CBRE: Phuket Luxury Sales Up Over 45% in H1
CBRE Thailand reported Phuket luxury residential sales rising more than 45% in H1 2026, with international buyers at 67%. What sits behind the number.
Phuket’s luxury residential market recorded sales growth of more than 45% in the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025, according to CBRE Thailand figures reported by The Phuket News and The Nation in August 2026. International buyers made up 67% of the Phuket residential purchases CBRE recorded over the period, with Thai buyers at 33%.
The buyer nationalities named in the reporting were the United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, India, the United States and several European countries. On CBRE’s transaction data, condominiums in Bang Tao and Cherng Talay were the most popular locations. Prakaipeth Meechoosarn, who heads Phuket property sales at CBRE Thailand, was quoted describing a strong buyer response to branded residences.
What a 45% Increase Does and Does Not Tell You
Percentage growth is a comparison, and its usefulness depends entirely on what it is compared against. A rise of more than 45% is measured from the first half of 2025, and it describes transactions recorded by one consultancy in the luxury segment rather than the whole island.
It is a genuine signal of demand at the top of the market. It is not a statement about entry-level condominium pricing, about villa values outside the luxury tier, or about what any individual unit will resell for. Buyers who read a market-wide inference into a segment-specific number are the ones who overpay.
The Divergence Worth Understanding
Set this alongside the operating data from the same six months and the picture becomes more useful than either figure alone. Cushman & Wakefield put Phuket hotel occupancy at 80.0% in the first half, down from 84.1%, with average daily rate off 4% and revenue per available room down 8.7%.
Sales up sharply while rental economics soften is a recognisable pattern in resort markets. It means capital is arriving faster than income is growing, usually because buyers are purchasing for lifestyle, currency positioning or capital appreciation rather than underwriting a yield. That is a legitimate reason to buy. It becomes a problem only when a buyer with a yield thesis pays a price set by buyers who do not have one.
Buying at the top of the Phuket market?
We compare branded residences on the fee stack and the operator agreement, not the brochure, and tell you what the brand premium is actually buying.
Branded Residences Are Driving the Segment
The strength CBRE describes is concentrated in branded stock, and Phuket’s pipeline reflects that. The west coast corridor running from Bang Tao through Cherng Talay and Layan to Kamala is where hotel-brand residences cluster, and it is the same corridor CBRE identifies as leading on transactions.
A brand delivers real things: a management standard, a distribution channel, resale recognition and, usually, a better-built building. It also delivers a price premium and a fee stack, and the fee stack is where yield goes to die if the buyer has not read the operator agreement. Our guidance on this has not changed: compare the total cost of ownership including brand and management fees before comparing headline prices.
How to Use This Number
If you are selling a luxury Phuket property, this is supportive evidence and you should expect buyers to have read it too. If you are buying, treat it as context rather than urgency. A 45% increase in transactions does not mean prices rose 45%, and it certainly does not mean the next twelve months repeat the last six.
The unchanged discipline applies. Underwrite the specific building on today’s operating numbers, budget the full ownership cost, and be clear with yourself about whether you are buying income, lifestyle or a currency position, because the three justify very different prices for the same unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. CBRE Thailand reported that luxury residential sales rose more than 45%, which measures transaction activity in the luxury segment rather than price growth, and covers the deals one consultancy recorded rather than the whole island. Transaction volume and price are different measures and should not be substituted for one another.
CBRE put international buyers at 67% of the Phuket residential purchases it recorded in the first half of 2026, against 33% Thai. The nationalities named in the reporting were the United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, India, the United States and several European countries, with condominiums in Bang Tao and Cherng Talay the most popular locations in its transaction data.
They measure different things. Sales record what buyers paid for an asset; occupancy and daily rate record what guests paid for a night. In the same first half, Cushman & Wakefield reported Phuket hotel occupancy at 80.0% against 84.1% a year earlier with revenue per available room down 8.7%. Capital arriving faster than income is a normal phase in a resort market, and it argues for underwriting conservatively rather than for staying away.
Sometimes, and the answer is specific to the project rather than to the category. A brand brings a management standard, distribution and resale recognition, and it also brings a price premium and a fee stack that can absorb a large share of gross rental income. Read the operator agreement and compare total ownership cost before comparing headline prices.
The west coast corridor from Bang Tao through Cherng Talay and Layan to Kamala, which is where the hotel-brand residences cluster and where CBRE's transaction data showed the most activity. That concentration is also why land prices in those specific sub-markets have been the firmest on the island.
Read Also:
MORE Group Editorial
Phuket Real Estate Experts
The MORE Group team has helped 500+ European and American buyers purchase property in Thailand. We provide legal support, 0% commission, and on-the-ground expertise with 8 years in the Phuket market.
About MORE Group →Get Your Phuket Property Shortlist
Tell us your budget and goals. Our expert sends a shortlist within 2 hours.
