Commercial Real Estate · Developer Tools

Know if a development pencils out before you buy the land.

Estimate total development cost, financing and interest during construction, and either yield-on-cost (lease & hold) or profit margin and a simple annualized return (sell on completion) for a commercial project in Thailand. Free, unbiased, no paid placement.

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By Kirby Scofield
Founder of BAANLYY · International real estate broker, investor & relocation specialist
Last updated 3 July 2026 · Last reviewed 3 July 2026

← Commercial Real Estate Hub  ·  Also try: Investment Calculator (existing assets)

📐  Zoning & FAR basics →🌱  EIA process →🏗️  Project delivery stages →
Land, Construction & Soft Costs

Set the site cost, the buildable area, and a per-sqm construction budget. Soft costs cover design, permits, EIA, financing fees and contingency.

฿60,000,000
8000 sqm
฿32,000
15%
2 yrs
Hard cost (construction)฿256,000,000
Soft cost & contingency฿38,400,000
Land + hard + soft cost฿354,400,000
Financing

Construction loans typically fund a share of cost, with interest accruing over the build period before any income or sale proceeds arrive.

50%
7%
Loan amount฿177,200,000
Equity required฿177,200,000
Est. interest during development฿24,808,000
Total development cost฿379,208,000
Exit Strategy

Model either leasing the completed building (yield-on-cost) or selling it on completion (profit margin & a simple annualized return).

฿650
10%
25%
Stabilized annual NOI฿42,120,000
Yield-on-cost (NOI ÷ total dev cost)11.11%

Estimates only, for early feasibility screening — not investment, engineering, legal or tax advice. Real projects require a licensed quantity surveyor's cost estimate, a full EIA/permitting timeline where applicable, and underwriting against an actual rent roll or sale comparables. BAANLYY and One Life Ventures Co., Ltd. are not financial advisors and do not guarantee any project's feasibility or return.

01

What this tool estimates

This calculator turns a site and a construction budget into the numbers a developer checks before committing to a project: total development cost (land, hard construction cost, soft costs and contingency, plus interest accrued during the build), and — depending on your exit strategy — either yield-on-cost, the stabilized Net Operating Income a completed building would produce as a percentage of what it cost to build, or profit margin and a simple annualized return if you plan to sell on completion. See Project Delivery Stages: Land to Handover for how these numbers fit into the full development timeline.

02

Why yield-on-cost is compared against market cap rates

Yield-on-cost answers a different question than a cap rate does. A cap rate tells you the return on buying an existing, stabilized asset at market price. Yield-on-cost tells you the return on building the same kind of asset from scratch. Developers generally want their yield-on-cost to sit meaningfully above prevailing cap rates for comparable stabilized properties — the gap is the compensation for taking on construction risk, leasing-up risk, and the years it takes to get there. Compare the figure this tool produces against current cap rates on the Investment Calculator for the same asset type and location.

03

Financing during a development period is different from an income-producing loan

Unlike a loan against a stabilized, income-producing property, a construction loan typically doesn't get serviced from rental income — because there isn't any yet. Interest instead accrues (often compounding) against the drawn loan balance throughout the build, which is why this calculator adds an estimated development-period interest cost on top of land and construction cost rather than treating it as an ongoing operating expense. A longer development period or a higher loan-to-cost ratio both increase this figure meaningfully — small delays can move the numbers more than people expect.

04

Thailand-specific factors this tool doesn't model

To keep the calculator usable, several Thailand-specific items are left for you to layer on separately: whether the site's zoning and Floor Area Ratio (FAR) actually permit the GFA you've entered; whether the project type triggers a mandatory EIA, which can add significant time (and carrying cost) before construction can even start; foreign land-ownership restrictions under the Foreign Business Act, which usually push foreign-backed projects toward a Thai limited company or long leasehold structure; and corporate or capital gains tax on any eventual sale, which varies by ownership structure and holding period. None of these change the underlying cost-and-return formulas, but all of them can change the timeline and the number you should actually underwrite to.

05

Frequently asked

What inputs does the feasibility calculator use?You set land cost, gross floor area (GFA), a per-sqm construction cost, and a soft-cost percentage for design, permits, EIA and contingency. For financing, you set the loan-to-cost ratio, interest rate and development period, which the tool uses to estimate interest accrued before the project produces income or sale proceeds. Finally you choose an exit strategy — lease & hold or sell on completion — and enter the matching income or sale assumptions. Every figure defaults to a reasonable placeholder but is fully adjustable.
What is yield-on-cost and how is it different from a cap rate?Yield-on-cost divides a stabilized property's projected Net Operating Income by its total development cost (land plus hard cost, soft cost and development-period interest) rather than by its market purchase price. Developers use it to judge whether building is worthwhile versus buying an existing asset at market cap rates — a healthy development typically targets a yield-on-cost meaningfully above prevailing market cap rates for the same asset class, to compensate for construction risk, timeline risk and the effort of developing versus simply acquiring.
Why does the development period matter so much to the numbers?A longer build timeline means more interest accrues on the construction loan before the project earns any income or sells, which raises total development cost and lowers both yield-on-cost and profit margin. It also delays when equity is returned, which is why the calculator's 'sell on completion' mode annualizes the return over the development period rather than showing a single undated profit figure — a project that clears a 25% margin in one year is a very different outcome from clearing the same margin over four.
Does this tool account for Thailand's EIA process or zoning limits?No — this calculator only models cost and return once you already know the buildable GFA. It does not check whether a site's zoning and Floor Area Ratio (FAR) actually allow the GFA you enter, or whether the project type triggers a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that can add months or years before construction can start. Confirm zoning, FAR and EIA requirements for the specific site and use type before relying on any GFA or timeline assumption here — see the Land & Development Hub for the underlying rules.
Can foreign investors develop commercial real estate in Thailand?It's possible but structured carefully. Land ownership itself is restricted to Thai nationals and Thai-majority companies under the Foreign Business Act, so most foreign-backed developments are structured through a Thai limited company, a long leasehold, or BOI promotion where the project qualifies. Financing a Thai development loan is also typically easier for a Thai-majority company with a local track record than for a foreign-majority entity. Confirm structure and financing feasibility with a Thai lawyer and bank early — it changes the equity and loan-to-cost assumptions you should use above.
Keep going
Commercial Real Estate HubInvestment Calculator (Existing Assets)Land & Development HubZoning & FAREIA ProcessProject Delivery StagesConstruction Cost Benchmarks

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Sources & References

Sources & References

Educational estimating tool only — not investment, engineering, legal or tax advice. Results depend entirely on the assumptions you enter and are not a valuation, feasibility study or projection of any specific project's performance. Confirm figures, zoning, EIA requirements and ownership structure with licensed Thai professionals before committing capital. BAANLYY and One Life Ventures Co., Ltd. are not financial advisors and never take paid placement in editorial content.