Where Phuket Sits Among Thailand’s Resort Property Markets
Phuket has a distinctive position among Thailand’s coastal and island property destinations: its foreign condominium market combines substantial transaction activity with higher average deal values than the other resort provinces compared here. Chonburi, which includes Pattaya, records more foreign condominium transfers, but Phuket’s average transaction value is considerably higher.The comparison becomes more nuanced alongside Hua Hin, Koh Samui and Krabi. Completed condominium transfers offer one common yardstick, but they do not capture villa transactions or describe every buyer segment. Provincial totals also extend beyond the destinations associated with them.This analysis compares completed foreign condominium transfers in 2025, then uses separately identified market research and 2026 reporting to explain product mix, buyer profiles and supply. Where equivalent figures were not verified, no numerical ranking is assigned.Size: Chonburi leads in units, Phuket in average deal value
A full-year 2025 breakdown published on the Real Estate Information Center (REIC) website records 4,164 foreign condominium transfers in Chonburi, compared with 1,190 in Phuket, 491 in Prachuap Khiri Khan and 212 in Surat Thani. Their respective transfer values were THB11.590 billion, THB6.087 billion, THB2.249 billion and THB552 million.
Phuket’s average was approximately THB5.12 million per unit, compared with THB2.78 million in Chonburi, THB4.58 million in Prachuap Khiri Khan and THB2.60 million in Surat Thani. On the underlying figures, Phuket’s average was about 84% above Chonburi’s. That indicates a higher average transaction ticket, not necessarily a higher price for an equivalent home.The geography matters. Chonburi is not just Pattaya; Prachuap Khiri Khan is not just Hua Hin; and Surat Thani is not just Koh Samui. The figures support a provincial comparison, not a precise city-by-city or island-by-island league table.Who it is built for
Phuket’s resort segment carries a disproportionate share of surveyed development value. The Agency for Real Estate Affairs (AREA), a property research and valuation firm, counted 90,597 units across 806 Phuket projects in its 2026 survey, reported in September. Resort condominiums and villas accounted for 52% of units and approximately 80% of the combined value.The survey’s approximately THB705.1 billion total includes units already sold. It is neither annual sales nor the value of unsold homes, and it should not be compared directly with a survey of developer inventory still available for sale.CBRE’s first-half 2026 transaction data put foreign purchasers at 67% of its Phuket buyers. By contrast, October reporting on The Standard Residences Hua Hin put Thai buyers at 90% of that project’s customers. The two examples show how buyer profiles can differ, but neither establishes the nationality mix of an entire destination.The Hua Hin figures describe one luxury development, not a market-wide census. They nevertheless show why a coastal property comparison should not assume that every premium project depends primarily on overseas demand.Koh Samui: More than a villa comparison
Koh Samui provides another island-market reference point. C9 Hotelworks’ June 2025 review counted 2,882 developer-owned units available for sale across 117 projects, with a combined value of THB30.3 billion. Condominiums represented 1,513 units, or 52% of that primary-market supply.That finding complicates a simple contrast between a condominium-led Phuket and a villa-only Samui. Samui’s surveyed new-development market included a substantial condominium component. It also illustrates why the THB30.3 billion Samui inventory figure should not be set against AREA’s THB705.1 billion Phuket project total: their coverage, dates and treatment of sold units differ.How fast homes sell: Avoid a false league table
Phuket’s higher average foreign condominium transaction value does not establish that its homes sell faster. Reporting on REIC’s first-half 2026 survey recorded 19,537 units on offer in Phuket, with 3,161 new launches and 2,392 new sales. Unsold stock reached 17,145 units, up 21% year on year.Samui also faced a supply-and-sales imbalance. Reporting on REIC’s southern housing survey recorded 311 newly launched villas in the first half of 2026, up approximately 67%, while overall sales declined and condominium sales slowed.These findings do not establish which destination has the better outlook. They show that new supply must be assessed alongside sales within each property type. A defensible selling-speed ranking would require equivalent coverage, periods and absorption calculations across all destinations.Krabi: Keep the evidence gap visible
Krabi belongs in the comparison as a destination, but no equivalent Krabi-wide transaction, inventory or absorption dataset was verified for this article. It is therefore not assigned a price, sales-speed or investment-return ranking.That is a limitation of this comparison, not evidence that Krabi lacks demand or development activity. Without matched data, descriptions such as “cheaper than Phuket”, “the next Phuket” or “higher-yielding” would go beyond what this article can establish.What to watch
For Pattaya and Phuket, the 2025 provincial transfer figures establish a clear distinction: Chonburi recorded greater foreign condominium volume, while Phuket recorded the larger average transaction value. For Hua Hin and Samui, provincial totals need to be read alongside local project and market evidence. Krabi remains outside the numerical ranking.Across the comparison, the main discipline is to keep completed transfers separate from new sales, and whole-project values separate from unsold inventory. Price comparisons also need equivalent property sizes, locations and specifications before they can establish relative value.The takeaway
Phuket’s strongest evidence-backed distinction is not that it beats every resort destination on every measure. It is the combination of a higher average foreign condominium transaction value than the other provinces compared here and a resort segment carrying a substantial share of surveyed development value.Chonburi offers the larger foreign condominium transaction market by units; Hua Hin’s project evidence highlights the role domestic buyers can play; and Samui’s primary-market research shows a broader product mix than a villa-only label suggests. Phuket stands out, but the useful comparison is between equivalent segments, not destination names alone.Sources:
** Scope note: the comparison uses the reporting periods stated in the article, not a single harmonised survey. Provincial foreign condominium figures do not isolate Pattaya, Hua Hin or Koh Samui and do not measure villa transactions. No equivalent Krabi-wide benchmark was verified. Project-specific and brokerage-specific buyer shares are not market-wide estimates.
