Is buying property in Thailand worth it right now
I am asked this every day and I answer it the same way every time: it depends on what you are waiting for. If you are waiting for fifteen percent a year, then no, and I will say so plainly even when it costs me the deal. If you are waiting for a clear, understandable asset in a country you want to keep coming back to, then yes, and this is a good moment for it. Here is the reasoning behind both halves of that answer.
What is actually happening in the market
Phuket keeps growing as a destination. Tourist flows have recovered, the airport is being expanded, and international schools and clinics are added every year. Demand for good quality rental accommodation is steady rather than spectacular, which is exactly what you want underneath an investment.
At the same time, a great deal is being built on the west coast, and competition for tenants there will increase over the next few years. I say that to every client who is drawn to Bang Tao by the photographs. It does not make the west coast a bad choice; it means the yield assumptions for a west coast unit should be conservative, and the developer and the operator behind it matter more than they did five years ago.
The second shift is regulatory. The Thai authorities have tidied up the grey end of the market: nominee arrangements are being examined and structures designed to get around the restriction on foreign land ownership get more attention than before. For an honest buyer this is good news. The market is becoming more transparent and the operators who relied on shortcuts are leaving it.
What to expect from the yield
A healthy net yield on a good quality unit is in the region of 6-8% a year. In the denser corridor around Bang Tao and Laguna, 4-6% net is the realistic figure, on a gross of 7-9%. Annual occupancy typically runs at 60-70%, rising to 75-80% in high season. The management company takes 20-30% of rental revenue, and that is not negotiable away; it is the cost of the unit being rented at all while you are in Mumbai or Munich.
Double-digit numbers are produced in one of two ways. Either somebody takes the peak season nightly rate and multiplies it by twelve months with no deduction for commission or low season, or they combine an off-plan entry with the capital growth to handover. The second is real. The first is presentation arithmetic, and you can spot it in about thirty seconds once you know what to look for. I break the whole calculation down in net rental yield on Phuket.
Who this purchase suits
- People who want a hard currency asset outside their own country, with a legal structure they can explain to their family in two sentences
- People with a horizon of three years or more - very little happens here in twelve or eighteen months
- People who plan to come themselves and want the asset working between visits
- Families seriously considering a move: schools, climate, healthcare, safety
- People who are willing to look at net figures rather than at renders
Who it does not suit
- Anyone who may need the money back quickly. There is no fast exit on Phuket - a resale usually takes several months to a year
- Anyone expecting a double-digit return with no risk attached
- Anyone buying on a friend's recommendation without understanding the form of ownership they are getting
- Anyone assuming the purchase itself grants residency. It does not, and visas are a separate track handled by my partners - see visa options for property buyers
About the enforcement headlines
Let me be calm about this, because it is my central point. A foreigner buying a condominium apartment in freehold within the 49% foreign quota is expressly permitted by Thai law and has never been in question. A registered long lease is likewise a lawful, well understood instrument used by thousands of owners.
Everything currently under scrutiny concerns circumvention: empty companies set up purely to hold land, and nominee shareholders standing in for a foreign owner. In other words, what has become harder is not buying - it is being clever. If your transaction is structured directly, you are simply not part of that story. I explain where the actual line sits in nominee structures in Thailand, and what a foreigner may own in can foreigners buy property in Thailand.
What a calm transaction looks like
- A conversation about your goal and your budget, before anyone shows you anything
- Three to five units with a net yield calculation and the full cost of entry for each
- Checks on the foreign quota, the developer, the documents and the contract - all before the deposit
- A Thai lawyer on the contract, me on the numbers and the coordination
- An agreed payment schedule and bank documentation for every transfer
- Title registration, handover inspection, and the unit placed into management
Nothing in that list is dramatic. It is simply the order in which an adult transaction happens, and every step of it is finished before your money is at risk. The reason people find this market frightening from a distance is that they read about step six before anyone has explained step one.
So, is it worth it
For the right buyer, with a three to five year horizon and realistic expectations, yes. Thailand gives you a straightforward legal route to ownership, a currency and an economy uncorrelated with your home market, an asset you can actually use, and a return that is solid rather than spectacular. For a buyer who needs liquidity or who has been promised fifteen percent, no - and there is no version of this market that changes that answer.
If I compress everything into one paragraph: you can buy in Thailand now with complete peace of mind, provided you are buying an asset and not a promise. The market is comprehensible, the law for a foreign buyer is direct, and anything that could go wrong is visible at the document stage. My job is precisely that - to show you the real number and bring you the papers before you commit money. If you do not like the number, we keep looking. I am always on the side of the decision you will not regret in five years.
- Investment property selection — net yield calculated on specific units
- Projects I work with — developments where I hold direct terms from the developer
- Yield calculator — run your own numbers in a minute
Legal, visa and tax work is not mine — it belongs to partners I use constantly
I am an investment strategist: I select the property, calculate the net return, check the developer and run the transaction. Anything that needs a legal, immigration or tax qualification goes to specialists I have worked with for years.
- Thai lawyers — document and contract review, land title, registration at the Land Office, wills, powers of attorney, corporate questions
- Visa partners — choosing and filing the right route for your situation: investment-based, LTR, Thailand Privilege, retirement, DTV
- Tax specialists — reporting in your country of tax residence, treaty credit for Thai tax, declarations on foreign assets
- Company formation in Thailand — when a structure is genuinely needed and lawful
- Rental management and concierge — letting the property, transfers, yachts, events
I introduce partners personally, matched to your actual question, so that you speak to the specialist who handles it rather than to a general inbox. Message me and I will make the introduction.
Frequently asked
Is it worth buying property in Thailand in 2026?
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Lyubov Fortunova
Investment strategist and founder of Fortunova Capital Group. I have lived on Phuket for more than five years and run every deal myself: I select the property, calculate the net return, check the developer and hold the process together until the keys are handed over. Lawyers, visa and tax specialists come from my own circle.
“I count net, not dreams”
Could you tell me honestly whether my budget and my expectations for returns are realistic for Phuket?
I answer personally, within the working day, in any time zone. No calls unless you want them. A question about the article is free and commits you to nothing.
