where do you see it going, (what and where to buy etc.)
Phuket is transforming itself into the metropolis of southeast Asia and our millions of tourists arriving keep on increasing year after year, this drives the demand for properties to higher levels than we have ever seen before. I predict a great future ahead and I believe that we have just started seeing the tip of the iceberg especially in the Chinese sector.
What does the future hold for you and Blue Horizon Developments Co.Ltd
We at Blue Horizon have several developments at the planning phase as we speak and we strive to hold the title as the leading developer in Thailand for many more years to come. We will keep improving our developments, our experiences and make sure our clients and investors gain exceptional returns on their investments.
Thank you for your time today Andres.
