Phuket, on Thailand’s southwest coast, is a beautiful island long popular with travelers from around the world — turquoise water, white-sand beaches, and a rich culture that keeps people coming back. According to Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Phuket received 3.32 million visitors in 2022, far more than other regions. As tourism rebounded sharply and infrastructure kept improving, Phuket became more than a holiday destination — it emerged as a preferred choice for retirees and long-term residents from around the world. Rising demand for a higher quality of life has fed through into Phuket’s property market, driving a wave of investment interest.
Phuket: A Property Market Drawing Capital From Many Sources
Over the past couple of years, Phuket’s property market grew markedly, driven mainly by its booming tourism industry and a rising number of foreign buyers. According to Phattanan Phisutvimol, chairman of the Phuket Real Estate Association, buyers from Russia and Germany played a critical role in the market’s recovery from 2022 onward — many Russian buyers bought property in Phuket to escape the war, while German buyers were largely driven by the energy crisis.
Although the share of Russian buyers eased somewhat by 2023, they still accounted for 29.83% of purchases. At the same time, Thai domestic buyers were filling part of that gap, with their share rising from 12.86% to 30.17%. This made the foreign buyer base in Phuket more evenly spread across nationalities (Germany 14.48%, the UK 11.55%, Russia 29.83%, China 13.97%), reflecting a more diversified pool of capital flowing into the island.
Phuket’s Condo Market Saw a Surge in Demand, Bouncing Off the Bottom
Demand for condominiums in Phuket surged, particularly in early 2023. According to data from the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), Phuket had become the third-largest market for foreign condo transfers, behind only Bangkok and Chonburi. Transfer volume recovered to 637 units worth THB 3 billion, up 85% and 53% respectively from 345 units worth THB 1.95 billion in 2021. Russian buyers alone purchased 240 condo units, accounting for 32% of that year’s total transfers.
On pricing, the median property price in 2023 was THB 4.9 million, with a wide gap between condos and detached houses at THB 3.87 million and THB 7.47 million respectively. Condo prices rose from THB 3 million in 2020 to THB 3.89 million in 2023, a 21% increase, while detached-house prices remained 26% below their 2020 peak. This suggests Phuket’s condo market had bottomed out and entered a steady upward phase.
What Was Driving Phuket’s Property Market in 2023
In 2023, Phuket’s property market showed strong growth momentum, with the recovery in tourism playing a major role. The Tourism Council forecast more than 27 million foreign visitors to Thailand in 2023, and projected 2024 would bring 30 million visitors spending a combined THB 1.5 trillion (roughly US$43.74 billion) for the full year — close to 80% of 2019 levels.
Thailand’s series of entry-friendly visa policies also played a role. By comparison, Malaysia’s competing “MM2H” second-home program remained under revision at the time, leaving many prospective movers cautious and inclined to choose Thailand instead. Together, these factors drove strong growth in Phuket’s property market.
Is Phuket’s Property Market at Risk of a Bubble?
The rapid rise in Phuket property prices left many investors wondering whether the market was forming a “bubble” — where prices run far ahead of underlying value and the market eventually collapses, as happened in the 2008 subprime crisis. Phuket’s situation, however, is different.
Phuket’s property market is dominated by cash transactions; a foreign buyer seeking a mortgage faces real difficulty, generally needing a work permit, one to two years working in Thailand, and stable income. This means lending risk in the market is relatively low. In addition, developments are typically built out in phases tied to actual sales progress, which reduces the risk of developer default.
So while the rapid growth in Phuket’s property market raised bubble concerns, the high share of cash transactions and phased development approach make the market comparatively stable, with relatively low bubble risk.
Thailand’s Visa-Friendly Policies and New Land Reform Could Further Boost Condo Demand
Within Phuket’s property market, condominiums stand out as having particular potential. Compared with villas, condos generally carry lower maintenance costs, and larger-scale developments often come with added-value facilities such as clubhouses, pools, gyms, and co-working spaces — a natural selling point in a well-planned market like Phuket’s. In addition, foreign ownership of land under a detached house remains clearly restricted, which is itself a source of risk for a type of property meant to be held over a longer cycle.
Thailand’s Visa-Friendly Policies
On the demand side, the Thai government rolled out a series of entry-friendly visa policies. Alongside the 10-year retirement visa for long-term residents, these included a range of other visa types such as the digital nomad visa. Thailand has since launched the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV): a 5-year, multiple-entry visa for remote workers, freelancers and people on approved cultural/soft-power activities, permitting a 180-day stay per entry with one further 180-day extension available at Immigration (fee approx. USD 400, varying by issuing post). Note: Thailand’s 60-day visa-exemption scheme for 93 countries/territories was cancelled by Ministry of Interior notification (Royal Gazette, 31 Aug 2026) and replaced from around 15 September 2026 with a narrower 30-day exemption for a reduced list of roughly 59-60 countries/territories (with a few nationalities getting 15-day exemption or visa-on-arrival only). Readers should check current eligibility before travel.
People holding these kinds of visas tend to be relatively young, and a detached house may not be their first choice. A comparatively affordable condominium — whether bought or rented — is likely to suit their needs more closely. According to data from FazWaz, Phuket’s condo market showed strong demand in early 2023, with interest in pre-sale properties up 20%.
A Major Land Reform Was Being Discussed
It was also worth noting that Thailand was, at the time, discussing two major land reforms. The Ministry of Finance had proposed extending land leases to 99 years and raising the foreign ownership quota for condominiums from 49% to 75%. If implemented, these changes would give a positive boost to the Thai property market, particularly transaction volumes and prices in popular tourist areas — and an area like Phuket, with smaller-scale condo projects and a relatively limited total number of units, stood to benefit more than most.
Phuket: The Dual Appeal of Relocation and Investment
Over the following five to ten years, Phuket’s property market was expected to be driven by two powerful forces. On the domestic side, major infrastructure projects such as the airport expansion and a planned light-rail transit system were due to come online in stages, projects expected to strengthen the local economy, create jobs, and further increase Phuket’s appeal. On the external side, with the global trend toward retirement and long-term relocation growing, UN data projected the global population aged 65 and over would reach 1 billion by 2030; combined with easier visa access, this was expected to bring more potential buyers and tenants to Phuket.
For all these reasons, this was seen at the time as a good moment to consider Phuket as a place to live and invest in the years ahead.
Historical promotional note (July 2024): the original article included the following promotion for a since-past seminar, kept here for reference. Asia Bankers Club promoted a new low-density luxury condominium project, Origin Place Centre Phuket, located near Patong Beach and Phuket Old Town, with one- and two-bedroom units then advertised to the Hong Kong market at a starting price of roughly HKD 560,000. The associated seminar (“Thailand Phuket Property Talk”) was scheduled for 27–28 July 2024. Both the project’s current availability and pricing would need to be reconfirmed before this section could be treated as current information.
Disclaimer
This article summarizes market conditions, policy proposals, and buyer statistics reported between 2022 and 2023, based on figures from the Phuket Real Estate Association, the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), FazWaz, Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and contemporary news coverage. It does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice. Visa policy, land-ownership rules, tourism figures, and price levels referenced here are dated to when they were reported and should be verified against current official sources before being relied on for a decision — see the facts file for specific items flagged as likely outdated.
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Sources
- Phuket Real Estate Association — comments from chairman Phattanan Phisutvimol
- Real Estate Information Center (REIC), via Bangkok Post — “Phuket property progress persists”
- FazWaz — Phuket condo pre-sale demand data
- Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports — Phuket visitor arrival statistics
- United Nations — global population aging projections
- Nikkei Asia — “Thailand extends visa-free travel to 60 days for 93 countries”
