Investment scenario builder
Three sets of your own assumptions side by side: yield, cash flow and the return if you sell.
Try it free →By the BAANLYY Editorial Team · Last reviewed 4 November 2026
Best Thailand cities to invest in property
BAANLYY does not rank a winner. The city table uses the gross yield averages already published on our rental-yield report, plus a count of open BAANLYY listings in each city. Yields, liquidity and ownership rules differ by city; read the method, then the rows — this is not a recommendation to buy.
How this table is built
Yields are copied from the city averages and industry ranges already published on the Thailand rental-yield report (Q1 2026 Global Property Guide medians for five cities; directional industry ranges for Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Koh Samui). The rental-yields explainer is the companion page for gross versus net. Listing counts are open BAANLYY listings grouped by city: countListingsForCity matches the listing's city or area name to the row. Adding a Bangkok listing raises the Bangkok count; a zero means this build could not read a live catalog for that city. This is not a ranking and not a recommendation to buy.
Yields and listing depth
| City | Gross yield | Open BAANLYY listings | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samut Prakan | 8.52% gross | 0 | Rental-yield report (GPG median) |
| Nonthaburi | 7.14% gross | 3 | Rental-yield report (GPG median) |
| Bangkok | 6.22% gross | 1940 | Rental-yield report (GPG median) |
| Pattaya / Chon Buri | 5.51% gross | 1898 | Rental-yield report (GPG median) |
| Phuket | 5.05% gross | 1210 | Rental-yield report (GPG median) |
| Chiang Mai | 4–6% gross | 152 | Rental-yield report (industry range) |
| Hua Hin | 4.5–6.5% gross | 160 | Rental-yield report (industry range) |
| Koh Samui | 5–8% gross | 1 | Rental-yield report (industry range) |
Samut Prakan. Highest tracked city average on the BAANLYY rental-yield report (Q1 2026).Nonthaburi. Second of the five cities the rental-yield report tracks with the same method.Bangkok. City average on the rental-yield report; district yields spread widely around it.Pattaya / Chon Buri. Chon Buri (Pattaya) average on the rental-yield report; Bang Lamung runs higher on smaller units.Phuket. Long-term-let average on the rental-yield report; short-stay figures on that page are a different product.Chiang Mai. Directional industry range on the rental-yield report, not the GPG city-average series.Hua Hin. Directional industry range on the rental-yield report (retiree / second-home market).Koh Samui. Directional industry range on the rental-yield report; villa vs condo mix is wide.
Quota and costs do not change by city
Foreign freehold of a condominium is capped at 49% of a building's saleable floor area under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522, section 19 bis, in Bangkok the same as in Phuket. Transfer-day government charges are on the Department of Lands fee page. For whether the data supports a purchase at all, read is Thailand real estate a good investment.
Frequently asked questions
Best Thailand cities to invest in property
BAANLYY does not rank a winner. The city table uses the gross yield averages already published on /market/reports/rental-yield and the yield explainer at /invest/rental-yields, plus a count of open BAANLYY listings grouped by city. Yields, liquidity and ownership rules differ by city; read the method, then the rows — this is not a recommendation to buy.
How did you pick the cities?
They are the cities already published on BAANLYY's rental-yield report: five with a Global Property Guide city average (Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, Bangkok, Pattaya / Chon Buri, Phuket) and three with a directional industry range on the same page (Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Koh Samui). We did not invent a sixth data series.
Where do the listing counts come from?
Each count is the number of open BAANLYY listings whose city or area name maps to that row. The function is countListingsForCity — adding a listing in Bangkok raises the Bangkok count. A zero means this build could not read a live catalog for that city, not that the city has no homes.
Should I buy in the highest-yield city?
This page does not say that. A higher gross yield can reflect lower entry prices, thinner resale, or a different tenant pool. Read the method, then the rows, then the yield report. It is not a recommendation to buy.
Do these figures change the 49% quota?
No. Foreign freehold of a condominium is still capped at 49% of a building's saleable floor area under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522, section 19 bis (https://www.thailand.go.th/issue-focus-detail/010_014), in every city on this table.
General information only — not financial, tax or legal advice, and not a recommendation to buy. Yields and listing counts change. Confirm current official figures on the government pages linked next to each law or tax number.
Sources & References
Last checked 3 November 2026
- พระราชบัญญัติอาคารชุด พ.ศ. ๒๕๒๒ (Condominium Act B.E. 2522), consolidated text with amendment footnotes
- Foreign property ownership in Thailand: Fees for condominiums — Condominium Act section 19 bis (49%), 2% transfer fee, 3.3% specific business tax, 0.5% stamp duty and withholding tax — Royal Thai Government portal
- Foreign property ownership in Thailand: Acquisition of real estate — 49% condominium cap, 30-year lease maximum with the lessor's consent, and the 40-million-baht / 1-rai land exception. Page updated 10 July 2023 — Royal Thai Government portal
- ค่าธรรมเนียม ภาษี และอากร (Fees, taxes and duties on land registration) — Department of Lands
- Department of Lands, Thailand
- The Revenue Department, Thailand
Quota and transfer-fee figures are from the official Thai government pages linked above. City yields are from BAANLYY's rental-yield report. Listing counts are open BAANLYY listings grouped by city. BAANLYY never takes paid placement.
