How much a Phuket apartment actually costs
This is the first question almost everyone asks me, and it is the most honest one. I answer it with the numbers I work with every week, not the numbers that look good in an advertisement. One thing up front: the bottom of this market sits higher than the internet promises, and it is much better to learn that now than after you have booked a flight.
Where the Phuket market actually starts
A working entry point into Phuket is around 4.5 million baht, roughly $150,000. Below that line I have not found anything on the island I would be comfortable calling an investment. What sits under it is usually one of three things: apartments in a building with no foreign freehold available, a project by a developer with no track record, or a location you will struggle to get out of when you want to sell.
If you are seeing offers at $60,000 to $80,000, they are almost always small units in a condotel with a rigid rental programme attached, or a leasehold with a short remaining term. Those are real products and somebody buys them, but they do not behave like an investment and I do not put them in front of my clients. I would rather explain why than send you a list that looks generous.
I should also say plainly that prices on Phuket are not negotiated the way buyers from India and Pakistan often expect. With a developer the price list is the price list, and the discount you are looking for usually lives in the payment plan and the furniture package, not in the headline number.
The numbers by format
- Studio, 35-40 m2 - from roughly 4.5 million baht (around $150,000). A genuine short-stay rental unit and the most liquid size on resale.
- One-bedroom, 50-55 m2 - from roughly 6.5 million baht (around $180,000). The all-rounder: it rents well and you can comfortably live in it yourself.
- Two-bedroom, 85-95 m2 - from roughly 10.8 million baht (around $250,000). Fewer tenants in the market, but a higher nightly rate. It performs well with families.
- Villa - from roughly 18 million baht (around $550,000). That means a project with a proper legal structure, not a house somewhere inland with informal paperwork.
- Beachfront premium - two to three times the entry level in every format. There you are paying for the beach line, the view and the name of the hotel operator.
Why the same square metre costs different money
- The area. Bang Tao, Layan and Kamala are more expensive; Kata, Karon and Chalong are more affordable while still liquid. I go through this in detail in the guide to Phuket districts.
- Distance to the beach. Walking distance and driving distance are two different prices and two different nightly rates.
- The stage of construction. Prices are lowest at launch and rise as the building goes up.
- The form of ownership. A leasehold unit in the same building is normally cheaper than a freehold one, and it should be.
- The developer and the operator. An international brand in management adds to the price and to the achievable rent at the same time.
What gets added to the price
Beyond the price list your budget has to carry the registration fee, the one-off contribution to the sinking fund, the common area charges for the first period, utility connections, furniture if the unit is delivered unfurnished, and legal work. None of this is small change. Furnishing alone regularly adds a figure that surprises people who budgeted only for the apartment.
Once you own it there are ongoing costs too: maintenance runs at around 80 baht per square metre per month, and the sinking fund is a one-off of roughly 1,000 baht per square metre. The full picture is in what it costs to own property in Thailand, along with the annual land and buildings tax.
This is why I never quote a client the price of an apartment. I quote the full cost of entry, and the yield is calculated from that. Do it the other way round and the return looks better than it is, purely because the denominator was shaved. I count net, not dreams, and that starts with an honest denominator. The full method is in how net yield on Phuket is actually calculated.
The good news about my fee
My work on selection and on running the purchase is paid by the developer. For you it is free, and the price of the unit does not change because of it - the price is identical whoever walks you through the door. The only difference is who is sitting next to you doing the arithmetic and reading the contract.
On a resale the economics are different: there the seller pays an agency commission of 5-10%. That matters when you model your exit, so I build it into the numbers from the first conversation rather than mentioning it years later.
What this budget can and cannot do
Phuket is a market that starts at about $150,000 for a unit worth owning. Inside that budget you can put together a good transaction with a healthy, defensible return. What you cannot put together inside it is the fifteen percent a year somebody promised you on a webinar. I say that in the first conversation, before you have spent anything, because it is the single expectation that ruins otherwise sensible purchases.
If your budget is a little below the entry line, that is not a closed door. It usually means waiting one more season, or looking at an early construction stage with instalments instead of a completed unit. Both are ordinary decisions, and neither of them requires you to compromise on the legal side.
Prices on Phuket are not frightening. They are simply specific, and specific is something you can work with. Once you have a real budget and a clear purpose, the rest is an evening of arithmetic: which formats fit, what return is realistic, and what is left in your hand when you eventually sell. Tell me the number you have in mind and I will show you what it genuinely buys, with no rounding in my own favour. If the answer is that your budget does not yet reach the part of the market worth being in, I will tell you that too.
- Projects I work with — developments where I hold direct terms from the developer
- Investment property selection — net yield calculated on specific units
- Resale and contract assignments — completed units and assignments, often below launch pricing
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
How much does an apartment in Phuket cost?
Can I buy an apartment in Phuket for under $100,000?
What does the buyer pay an agency in Phuket?
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”
My budget is around $200,000 - could you show me what that realistically buys on Phuket, with the full cost of entry?
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.
