The real estate market in Thailand is growing

Longing to escape, a well-deserved rest after retirement or a new start in a foreign country. There are many reasons that drive an increasing number of foreign buyers to buy a house in Thailand. The fascinating landscapes and exotic beaches attract not only tourists, but also those who intend to invest in a property, both for their own use and with a view to making it an income.

The Phuket real estate market, in particular, is growing considerably, thanks also to the improvement of tourist infrastructure, services and the quality of life in general.
“In recent times we have been witnessing an increase in the demand for villas and apartments, thanks to the wide offer and ease of purchase – explains Salvatore Parisi, Tecnocasa affiliate in Phuket -. Phuket is the place of greatest attraction in Thailand and one of the most popular destinations for buying a second home where you can spend your holidays or, in some cases, even long-term periods, as well as invest in real estate. You can find different types of real estate: apartments, condominiums, villas or land ».

The origin of the customer in Thailand and in the island of Phuket in particular is usually an “evolution" of the tourist: one arrives in this land for a trip and is fascinated by it to the point of evaluating the purchase of a property. If we enter into the specifics of origins, according to Tecnocasa data, the Russians prevail, followed by Europeans, Australians and Indians.
The target buyer varies a lot: from the young “single" who mainly looks for a studio apartment and evaluates the purchase of a business activity such as a restaurant or guesthouse, to families who want an independent house possibly in quiet areas, to the retiree who decides to spend a lot part of the year in Phuket as a “buen retiro".
The most popular type is the detached house or the villa, preferably near the sea. However, this trend is held back by Thai law, which prevents the land from being registered in the name of a foreigner: to do so, it is necessary to set up a company Co Ltd, with a participation of at least 51% of Thai partners. Often this procedure creates uncertainties in the buyer, who consequently passes from the choice of the villa to the purchase of the “freehold" apartment (which allows 100% of the property to be registered in the name of the foreigner only for apartments that are part of the Condominium law Act BE 2522).

The areas of the island where property prices are highest are Laguna and Bagtao. Furthermore, in the more touristic areas, such as Patong Beach, Kamala, Karon and Kata, second homes prevail, while in the hinterland (Kathu or Phuket Town) there are mainly first homes.
The most popular areas of the island are: Patong Beach, for the services it offers with the Jungceylon shopping center and the nightlife in the famous Bangla Road, and therefore the areas of Kata, Karon, Kamala, Bang Tao, Nai Harn (this last most frequented by families).

The average investment is the apartment whose cost starts from a minimum of 2,500,000 baht (1 bath corresponds to about 1/40 of Euro, or 0.0023 Euro).
But how much does a house cost in Phuket. A newly built 100m2 apartment in the Patong Beach area can cost around 5/6 million baht, while villas can be found for 7,000,000 baht. Moving away towards Nai Harn, there are new construction projects at prices starting from 19/30 million, for solutions of over 150 square meters with swimming pool in hilly areas or adjacent to the beaches.