Guides · Investment
Phuket property investment returns, honestly
A well-run Phuket rental property tends to return somewhere around 5 to 8 percent net a year, after running costs and before your own financing and tax. That is our estimate, not a promise. Gross revenue varies widely by area: AirROI data puts Kamala first, at around 27,400 US dollars a year per active Airbnb listing.
Read this first
General information, not legal advice.
Written by Silvain, General Director of Phuket Property Manager (Empire Estates Phuket Co., Ltd). Last updated 7 November 2026. We run rental properties for owners; we do not sell them under this name, so we have no reason to inflate the numbers. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and their application depends on your property, your building and your personal situation: confirm anything that matters with a Thai lawyer or accountant before acting on it.
Gross is not net
Everything that sits between the booking total and your bank account.
Most return figures quoted to buyers are gross. These are the lines that come off before anything reaches you.
Platform commissions
Airbnb, Booking.com and agencies each take their share of every booking.
Management
Our fee starts at 10 percent. Ask every manager what their percentage is applied to, and what is deducted before it.
Cleaning, linen and consumables
Paid per changeover. Short stays multiply this line; monthly lets shrink it.
Utilities and internet
Air conditioning makes electricity the largest utility for a villa, occupied or not.
Common fees and sinking fund
Condo and estate charges are due every month, rented or empty.
Maintenance and replacement
Pool equipment, air conditioning, furniture, linen: in a tropical climate, plan for replacement, not just repair.
Show 3 more
Taxes
Income tax on the rent and the annual Land and Building Tax.
The months nobody books
West-coast demand drops from May to October. A net figure is an annual figure.
Your own use
Weeks you keep for yourself are worth having, and they are weeks the property does not earn.
Villa or condo
Two different investments, not a bigger and a smaller one.
Pool villa
Higher nightly rates and a market of families and groups, but higher running costs, more staff, and more exposure to the weather. Usually held leasehold by foreigners. Short stays raise the Hotel Act question.
Condominium
Lower entry price, freehold possible within the foreign quota, shared facilities and predictable fees. The building’s regulations often restrict short stays, which can make monthly lets the realistic model.
What decides between them
How much you will use it, whether you want nightly or monthly guests, how much running you are willing to fund, and what the specific building or estate allows. A comparison of averages answers none of those.
By area
Where you buy changes the business you are in.
Third-party data from AirROI, an Airbnb analytics service, puts Kamala at the top of Phuket areas for annual revenue per active listing, at around 27,400 US dollars (figure consulted November 2026). That is a gross average across all listing sizes, before any of the costs above, not a forecast for one property. The same data shows that around 87 percent of Phuket hosts are private individuals rather than companies.
Kamala, Surin, Layan
High-value villas and sea-view condos; strong high season; owner use common.
Bang Tao and Laguna
Deep holiday demand and the island’s largest pipeline of new supply, so presentation and reviews decide who wins.
Patong
Year-round demand, mostly condos, and building rules that often limit short stays.
Rawai and Nai Harn
A long-stay market: guests booking weeks or months in the dry season.
Kathu, Chalong, Phuket Town
Resident tenants on yearly leases. Lower headline figures, far less turnover.
Mai Khao, Nai Yang, Cape Yamu
Quieter niches: resort projects near the airport, and a handful of luxury villas on the east coast.
Our estimate
What we say when owners ask what they will make.
We do not guarantee a return, and we would be wary of anyone who does. What we commit to is the work: the calendar priced through the season, the property kept in the condition that holds its rate, and problems handled before they reach a review. We work to keep occupancy high, and we report what actually happened either way. As a general picture, a well run Phuket property tends to return somewhere around 5 to 8 percent net a year, after management, cleaning, utilities, maintenance and platform commissions, and before your own financing and tax position. That is an estimate drawn from what we see, not a projection for your property: two houses on the same road can sit either side of that range depending on the plot, the pool, the age of the systems and how much you use it yourself. We send you the real twelve month booking record of comparable properties in your area so you can judge where yours would sit.
Straight answers
What investors ask us.
Is Phuket property a good investment?
Which area of Phuket earns the most?
Villa or condo: which earns more?
Should I trust a guaranteed rental return?
Will you guarantee my return?
How do I estimate a specific property?
Sources
Where the figures come from.
AirROI, Phuket province Airbnb data (revenue per listing by area and host profile), consulted November 2026. The net estimate is our own, drawn from the properties we see, and is not a forecast for any individual property.
SilvainGeneral Director · Phuket Property Manager
Reviewed . We update these pages when the practice on the ground changes, not on a schedule.
Talk to the person who would look after your property.
No call centre, no sales team. We keep the portfolio small on purpose.