Pattaya and Samui: two Thai resort markets besides Phuket

The Thai market for a foreigner usually reduces to Phuket and Bangkok. Between and around them sit two other notable markets with their own logic — Pattaya and Samui — and they get considered exactly when Phuket prices turn out higher than expected.

Pattaya: proximity to the capital and a low entry

Pattaya is two hours' drive from Bangkok, and that is its defining characteristic: the city lives not only on tourists but on capital residents coming for the weekend, plus a permanent foreign community.

• The lowest entry of the country's resort markets — condominium supply is enormous.
• Demand is year-round, dipping in the rainy season but never stopping entirely.
• Infrastructure — hospitals, schools, shops: the city is set up for permanent living.
• The risk is oversupply. A great many condominiums have been built, and competition for a tenant in the mass segment is high.
• Development is tied to the Eastern Economic Corridor project and transport links to the capital.

Samui: an island, logistics and villas

Samui is an island in the Gulf of Thailand with its own airport. Logistics here are noticeably more expensive, and that shows in both construction and upkeep.

• The segment tilts towards view villas rather than high-rise condominiums: the island restricts building heights and slope development.
• The guest is a family or a couple on a longer holiday, and the average spend is higher.
• Seasonality is inverted relative to Phuket: the rainy season on Samui falls in different months, which for a portfolio owner can be an argument.
• Running costs are higher: delivering everything to an island costs money, and a villa needs staff.
• The exit is slower: there are fewer buyers for an expensive island property.

How both differ from Phuket

Phuket has the deepest market, the widest supply and the most developed short-let management industry — and correspondingly the highest prices and the most competition. Pattaya trades that for a lower entry and year-round demand; Samui for a higher-spending guest and a season that runs counter to Phuket's. The same country-wide rules apply to all three: the 49% foreign ownership quota per building, the tax on quick resale, and the requirement for a short-let licence at project level.