Home buyers must be extra cautious in purchasing condos in Pattaya as smaller developers are expected to face difficulties in actually starting construction of their projects, according to a major developer, SET-listed Raimon Land Plc (RML).

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According to the latest Raimon Lands annual research publication Condominium Focus Thailand: Update for Inner-City Bangkok and Pattaya, 28,892 condo units are expected to be completed in Pattaya over the next three years.

However data gathered over the last one year (from the second half of 2011 to the first half of 2012) shows that 3,258 units have already been officially suspended.

Simon Derville, Raimon Land’s deputy vice president for business development said the majority of the units suspended tend to be low rise, 8-storeys high and without beach front or sea view, which makes it difficult to sell.

He forcasts that the number of development projects that would not be able to secure financing due to low pre-sales could reach up to 10,000 units over the next three years.

"If you are buying from someone you never heard of, you should definitely double check, ask a lot of questions and do our own due diligence," he said adding that buyers should find out if the developer actually owns the land if they have secure financing for construction and what their previous construction projects include.