Mr. Nattha Kahapana, Executive Director, Knight Frank Phuket Co., Ltd., said that in the past year, the villa market in Phuket performed relatively well.
There were 2,965 villas that have been sold out of a total supply of 3,908 units, representing a sales rate of 75.9 per cent. The sales rate decreased from the 80.5 per cent rate of the previous year, as the supply of new villas in 2019 increased by 794 units. Although the sales rate decreased, the number of new units sold in Phuket in 2019 marked the highest figure in eight years, with a total of 459 new units sold compared to 250 units, the average number of units sold per year over the past seven years.
Mr. Nattha commented that the type of villas that sold well in 2019 included 2-bedroom villas with prices between 15 to 25 million baht, followed by 1-bedroom villas at a price level of 7 to 10 million baht. These villas are located in Bang Tao Beach, Kamala Beach, Patong Beach and Rawai Beach, as the areas have many amenities and convenient facilities like shopping centres, restaurants and pubs. At Bang Tao Beach, the new Porto de Phuket shopping centre opened at the end of 2019. Developed by the Central Group, it marks the first open-layout shopping centre that focuses on restaurants, pubs, and places to drink and dine. Meanwhile, the Patong Beach area includes shopping centres and a complete array of facilities and Rawai Beach is located near Phuket Town, which has all the facilities such as large shopping centres. The best-selling villas in Bang Tao Beach, Kamala Beach and Rawai Beach were 2-bedroom villas, while the best-selling villas in Patong Beach were 1-bedroom units.
Most of the buyers in Phuket have been foreigners, mostly living in Asia, including China, Singapore and Hong Kong. There were also foreigners from Russia, the Middle East, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In the past, the popular villas were large, lifestyle-type units that encompass 3 to 6 bedrooms. However, at present, the demand for most villas is for compact 1 to 2-bedroom villas, focusing on rental investment potential where owners can stay for 30 to 60 days per year, depending on the conditions set by each project.
According to research by Knight Frank Thailand, it was found that the highest number of new villas sold was up to 794 units from a total of 23 projects in 2019. There were a lot of new villas launched for sale in 2019, with Kamala Beach having as much as 44% of the supply, followed by Bang Tao Beach and Patong Beach at 20% and 13%, respectively. The surge in supply at Kamala Beach reflects the launch of a large villa development with up to 300 villas.
Mr. Nattha also covered the selling prices of villas in Phuket, saying that the selling price depends on many factors, including the view from the villa, the location, the size of the villa, and the land size. The selling price of villas is divided into 3 types: 1) Oceanfront Villa located in front of the beach or in the mountains next to the ocean; (2) Sea View Villa located far from the beach but on a hill overlooking the sea; and 3) In Land Villa.
The Oceanfront Villas command the highest price per unit, at price levels starting at 292 million baht up to 370 million baht. Sea View Villas have a starting price of 6.9 million baht up to 54.7 million baht, while In land Villas have a starting price of 7.9 million baht to a maximum of 47.4 million baht. The initial starting price of In land Villas is higher than that of Sea View Villas because In land Villas are typically larger, with 3 bedrooms. The starting price level for the Sea View Villas is for 1-bedroom units.
The villa market in Phuket in 2020 should slow down due to the COVID-19 situation. The number of expatriates traveling to Phuket has decreased from the past year. Also, at present, Phuket has announced the closure of the city, causing various businesses, including sales offices and hotels, to temporarily halt their operations. It is expected that villa project launches in 2020 will definitely decrease. In addition, while demand declines, the selling price of villas in Phuket is likely to stay the same or decrease slightly.
