🧠 What Both Sides Have a Point About

The government's logic: Attracting foreign buyers injects capital, creates construction jobs, and boosts a property market that still hasn't fully recovered in all segments. A visa-linked purchase incentive has worked (in various forms) in Portugal, Greece, UAE, and Malaysia. Thailand's been watching those programs with obvious envy. 👀

The operators' logic: ฿3 million buys a very small condo by Phuket standards. The kind of buyer that unit attracts isn't flying business class and dining at Michelin-starred restaurants. Set it too low, and you create incentives that undercut the premium-tourism brand Phuket has spent years building. And locals genuinely do get squeezed when foreign demand floors under a market segment previously accessible to them. 🏘️

The investor takeaway: This debate is going to resolve one of two ways — either Thailand raises the threshold (good for mid-to-high end property values) or they leave it at ฿3M and the entry-level market in Phuket gets a significant new demand driver. Either outcome likely benefits property holders. The key is buying the right tier. 📊

🏢 The Condo Case

Entry point: ฿2M–฿8M for a quality unit in a managed complex. Gross yields: 6–8% in well-located projects with good management companies behind them. Upside: Lower maintenance burden, established management structures, easier to rent year-round, freehold ownership available for foreigners (up to 49% of the building). Downside: You're competing with dozens of identical units in the same building. Differentiation is hard. You win or lose based on your management company, not your taste in furniture. 🛋️

🏡 The Villa Case

Entry point: ฿8M–฿40M+ for a private pool villa with proper specs. Gross yields: 8–12% at peak season, but with significant seasonality swings. Upside: High-value guests, premium nightly rates, genuine differentiation through design and amenities, stronger capital appreciation in the luxury segment. Downside: Maintenance is expensive and relentless (pools, gardens, AC systems, structural work), management fees are higher, and vacancy in shoulder months bites harder. You also need a proper lease structure as a foreigner since villas sit on land you typically can't outright own. 📋

Thinking about a Phuket investment but not sure which route fits your goals? Drop us a message and we'll match you with the right product type for your budget and timeline. No guesswork. 🎯

📐 What to Look for on Any Floor Plan

1. Net vs. Gross Area
The number the developer quotes is almost always gross area — including the walls, common areas, balcony, and sometimes even a share of corridors. Net usable area (what you can actually put furniture in) can be 15–25% less. Always ask for the net internal area. If they get cagey, that tells you something. 🚩

2. Balcony Proportions
A 15sqm balcony sounds amazing. But if your total unit is 45sqm and 15 is balcony, you're living in 30sqm of indoor space. That's a studio with a nice view, not a "spacious 1-bedroom." Watch this ratio closely. 🌅

3. Column Placement
A well-drawn floor plan can hide columns inside walls on paper that in reality eat into your living room. Ask the developer for the structural column schedule and overlay it with the floor plan. If they don't have one readily available... 🚩🚩

4. Ceiling Height
Floor plans are 2D, so they can't show you ceiling height — but this matters enormously for how spacious a unit feels. Anything under 2.6m starts feeling cave-like. Luxury developments typically specify 2.8–3.2m. Always ask for the section drawing, not just the floor plan. 📏

5. Unit Orientation and Prevailing Wind
This one's Southeast Asia specific: which way does the unit face relative to prevailing winds and sun? North-facing units in Thailand get morning sun (pleasant). West-facing units cop brutal afternoon heat (unpleasant + expensive aircon). In Singapore, the "five Cs" crowd always checks unit orientation. You should too. ☀️

6. Privacy and View Analysis
Look at the floor plate. Which units get the pool view? Which ones stare directly into another unit's living room? Which ones face the service corridor? The floor plan will show you the location — you need to extrapolate the view scenario. Visit a similar completed project from the same developer if you can. 👁️

💡 The Silent Return-Killer Nobody Talks About

Here's a scenario almost nobody runs when evaluating Southeast Asian property: what happens to your returns if the local currency weakens against your home currency? 🌍

Let's make it concrete. Say you buy a condo in Thailand for ฿5 million when the exchange rate is 35 THB to 1 USD. That's $143,000. Your property appreciates 8% over two years — great! It's now worth ฿5.4 million. You sell, you're happy.

Except: if during those two years, the baht weakened from 35 to 40 THB/USD, your ฿5.4 million now converts to $135,000 — which is actually less than you paid in dollar terms. You made 8% in baht and lost money in USD. 😬

The Southeast Asia Reality: Currency movements across the region are NOT trivial. The Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah, Philippine peso, and Vietnamese dong can swing 10–20% over a 3–5 year hold period. That's enough to turn a good property investment into a wash — or a wash into a great one, depending on direction. ↕️

What to actually do about it:

Option 1 — Don't try to hedge, just diversify. Hold properties across multiple currencies so gains in one offset weakness in another. Someone holding properties in THB, MYR, and USD-linked Vietnam VND is naturally more currency-balanced than someone all-in on one market. 🌐

Option 2 — Earn in local currency, spend in local currency. If you're renting to local tenants and also spending time in the country, your rental income and living costs are in the same currency. Currency risk is naturally neutralized. This is why expat investors living in Thailand have a structural advantage over remote investors converting in and out. 🏠

Option 3 — Focus on markets with historically stable currencies. Singapore dollar? One of the most stable in the region. Malaysian ringgit is more volatile but has shown recent strength on fundamental improvement. The Indonesian rupiah requires more tolerance for swings. Know your currency profile before you buy. 📊

Option 4 — Factor currency scenarios into your underwriting. Run your investment numbers at three exchange rate scenarios: flat, 10% adverse, 20% adverse. If the 20% adverse scenario still gives you acceptable returns, you've got a genuinely robust investment. If it doesn't, you're effectively taking on significant currency speculation alongside your property investment. Know what you're signing up for. 📋

Pro Move: Before converting large sums, use a currency specialist (not your bank) for international transfers. Services like Wise, OFX, or a specialist FX broker can save you 1–3% on conversion costs vs. bank rates. On a $100,000 transaction, that's $1,000–$3,000 in your pocket for doing literally nothing different except choosing the right transfer service. 💸

🔥 Markets Showing Increased Transaction Activity (Feb 2026):

• Phuket (Bang Tao/Cherng Talay): Strong developer launch activity, consistent absorption
• Johor Bahru (Medini/Puteri Harbour): Foreign buyer inquiries running well ahead of 2025 pace
• Hanoi (Tay Ho / Long Bien): Quality stock moving faster than mid-2025

💰 Rental Yield Snapshot (Gross, current conditions):

• Phuket beachfront condos: 6–8% gross (high season boosting averages)
• Bangkok Sukhumvit mid-range: 4.5–6% gross
• Kuala Lumpur KLCC adjacent: 5–6.5% gross
• Cebu IT Park area: 6–7% gross (one to watch)

📉 Segments Worth Monitoring (Not Panic):

• Singapore CCR rentals: Modest softening continues on supply influx
• Bali budget STR segment: Regulatory pressure continues; operators without licensing getting squeezed
• Bangkok oversupply zones (On Nut, Udom Suk outer fringe): Vacancy pressure in older stock

✅ Why Repeat Guests Are Worth Their Weight in Gold:

Zero acquisition cost — No Airbnb commission (9–15%) if you book them directly next time. On a $200/night booking for 7 nights, that's potentially $140–$210 back in your pocket per repeat booking. 💵

Lower operational risk — You know they're not going to trash your villa. You know they're not first-time travelers who'll call at midnight about the hot water. Repeat guests are predictable. And predictable is beautiful in property management. 😌

Higher tolerance for rate increases — A guest who's loved your property for three trips is far less price-sensitive than a new guest comparing 47 listings. They'll absorb your 10–15% annual rate increase without blinking. 📈

How to build the pipeline: Collect emails legitimately (it's fine to have a guestbook or leave a card). Send a simple "we'd love to have you back" message 6–8 weeks before their likely return window (based on when they stayed). Offer 10% off for direct booking. Most professional management companies completely ignore this — which means it's your edge if you invest in it. 🎯

Managing a property or considering your first STR investment in Phuket or beyond? Get in touch with our team — we've got direct connections to management operators who actually do this stuff right. 💪

🚀 READY TO MOVE FROM READING TO DOING?

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Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Property investment carries inherent risks including potential loss of capital. All figures, yields, and market data are sourced from publicly available information believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed accurate. Market conditions change rapidly. Past performance does not indicate future results. Currency fluctuations, regulatory changes, and economic conditions can materially affect investment outcomes. Always conduct independent due diligence and consult qualified legal, tax, and financial professionals before making investment decisions. The views expressed are Hawook's editorial opinions and do not constitute recommendations to buy, sell, or hold specific properties.

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