Four Thai markets outside Phuket, Samui, Pattaya and Bangkok: what each suits, honest drawbacks, what a foreigner can hold, asking prices and how to get there.
Our other Thailand guides cover Phuket, Pattaya, Samui and Hua Hin, and Bangkok. This one covers four places buyers ask about next: Chiang Mai in the north, Krabi on the Andaman coast, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao in the Gulf, and Khao Lak north of Phuket. It is general information, not advice. Prices are asking prices from listings and agency pages in 2026, not registered prices, and for several places we found nothing reliable, which we say plainly.
What a foreigner can hold, in one paragraph
The rules are the same everywhere in Thailand. A foreigner can own a condominium unit if foreigners hold no more than 49% of the building's saleable area (see the 49% condo quota explained). A foreigner generally cannot own land: the usual routes are a registered long lease or a Thai company, both with risks (see land in Thailand for foreigners: lawful options). Several listings in these areas state that a foreigner can own the villa building in their own name but not the land under it. Do your checks before paying: Thailand due diligence and scam checklist.
Chiang Mai and the north
Who it suits: buyers who want a city with a long-term rental culture, a mountain setting and a lower price level than the beaches, mostly in condominiums.
Prices. One agency blog puts new Chiang Mai projects at roughly 45,000 to 70,000 baht per square metre and says that is two to three times lower than comparable Phuket supply. Individual 2026 resale listings are all over the map, from about 19,700 to about 90,300 baht per square metre, so treat any single figure with care. We found no independent price index for the city.
Foreign demand. The same blog, citing Money & Banking Magazine, reports 199 foreign condo transfers worth 566 million baht in the first quarter of 2026, with Chinese buyers in front (92 units) and Americans and Myanmar buyers rising. We could not check the original figures.
Rents. Sources disagree: roughly 8,000 to 18,000 baht a month for a one-bedroom condo in one guide, 12,000 to 25,000 in Nimman in another, and 350 to 600 US dollars in a third. A landlord often asks for a two-month deposit.
Honest drawbacks:
- Air quality. The burning season runs roughly from February to April. NASA reports fire detections rising from January and usually peaking in March, with biomass burning behind about 70% of April PM2.5. Provincial burning bans ran from 1 January to 31 May 2026, and the air was unusually clear in some weeks of 2026, so the season varies by year. Visit in March before you buy.
- Healthcare is good in town but not cheap. Private hospitals named by guides include Chiang Mai Ram and Chiang Mai International; public ones include Nakornping and Chiang Mai University hospitals. One guide says private international hospitals can cost five to ten times more than public ones, a Thailand-wide claim.
- Houses are land-title questions again: a condo is the clean route for a foreigner.
Krabi: Ao Nang, Klong Muang and Railay
Who it suits: buyers who want a quieter Andaman base than Phuket, with limestone scenery, and who accept a strong seasonal rhythm.
Prices. A handful of 2026 asking prices in Ao Nang suggest about 30,000 to 90,000 baht per square metre for older small units and about 90,000 to 120,000 for newer central sea-view furnished units. These come from four or five listings, some aimed at short-term rental, so they are indicative only. We found no Krabi rental occupancy or yield data and give none.
Access and seasonality. Krabi airport handled about 3.05 million passengers in 2025, up from about 2.59 million in 2024, according to a Wikipedia table citing CAPA. New winter flights from Helsinki and Copenhagen were reported for 2026 to 2027. The low season is real: IndiGo suspended its direct flights from 1 July to 30 September 2026 citing weak demand, and heavy rain flooded parts of Krabi, Phang Nga and Trang in June 2026.
Honest drawbacks: a pronounced rainy season, rental demand that follows airline capacity, and a market where a seller's marketing often says more than the data. Check the current visa-exemption length before you plan long stays: see Thailand visas for property buyers.
Koh Phangan and Koh Tao
Who it suits: buyers who want an island lifestyle, wellness and diving, with small projects of villas and a few condominiums, and who accept slow logistics.
Prices. Single 2026 villa listings on Koh Phangan range from about 6.9 million baht for a two-bedroom pool villa in Ban Tai to about 15 million for a three-bedroom villa in Hin Kong and about 29 million for a four-bedroom sea-view villa in Haad Salad. One four-bedroom villa is offered with a 30-year lease and a tenant already in place. Off-plan projects are listed from about 3.7 to 8.7 million baht. These are seller asks. For Koh Tao we found no current price data.
Land titles on islands are the main risk. Guides rank the Chanote title as the strongest and the Nor Sor 3 Gor as a close second with less precise boundaries; sources disagree on whether a Nor Sor 3 is acceptable for commercial deals or as security for a loan, so treat it as a risk to verify with a lawyer. Weaker documents such as the Sor Kor 1 and Por Bor Tor 5 are described as not proving ownership. One guide says upgrading a Nor Sor 3 to a Chanote can take from three months to about a year and a half. Lawyers recommend a full historical title search, an aerial survey, a check that the seller is the registered owner, a check for registered mortgages or leases, and proof of legal road access. One guide gives the registration cost of a lease as 1% of total rent plus 0.1% stamp duty; confirm the current figure.
Access. Ferry aggregators give about five hours on average from Surat Thani airport to Thong Sala on Koh Phangan, as little as about three hours fifteen, with the first departure around 08:30 and the last around 16:00. From Tapee Pier the Lomprayah crossing is about two hours fifty. Timetables change by operator and season: check them. Distance to a hospital and the last ferry matter more here than anywhere else in this guide.
Khao Lak
Who it suits: buyers who want a calmer, family-oriented resort coast within reach of Phuket airport, mainly through villa projects and condo-hotel units. See the Phuket area guide for the neighbouring market.
Prices. We found no Khao Lak index. Two 2026 listings show the range: an off-plan two-bedroom villa at about 6.9 million baht completing in December 2027 and a completed two-bedroom villa at about 15.2 million baht, or roughly 92,400 baht per square metre. Phuket data (CBRE: villa sales up 23% in 2024) should not be read across to Khao Lak.
Risk. Khao Lak was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, and a buyer should ask about evacuation routes, building height and insurance. We did not find a Khao Lak-specific source on these points, so we state the history but give no figures.
The four areas compared
- Chiang Mai: lowest reported prices per square metre, long-term rental culture, air-quality season, condo route.
- Krabi: Andaman scenery and a strong seasonal pattern, rental demand tied to flights, prices from our few listings.
- Koh Phangan and Koh Tao: island lifestyle, title and access risk, villa-led market on leases or company structures.
- Khao Lak: calmer resort coast near Phuket, villa and condo-hotel projects, tsunami history to be diligenced.
Common mistakes
- Buying land through a nominee company to get around the rules: see prices, yield and rules in Thailand.
- Treating an asking price as a market price. Ask for comparable sales.
- Buying an island plot without a Chanote or a lawyer's title search.
- Visiting only in high season. Visit in the worst month for that place: March in Chiang Mai, the rainy season in Krabi and Khao Lak.
- Counting on rental income without occupancy data.
FAQ
Can a foreigner buy a house on Koh Phangan? A foreigner can generally own the building but not the land. The usual routes are a long registered lease or a Thai company, both with risks. Read the land guide first.
Is Chiang Mai really cheaper than Phuket? One agency blog says new Chiang Mai projects ask two to three times less per square metre. That is an asking-price comparison from a seller's blog, not an index.
Is the Chiang Mai air a deal-breaker? It depends on how you live. The burning season is concentrated from February to April and varies by year; many residents plan to be away then.
What this means for a normal buyer
- Choose the place by the season you dislike most, then check it in that season.
- Prefer a condo or a registered lease to a nominee structure.
- Insist on a lawyer-led title search for any island parcel.
- Compare with the other regions before deciding: Pattaya, Samui and Hua Hin and Bangkok.
- If you plan to live here, see retiring in Thailand.
If you want help comparing areas or finding an independent local lawyer, D.H. Realting, an independent consultant in Warsaw, can introduce one it has checked; ask any adviser how they are paid.