With so many off-plan developments in the city, the Pattaya Mail team was delighted to be invited recently to a project that has actually been completed, and been given the green light by the governing bodies to allow residents to move in.
The View is the latest in a long line of projects by the Matrix Group; it lies in a quiet soi moments away from Cozy Beach and just off Pratumnak Road.
This ultra modern single tower consists of 122 luxury apartments made up of 1 & 2 bedroom units staring from 1.6 million baht. The development features a roof top pool & relaxation area, café, fitness center, and sea and mountain views.
Pattaya Mail talks to Matrix chief Miki Haim about his company’s latest completed project The View.
Managing Director Miki Haim hosted the March 19 party for the Kasetsin Soi 7 development, with friends, media and estate agents offering their congratulations.
After the official ribbon cutting we took some time out with the Matrix boss to talk to him about his company’s new addition to its growing portfolio of developments.
Paul Strachan: Miki nice to see you and well done, it’s a great project – it feels like a first class hotel.
Miki Haim: Yes we wanted to give the customer the feeling that they are living in a luxurious area in a luxury building, so we gave them all the facilities to make their holiday homes.
Miki Haim, Managing Director of Matrix Development, welcomes guests to the opening of The View condominium, Tuesday, March 19, 2013.
P.S: When you get offered the land how long does it take you to make a decision on it?
M.H: To be honest, it was in my mind something like four hours. The agent showed me the land, I paid the deposit and got straight on with creating the design and in the end we created 20 floors on one rai.
P.S: That’s fantastic, so this is your first high rise?
M.H: The first high rise, yes.
P.S: How many projects have you in Pattaya?
M.H: We have Hyde Park 1 & 2, Pattaya Heights, Sunset Boulevard 1 & 2, Park Lane, Paradise Park, The View, The Vision, The Amazon, and now we start to sell City Center and The Sky. Around 10 projects already, and this month we will do the transfers for The View, Paradise Park is already finished and we are in the final stages for Art on the Hill and Sunset Boulevard. It’s a lot of work, but this is my main focus to do the transfers for my customers this year.
P.S: Many other companies have copied the business model you started all those years ago, i.e. a fully furnished condo for 1 million baht, but with the View the rooms are bigger, is it a different market?
M.H: Of course, yes, first of all it is a high rise and you need to know where you are going. When you split the money over a big piece of land, if you make a mistake it’s a small mistake, but when you are working with a small piece of land and the investment is 1 billion, it’s far more complicated. But in the end, as you see from our experience with the low rise projects, we can also make a high rise easily and we have another two projects to make.
Miki Haim (center) is congratulated by Pattaya Mail’s Tony Malhotra (right) and Paul Strachan (left) on the opening of the new addition to Matrix’s growing list of Pattaya developments.
P.S: In your speech today for the opening ceremony you said that Matrix will be branching out to other cities in Thailand, can you tell us where?
M.H: At the moment we are doing research, but Matrix will do other types of projects in cities much bigger than Pattaya. I can’t say where at the moment until we have concluded our research.
P.S: What is the demographic of your customer base now? The UK Pound is weak, as is the Euro, so who are the people with the money to purchase right now?
The View rises 20 floors into the Cozy Beach skyline.
M.H: As you may know, the marketing system for Matrix is one of the best in the city. We have a very strong international department which sells a lot to the Japanese, the French, the Chinese and the Singaporeans. We continue to develop our marketing team, not just focus on construction.
P.S: I remember at the property seminar six months ago you mentioned that the emerging markets were from France & Japan. These nations used to holiday here but now it seems they invest here as well, so it looks as though the world is changing. Do you think the perception of Pattaya has changed, like it’s getting rid of its dark side?
M.H: I think it depends on where they come from. The new real estate regulations coming into force in Japan, China or Singapore for example make it more attractive for investors from these countries to buy overseas. Secondly, many of them come here in groups, so it depends how you manage it and we know how to take care of them.
P.S: Today you were joined by some of the new residents here at The View as you said you had been granted the certificate you need to let them move in, what is it called?
M.H: It’s called an O6 and the process basically goes as follows: first you need the EIA approval, then the O1, which is permission to build, and then you get the O6 which is granted once all the construction is finished. So now we can take all the documents to the land office to prepare the Chanots for the customers.
P.S: That must be a great feeling for you because that’s the last stage – now the people have a home!
M.H: Of course, every part of the business is to deliver the unit to the customer. It’s not just about handing over the apartment: you need to finish all the processes and this is what we are doing with The View. I believe in the end we will do this with all our other projects; some are still in progress and I hope to get good news from all the others very soon.
Additional living space and luxury are standout features of The View.
P.S: Well Miki I think this is a real boost for Pattaya, what you’ve done today, because there seem to have been a lot of projects that have been languishing and not reaching completion. Now on the back of high season, this opening today helps get a little bit of confidence back in the market and underlines that in terms of developers, you are one of the major players.
M.H: Yes, what I can say is that Matrix is not maybe the best, but for sure we know how to deliver in the end. We know how to complete our construction and we deliver everything to the customer that we promised, and this is very important. We have also just won an International property award for the Vision, this is a highly respected award in terms of international marketing and it will bring a lot of respect to this city!
Note: For more information on The View and other Matrix projects, go to www.matrix-developments.com.
