Thai real estate runs on customary commissions, not a regulated fee scale — and the conventions surprise most foreigners. On a resale the seller usually pays around 3%; on a new unit the developer pays; on a rental it’s roughly one month’s rent from the landlord. Buyers and tenants typically pay nothing. Here’s exactly how agent fees work, who foots the bill, how co-agency splits happen, and why an unregulated market means you should get every number in writing. Buyer, seller, landlord and tenant focused, never paid placement.
In Thailand the seller pays the sales commission (customarily about 3% on resale; the developer pays on new units), and the landlord pays the rental commission (about one month’s rent for a year’s lease). Buyers and tenants normally pay nothing. Nothing is fixed by law — it’s all negotiable and unregulated, so put the rate, VAT and who-pays in writing before you list or sign.
If you’re coming from the US, UK, Australia or much of Europe, set your expectations aside: Thailand has no national licensing regime for real estate agents and no regulated commission scale. What exists instead is a set of strong market conventions — widely followed customary rates that are nonetheless fully negotiable and not enforced by any central body.
Three conventions cover almost every situation: a percentage commission on a resale sale, a developer-paid commission on a new (off-plan or first-hand) unit, and a one-month-rent style fee on a rental. In all three, the cost lands on the owner’s side — the seller, the developer, or the landlord — while the buyer or tenant typically pays the agent nothing. The sections below take each in turn. For the broader transaction, pair this with the condo buying process guide and the transfer fees & taxes guide.
On a second-hand (resale) sale, the customary agent commission is around 3% of the agreed sale price, paid by the seller. It is not a fixed figure: in practice it ranges from roughly 3% to 5%, trending higher on lower-value units (where 3% is a small absolute sum), on hard-to-sell properties, or where the agent is doing more work to find a foreign buyer.
Sellers should remember the agent commission sits on top of the government transfer costs covered in our transfer fees guide — budget for both when you calculate your net proceeds.
When you buy a brand-new unit directly from a project — whether completed or off-plan — the commission is paid by the developer, not by you. Developers build an agent commission into their sales budget precisely to motivate agents to bring buyers, so an agent showing you new projects is being paid by the developer regardless of which unit you choose.
Developer commissions are commonly around 3% but can reach 5–6% or more on off-plan inventory the developer is keen to move, sometimes topped up with bonus incentives (cash bonuses, gifts, or tiered rates for volume). The practical takeaways for a buyer: (1) using an agent on a new project usually costs you nothing extra — the price is the same whether you walk in alone or with an agent; and (2) because the agent is developer-paid, get independent input on value and do your own due diligence rather than relying solely on the agent’s recommendation.
Rental commissions follow their own convention. For a standard 12-month lease, the customary agent fee is one month’s rent, paid by the landlord. The tenant normally pays no commission at all.
Conventions vary by agency and by city, so a landlord listing a unit should confirm the fee and timing (usually on lease signing) up front. Tenants weighing the wider cost of a move can cross-reference our renting vs. buying analysis and the property management fees guide if a managing agent is involved.
The single most useful thing to internalise about Thai agent fees is who carries them. In the overwhelming majority of deals, the commission is an owner-side cost:
This is why buyer and tenant representation is, in effect, free at the point of use in Thailand — a real advantage for foreigners, who can engage a good bilingual agent without a direct invoice. The flip side: because the agent is paid by the other side, treat their advice as helpful but interested, and verify value and legality independently. If anyone asks a buyer or tenant to pay a separate commission on top of an owner-side fee, pause and get the arrangement in writing before proceeding.
Thailand has no shared MLS (multiple listing service), so the same condo is often advertised by many agents simultaneously under non-exclusive “open” listings. That shapes how commissions get divided:
The owner-side lesson is simple: you normally pay one total commission no matter how many agents touch the deal — the agents divide it among themselves. Make your written agreement specify the total fee, not a per-agent fee, so two agents can’t each claim a full commission.
Because there is no comprehensive national licensing of agents and no regulator policing commissions, the burden of care falls on you. A few practical safeguards turn an unregulated market into a manageable one:
Handled this way, the Thai model is actually buyer- and tenant-friendly: you get representation at no direct cost, while sellers, developers and landlords pay predictable, customary rates. The trade-off is simply that you must supply the diligence the regulation doesn’t.
Agent commissions are customary, not fixed — so the leverage is in understanding them. Get the numbers straight, then explore units built for foreign buyers and renters.
General information only — not financial, tax or legal advice. Real estate agent commissions in Thailand are customary and negotiable, not set by law; rates, VAT treatment, who-pays conventions and rental-fee norms vary by agency, property type, price and location, and change over time. Confirm all fees in a written agreement and seek independent advice before acting. BAANLYY is an independent information platform and never takes paid placement.