Bang Tao or Karon:
where to buy property in Phuket

1. Bang Tao’s backstory

Forty years ago, the site of today’s Laguna Phuket resort complex was an abandoned tin mine. Tin was Phuket’s main source of wealth: it was smelted right here on the island and sold abroad.

By 1984 mining here had stopped, leaving behind a “moonscape” of sand and water-filled pits. A United Nations expert team assessing the island for tourism reportedly wrote this land off as too damaged to develop at all.

A year later the whole tin market collapsed. In October 1985 the international scheme that propped up tin prices went bankrupt, and prices fell by more than half. Mining stopped paying, and mines closed one after another: between 1983 and 1988 their number in Thailand fell from 735 to 171. By then Phuket was already gradually turning to tourism, and the tin crash only sped up that shift.

In 1984 the Singaporean entrepreneur Ho Kwon Ping bought this plot and decided to build a resort on 222 hectares of former mine — the future Laguna Phuket. His Banyan Tree hotel group grew out of this project.

The land was cleaned up over several years, more than 7,000 trees were planted, and the pits left by mining were turned into a chain of lagoons that gave the complex its name. The project later won an international environmental award for rehabilitating a toxic site.

The first hotel, Dusit Laguna, opened in 1987; two more hotels and a golf course followed in 1991–1992, and Banyan Tree’s own first resort opened in 1994. Today Laguna has six hotels, residential neighbourhoods and a golf course, all developed as a single estate under shared management.

Interestingly, Bang Tao also has its own original village — the Muslim settlement of Ban Bang Tao between Surin and Bang Tao beaches. People here used to fish; now many work in tourism. The village has had almost no influence on what the area looks like: it is simply where local people live.

On 26 December 2004 one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history struck off the coast of Sumatra. It sent a wave crashing onto the shores of the Indian Ocean: about 230,000 people died in 14 countries, and in Thailand Khao Lak and Phuket’s beaches were hit hardest. Bang Tao was affected less than its neighbours: a month later, fewer than a fifth of the 1,854 hotel rooms along the six-kilometre beach were out of service.

Many link it to the fact that, after the tsunami, the whole world heard about Phuket: within a few years a property boom began on the island. In Bang Tao more and more people bought homes of their own: villas and residential complexes went up next to the hotels, followed by shops, restaurants and shopping centres. Since 2004, land near Bang Tao Beach has risen in price roughly tenfold — more than almost any other stretch of the island’s coast. That is how the resort gradually became an area where people not only holiday but live, and Bang Tao remains that way today.

2. Karon’s backstory

Karon is an old place. The second part of its name means “house” in the old local dialect.

People have lived here for more than a hundred years. There used to be two villages, Karon and Kata. Around 1952 they were split into four. The main temple, Wat Karon, was built in 1909. Today a market is held at the temple twice a week.

People lived mostly by fishing. One visitor who came to Phuket in the 1960s recalled that the main fishing village on this coast was in Karon, built around a lagoon. You can still see what is left of the lagoon as you drive down into Karon from the hill to the north. Tin was mined on the border with Patong; hotels now stand where the mine was. In 2006 a statue of a fisherman was put up near the Karon Circle roundabout as a reminder of the past.

Tourists came here earlier than to Patong. First came backpackers, and the locals looked after them themselves. Then hotels began to be built. In 1985 an 80-room hotel opened by the beach, and in 1987 Phuket Arcadia, which later became a Hilton and is now a Pullman. In the late 1980s Le Méridien appeared in the small bay of Karon Noi.

The 2004 tsunami only hit the front line. At two hotels by the sea, around 70 bungalows were flooded. But a month later they were open again, the Hilton was barely touched and became a base for rescuers, and by autumn 2005 every hotel in Karon was working.

Today Karon is one of Phuket’s main beach resorts. It is quieter than Patong, so families and couples come here. The beach is one of the longest on the island.

There is almost no free land left by the sea, so new homes are built on the hills. This is linked to the worst disaster of recent years. In August 2024, after heavy rain, a landslide came down a hill and buried the houses below. Thirteen people died. Construction on the hill by the Big Buddha was named as one of the causes. And since December 2024 building on hills has been allowed higher up than before.

3. Bang Tao on the map: what is where

Bang Tao is not a town or a village with a single centre, but a long strip along a bay on Phuket’s west coast. The easiest way to picture it is a rectangle of roughly 6 by 10 kilometres: the sea to the west, hills to the east, Surin Beach to the south and Layan Beach to the north. Officially this is the subdistrict of Choeng Thale, and Bang Tao is only the name of the beach, but listings use it for any part of the subdistrict.

The beach itself runs for about 6 kilometres — one of the longest on the island — and you can walk it from end to end. Moving inland from the sea, the area is laid out in bands:

By the water — hotels along almost the whole length of the beach.

Behind the hotels, in the middle of the bay — Laguna: lagoons, a golf course and residential neighbourhoods with villas and apartments. The sea is 1–2 kilometres away from here.

In the south, towards Surin — the village of Ban Bang Tao: narrow lanes, guesthouses, cafés and a night market.

Along the main road, 1–2 kilometres from the sea — everything for daily life: Boat Avenue, a shopping street with restaurants and a supermarket at the entrance to Laguna; 800 metres from it, the Porto de Phuket shopping centre (opened in 2019); and nearby, a school, a fruit market and supermarkets.

Further inland, by the hills — the Blue Tree water park and new residential projects, about 3 kilometres from the sea.

In the north — Layan, a separate, quiet beach 5 kilometres from the shopping centres.

Everything that matters — the beach, Laguna and the shops — fits within 2–3 kilometres, but it is spread out, so people usually drive or ride a scooter between them and walk on the beach. There was plenty of free land here, so a lot is being built: Choeng Thale now accounts for almost half of all new apartments for sale on the island and most of Phuket’s new hotels under construction.

Glossary

What the names in listings mean

Name	What it actually is
Choeng Thale, Cherngtalay, Cherng Talay	The same place: the official subdistrict (tambon) that Bang Tao Beach belongs to.
Laguna	A private resort complex with lagoons in the north of the bay. Not a synonym for Bang Tao.
Layan	A separate beach by the northern headland. Listings sometimes count it as Bang Tao.
Pasak	A residential area inland. “Bang Tao” in a listing may mean this too.
Ban Bang Tao	A Muslim village in the south of the bay, towards Surin.

4. Karon on the map: what is where

Karon is one long bay: the beach stretches for about 3.3 kilometres. Officially Karon is a subdistrict of about 23 km², and it includes the neighbouring Kata beach. Patong is about 5 kilometres north in a straight line over the hill, Bang Tao about 17.

From the sea inland, the area is laid out like this:

By the water — the beach, with a beach road right behind the sand. Hotels and cafés line it.

The centre — around the Karon Circle roundabout at the north end of the beach: Karon Plaza shopping centre, a night market, cafés, bars and mini-marts. All within a few hundred metres of the sea.

Patak Road — the area’s main road, about half a kilometre from the sea. Along it are Wat Karon with its market, clinics and housing.

The hillsides — beyond Patak Road the hills begin, with apartments and villas with sea views. On one of the hills, about 2 kilometres from the beach, sits the Big Buddha.

At the edges — to the north the small bay of Karon Noi with the Le Méridien hotel. To the south, Kata and Kata Noi beaches, and beyond them the Karon Viewpoint, from which all three bays are visible.

Everything that matters — the beach, the centre and the market — fits within about a kilometre, and much can be done on foot. But the area stretches along the beach, and the hillside apartments are uphill, so people usually drive from there.

Glossary

What the names in listings mean

Name	What it actually is
Karon	Both the beach and the subdistrict. The subdistrict includes Kata, so “Karon” in a listing may turn out to be Kata.
Kata, Kata Noi	Neighbouring beaches to the south, in the same subdistrict.
Karon Noi	A small bay to the north, with the Le Méridien hotel.
Patak Road	The area’s main road, about half a kilometre from the beach.
Karon Hill	The name for the hillsides above the beach; the word appears in the names of complexes.
Karon tambon	A subdistrict of Mueang Phuket district.

5. A day in Bang Tao and in Karon

Maps show where things are. But living somewhere means repeating the same routines every day. Let’s walk through an ordinary day in both areas and see where it happens and what it is made of.

Morning: getting to the sea

Bang Tao. If you live right by the beach or in a hotel, you walk to the sea. From Laguna’s residential neighbourhoods the water is already 1–2 kilometres away, and from the new projects by the hills about three, so the day usually starts with a car or scooter. People mostly swim in the southern part of the bay: in the north there is a coral reef close to shore.

Karon. The beach is long, with the beach road right behind the sand, so you usually cross it to reach the sea. From the centre and Patak Road the water is about half a kilometre away, 5–10 minutes on foot. From the hillsides people go down by scooter or car: walking back uphill in the heat is hard.

Children: kindergarten and school

Bang Tao. HeadStart International School has a campus in Choeng Thale, about 4 kilometres from the beach, taking children from preschool up to Year 9 (age 13–14). A year costs from 347,000 to 540,000 baht depending on age; the school bus is extra.

Karon. For children there is the British school BCIS in neighbouring Chalong, which takes children from 2 to 18. The school itself says Karon Beach is 15–30 minutes away. A year of schooling in 2026/27 costs from 302,000 baht for children aged 2–5 to 403,500 baht in the junior years.

Errands: shops, market, doctor

Bang Tao. Everything for daily life is along the main road, 1–2 kilometres from the sea: Boat Avenue with restaurants and a supermarket, the Porto de Phuket shopping centre, a fruit market, Villa Market. The clinic in Laguna is open every day from 9:00 to 18:00. From most homes people drive here rather than walk.

Karon. Everyday life is gathered around the Karon Circle roundabout and along Patak Road: Karon Plaza, mini-marts, private clinics. Twice a week there is a market in the temple grounds. For big shopping — HomePro, Lotus’s, Makro — people go to Chalong, and for serious medical care to the hospitals of Phuket Town, about 10 kilometres away in a straight line.

Getting around the island

Bang Tao. The Phuket Smart Bus runs from the airport through Choeng Thale to the south, and a ticket costs 100 baht. But it stops only on the main roads and does not reach the residential complexes inland — without your own transport, life here is hard.

Karon. The same bus continues south through Karon towards Rawai. There are two stops in the area — Karon Circle and Karon Stadium. Kata is about three kilometres away, and the road to Patong goes over the hill.

Evening

Bang Tao. In the evening people drive to dinner on Boat Avenue or at Porto de Phuket, or go to the beach venues by the sea. The sun sets right over the bay.

Karon. In the evening — restaurants and bars by the beach and around Karon Circle, a night market next to Karon Plaza, and on market days the temple market. As in Bang Tao, the sun sets right over the sea. Karon is noticeably quieter than Patong; for nightlife people go there.

Night and quiet

Bang Tao. Quiet here depends on the street. The main source of noise is construction: almost half of all new apartments on the island are currently for sale in Choeng Thale, and another one may well be going up next to your home.

Karon. It is quietest away from the bars and the beach road. The hillsides are calmer, but they are being built up actively, and a new construction site may well start next to your home.

And in the rainy season

Bang Tao. From May to October there are downpours, waves at sea and red flags on the beaches. In heavy rain the roads near Boat Avenue and at the Ban Don junctions flood, causing traffic jams.

Karon. From May to October the beach has big waves and strong rip currents, and red flags go up. Lifeguards say that on Karon alone they pull three or four people out of the water every day. Downpours flood Patak Road and the Nong Harn roundabout. And on the hillsides landslides are a danger: in 2024 one of them cost 13 people their lives.

In short

A day: comparison

	Bang Tao	Karon
To the sea	On foot only from the beachfront and hotels; 1–2 km from Laguna, about 3 km from the hills	From the centre and Patak Road about 0.5 km on foot; from the hillsides by transport
Children	HeadStart International School up to age 13–14, 347,000–540,000 baht a year	BCIS school in neighbouring Chalong — 15–30 minutes
Shops and doctor	Along the main road, 1–2 km from the sea; usually by car	Clinics and mini-marts near the centre; big shops and hospitals in Chalong and town
Transport	Bus only along the main roads; hard without a car or scooter	Two bus stops; Kata close by, Patong over the hill
Evening	Restaurants at Boat Avenue and Porto de Phuket, beach venues	Restaurants and bars by the beach, a night market, the temple market
Noise	Mainly construction	Bars and the beach road; construction on the hillsides
Rainy season	Flooding near Boat Avenue and Ban Don, waves	Rip currents, flooding on Patak Road, landslides on the hillsides

6. Where the areas are heading

If you remember where both areas came from, it becomes clear how they are growing now. Each is continuing its own story.

Bang Tao is growing outwards

From the very start Bang Tao was built by large developers on empty land, and it is still growing that way, only on a different scale. According to C9 Hotelworks analysts, as of November 2025 the wider Choeng Thale area had 21,625 new apartments and houses for sale — 48% of all new housing in Phuket. Most of the island’s hotels under construction are coming here too: Phuket has 41 hotels with more than 8,000 rooms in the pipeline, most of them in Bang Tao and Choeng Thale. The Banyan group, with which Laguna began, keeps releasing new phases: in 2026, a new Bellaguna building and eight Varuna villas.

In effect, the resort is turning into a self-contained small town with everything in it: homes, hotels, shops, a school. For a buyer this has two sides. The choice is huge and the area keeps developing. But there will be construction next to your home for years, and you will be renting out and later selling among thousands of similar apartments.

Karon is growing up the hillsides

The strip by the beach has long been taken by hotels, so new housing in Karon is climbing the hills. Here are a few projects on sale now: Ever Prime Residences Karon on a hillside — about 450 apartments, VIP Venus Karon — 214 apartments in an eight-storey building, The Balance by the Beach — 112 apartments, and Vibe Residence Karon, due for completion at the end of 2028. Hotels are being renewed too: the former Hilton has operated as a Pullman since 2023 after a renovation.

Building on hillsides has become easier: since 14 December 2024 new rules in Phuket allow construction on plots up to about 80 metres above sea level — with drainage and slope reinforcement. For buyers this means the choice of sea-view apartments in Karon will grow. But such an apartment needs stricter checks than usual: drainage, retaining walls, permits — both your own and those of neighbouring sites further up the hill.

7. What is for sale here

In both areas, essentially two things are sold: apartments and villas. The difference between them is not just size, but what exactly you end up owning.

Apartment

Apartments are sold in residential complexes — in Thailand such a building is called a condominium. A complex usually has a shared pool, gym and security, and a management company keeps things in order.

A foreigner can register an apartment in their own name outright and permanently — this is called freehold. There are two conditions. First, foreigners may own no more than 49% of the total floor area of all units in a building, so before buying you check whether the foreign quota is still available. Second, the money for the purchase must come from abroad, and the bank issues a certificate confirming this.

Villa

A villa is a detached house with its own plot, usually with a private pool. This is more complicated: a foreigner cannot buy land in Thailand in their own name. So the land is most often taken on a long-term lease, usually 30 years — this is called leasehold — and the house itself is registered separately. The law does not guarantee renewal of the lease after 30 years; it is written into the contract.

In short: an apartment is ownership, a villa is usually a long land lease plus a house. That is neither better nor worse, but a villa’s documents need closer checking.

What is sold where

In Bang Tao, apartments are built mainly in new complexes along the main road and closer to the hills, while Laguna itself sells both apartments and villas. Villas are found throughout the subdistrict. In Karon, near the beach and along Patak Road there are mostly small complexes and hotels, while new condominiums are being built on the hillsides. Some villas are held through a Thai company — that option needs a separate check by a lawyer.

Prices

Below are real listings: for Bang Tao as of early October, for Karon as of early November 2026. These are the prices sellers ask, not transaction prices, and the sample is small, so look at the order of magnitude rather than exact sums.

Prices

Sample listings for sale

	Bang Tao	Karon
One-bedroom apartment	4.75–10.5 million baht for 35–57 m²: from 131,000 to 214,000 baht per m²	3.5–9.7 million baht for 33–56 m²: from 76,000 to 227,000 baht per m²
Larger apartment	2 bedrooms, 62–99 m² — 7.2–18.5 million baht (116,000–187,000 baht per m²)	2 bedrooms, 60–167 m² — 6.2–15.5 million baht (84,000–156,000 baht per m²)
Villa	3 bedrooms, 285–412 m² — 27.7–29.2 million baht	5 bedrooms, 330 m² near Karon Beach — 25 million baht, held through a company

Price depends heavily on how new the building is, the view and how far it is to the sea. So the areas cannot be compared directly on these figures: they only show the range to look in.

8. Money: costs, renting, living and resale

Buy to rent, live here yourself or do both. First, let’s look at what you will pay either way.

What you will pay

An apartment comes with a mandatory monthly fee for maintaining the complex: pool, cleaning, security. For example, in the new The Title complexes in Bang Tao it is 75 baht per m² a month — about 4,000 baht for a 50 m² apartment. At the Karon View complex in Karon, a listing gives a fee of about 9,900 baht a month for a 155 m² apartment, roughly 64 baht per m². In a new building you also pay a one-off contribution to the sinking fund when you receive the keys. A villa can also have shared fees; the pool, garden and repairs add to your costs.

Long-term rental

A one-year contract: the tenant pays monthly and covers electricity and water. Income is lower, but it is calmer: you do not have to find new guests every few days.

For example, listings as of October–November 2026. In Bang Tao: a 35 m² one-bedroom apartment at 35,000 baht a month, a 300 m² three-bedroom villa at 85,000 baht. In Karon: a 74 m² one-bedroom apartment at 33,800 baht on a one-year lease, an 81 m² two-bedroom apartment at 49,000 baht. Rates vary a lot by complex and season, so the real figure is best judged from 5–10 similar listings in the place you choose.

Short-term rental

Guests come for a few days, as in a hotel. They pay more per night, but the property often stands empty, especially in the rainy season. According to AirROI, a service that collects Airbnb data, over the past year homes in both Choeng Thale and Karon were occupied for about 40% of nights — the difference between the areas is within the margin of error.

Something else matters too: under Thai law, renting an apartment out by the night counts as running a hotel, and it is not allowed everywhere without a licence. On top of that, every complex has its own rules — some ban short-term rentals. This is checked before buying.

If you rent through a management company rather than yourself, it takes a share of the income: usually 20–30% for short-term rentals and 10–20% for annual leases. Booking sites take another 12–15%. So the owner receives noticeably less of the nightly rate than the listings suggest.

Live here yourself

In Bang Tao life runs on a car or scooter, but HeadStart school, the Boat Avenue restaurants and a shopping centre are close. In Karon you can walk around the centre, the beach and the market, people drive from the hillsides, and BCIS school in Chalong is 15–30 minutes away.

Beyond the complex fee, the main cost is electricity, mostly air-conditioning. And while you are away, someone has to look after the apartment: in the rainy season it needs airing and checking for leaks. A management company usually takes care of this.

Live here part of the year and rent it out

What matters is which months you come. Homes rent best from November to April; in the rainy season, from May to October, there are fewer guests. If you live here in winter, you will be renting out in the weak months, and income will be well below the annual figure. If you come in summer and rent out in winter, it works out better.

This only works with short-term rental: a one-year lease leaves no room for your own stays. So you need a short-term rental licence and the complex’s consent, and the check-ins between your visits are usually handed to a management company.

Resale

There is no public data on how much and how quickly homes are resold here. One thing is clear: in Bang Tao you will be selling among thousands of new apartments from developers, and in Karon next to new hillside projects. The easiest thing to sell is a mid-sized apartment with clear documents — it appeals both to people who will live in it and to those who will rent it out.

9. Which to choose for your goal

Choice

Where you win with different goals

Goal	Leans towards	Why
Living with school-age children	Bang Tao	HeadStart international school is right in the subdistrict. From Karon, BCIS school in Chalong is 15–30 minutes away.
Living with young children	Bang Tao, more likely	HeadStart takes children from preschool age. From Karon the nearest option is BCIS in Chalong, from age 2.
Living without a car	Karon	The centre, beach, market and clinics are within a kilometre, and there is a bus to the airport. In Bang Tao life without a car is easy only right by the beach.
Living with a car or scooter	Both areas	With transport, Bang Tao’s spread stops being a problem, and in Karon sea-view apartments on the hillsides open up.
Wintering for a few months	Karon, more likely	The beach, markets and cafés are close, Kata is next door, and a seasonal resident manages more easily without their own transport.
Quiet	Depends on the street	In Bang Tao the main noise is construction. In Karon it is noisier near the bars and the beach road, and the hillsides have construction too.
Golf and resort life	Bang Tao	Laguna with its golf course, Boat Avenue, Porto de Phuket shopping centre.
Long-term rental	No clear winner	Families with school-age children look in Bang Tao, near HeadStart. For those who want everything on foot, Karon is closer.
Short-term rental	No clear winner	Occupancy is almost the same, around 40% of nights. In both areas, first check the licence and the complex’s rules.
Sea-view apartment	Karon, more likely	New complexes on the slopes above the beach. Check drainage, retaining walls and permits.
Lower entry price	Karon	In listings, one-bedroom apartments start from 3.5 million baht in Karon and from 4.75 million baht in Bang Tao.

10. How a purchase works and what to check

Buying in Thailand is simpler than it seems, but several parties are involved: the agent, the lawyer, the bank and the land office. Here is how it usually goes, step by step.

1. Search: developer or agent

A new apartment is bought from the developer — directly or through an agent. In that case the developer pays the agent’s commission, and the price is the same for you. A resale home from a private owner is almost always sold through an agency. Here too the seller usually pays the commission, most often 3–5% of the price, but terms vary, so ask about it straight away.

2. Viewing

Many people first view properties by video, but it is better to see the chosen home yourself or send someone you trust: the walk to the sea, noise and nearby construction do not show up on video. What exactly to check on site is in the list below.

3. Reservation

Once a property is chosen, you pay a small reservation deposit — the seller takes it off the market while it is checked. The amount and the refund terms are set out in the reservation agreement.

4. Your own lawyer

This is the key step. You hire the lawyer yourself; they must not work for the seller or the agent. At the land office they check the title deed, debts and encumbrances, the building permit and whether the building still has foreign quota available, and they read the contract. For a villa, they also check the land lease: its term, the renewal conditions and what happens to the house.

5. Contract and payment

Next, the sale and purchase agreement is signed. A new build is usually paid for in instalments as construction progresses; a finished home with a deposit at signing and the balance at registration. The money is transferred from abroad to a Thai account, stating property purchase as the purpose of payment. The bank issues a transfer certificate — without it, an apartment cannot be registered to a foreigner.

6. Registration

The transaction is registered at the provincial land office, after which you are the owner. You do not have to attend in person: a lawyer can do it under a power of attorney. Fees are paid here too: 2% of the appraised value for the transfer (the contract decides who pays, often split in half), while the seller pays their own taxes — 3.3% or 0.5% plus income tax. If you are leasing land for a villa, the lease agreement is registered, with a fee of about 1% of the total rent for the whole term.

7. Keys

After registration, the handover certificate is signed, you receive the keys and start paying the complex’s maintenance fees. If you plan to rent the property out, this is also when you choose a management company.

In short: the agent searches, the lawyer checks, the bank confirms the transfer, and the land office registers. Buying a finished home usually takes a few weeks; with a new build, you wait until construction is complete.

Checklist

Before paying a deposit

• The exact address and the route to the sea — on foot, not on a map.
• The plot in the rain: drainage, elevation, and on Karon’s hillsides also slope and retaining walls.
• For a hillside: is there construction or a steep cut further up the hill?
• Noise at different times of day: nearby construction in Bang Tao; bars, the beach road and hillside construction in Karon.
• Whether short-term rental is allowed in this particular building.
• Title to the land and the building, foreign quota, payment history.

How to choose

Three steps

1. 01

   Define your goal

   Living there yourself, renting out, or both: this decides which area wins.

2. 02

   Check the address

   Not the area name, but the point on the map: the route to the beach, the terrain, nearby construction.

3. 03

   Ask for the numbers

   A year of rental and cost reports for the specific property, not area averages.

11. Risks and how we can help

You can choose an area yourself: everything discussed above can be checked on a map, in listings and in conversation with the seller. It gets harder with a specific property and its documents. These are the problems buyers in Phuket run into most often:

• Land “held through a Thai company”. So that a foreigner can own the land under a villa, sellers sometimes offer to register it to a Thai company whose Thai co-owners exist only on paper. The law prohibits this, and such property can be lost.
• Land with an incomplete title. Land documents in Thailand come in different kinds, and not all of them give full ownership. On the hills there are plots where building should never have been allowed at all.
• An apartment beyond the quota. If a building’s foreign quota is already used up, the apartment cannot be registered to you as freehold — you may be offered a lease instead, without always being told so plainly.
• A deposit paid to the wrong person. Money is transferred only under a signed contract and only to an account whose owner your lawyer has verified.
• Promised returns. A “guaranteed income” from a developer is a promise by one particular company, not by the market. If the company runs into trouble, the payments stop.
• Construction delays. A new build is paid for in instalments, and if the developer misses deadlines, your money is tied up. That is why people look at how the developer delivered its previous projects.
• Short-term rental without a licence. Renting an apartment by the night where it is not allowed can bring fines, and the complex may ban the rentals.

Almost all of this is solved by one thing: checking before you pay. That is why the key step in buying is having your own lawyer.

At the same time, Phuket is one of the liveliest resort property markets in Asia: people come here on holiday and move here to live, and developers are bringing thousands of new apartments to market. There are many opportunities here, but also many nuances that are easy to get lost in from the outside.

Need help choosing an area in Phuket?

Leave your email and get a free consultation.