Phuket’s real estate market had a solid year in 2016 with villas in particular leading the way. The island’s condo market also posted solid figures with the areas of Patong and Kalama being most popular among those buying a condominium on the island.
Nattha Kahapana, Executive Director, Head of Knight Frank Phuket, explains in a report that the demand in Phuket’s villa market was good in 2016. The segment had an impressive sold rate of 76 per cent with the highest demand during 2016 being for non-sea view villas located in the southern part of the island.
The market is also far from being oversupplied as villas have been sold off plan meaning developers started to construct villas when they have already been reserved and the buyers have signed sales and purchase agreements.
Knight Frank reports that the selling prices for villas below THB 20 million a unit is good but the absorption rate for Phuket luxury villas, those priced over THB 100 million a unit, is slow.
Meanwhile, the Phuket condominium market improved last year with the annual unit take-up increasing. Research from the consultancy finds that the accumulated sold rate was at its highest since 2007 coming in at 68 per cent. The average price also rose, increasing by 3.5 per cent from 2015. Patong and Kalama were the top selling beach locations when it came to the number of units sold. Newer one-bedroom units at seaview projects recorded the fastest sales.
The majority of Phuket condominium buyers have traditionally been either expatriates based in Asia or Western Europeans who wished to have a second home for their own use during the European winter and this trend continued in 2016. Additionally, last year saw an increase in Chinese, Taiwanese and Singaporean buyers with Russian buyers also coming back in the market after having been mostly absent due to the economic woes in Russia.
