Koh Samui Property market

When looking at the best locations in Koh Samui to buy a property, the answer of course largely depends on the buyer’s individual preferences and reasons for purchase. How close they want to be to the main tourist hubs, restaurants, bars and nightlife, amenities such as the airport, the international hospitals etc, the importance of rental returns, closeness to a good year-round swimming beach, or preference for a more tranquil setting in a less developed part of the island are all factors to be assessed.

The main tourist hub of Koh Samui is Chaweng Beach in the north-east region with its long stretch of soft powder-white sand, numerous resorts, bars, restaurants and shopping facilities. Commercial property development, the most important amenities on the island, such as the airport, hospitals, shopping malls etc., and also residential real estate has naturally developed in and around the area of Chaweng. Hence, in terms of overall market demand for property, the most popular Northeast, in close proximity to Chaweng, is where a majority of property development has occurred and where most people, but not all, seek to buy property.

There is virtually no residential property for sale on or next to Chaweng Beach itself as all this real estate was long ago developed for hotels and resorts. Hence, the most sought-after areas are other locations in north-east region driven by factors such as quality of beachfront, quality of sea view, proximity to amenities, restaurants and bars. Within the Northeast, the areas most in demand for residential property are Choeng Mon and Plai Laem, Bo Phut and Chaweng Noi. All four areas have great beaches, Choeng Mon Beach arguably the best beach on the island, and offer stunning ocean and island vistas from their hillsides. Plai Laem also includes highly-desirable Tong Sai Bay, Tongson Bay around the north-east peninsula with a number of high-end resorts. Bo Phut includes Fisherman’s Village, which has a good range of high quality restaurants, chic bars and an a tasteful open-air shopping centre. Chaweng Noi, just south of Chaweng, offers magnificent ocean views of Chaweng Bay and a lot of high-end villa development is found on the hillside.

After Chaweng, the second most popular tourist town is Lamai on the south-east coast. As with Chaweng, the area of Lamai Beach itself has all been developed by hotels. However, A lot of residential property development can be found on the surrounding hillsides and nearby beaches such as Hua Thanon and Laem Set.

Other main areas worth noting for residential property include the north coast, partly due to the quality beach of Maenam, stretching to the north-west coast at Ban Tai/Bang Por – these have more peaceful beaches than Maenam but still great sand. For exclusive high-end beachfront villas, the west coast at Lipa Noi is popular due to the good quality of the beach and the sunsets. For expats and fulltime living, Ban Rak in the north-east is popular plus less developed areas in the south such as Taling Ngam and Laem Sor.

In terms of property types, the focus of residential real estate investment for Samui is primarily on pool villas, investors seeking to take advantage of the tropical island lifestyle via outdoor living space. There is a limited supply condominiums on the island, partly due to local zoning restrictions governing where condominiums and apartments can be constructed. Following the gentrification of the island, Samui property prices have of course increased accordingly with average villa prices, excluding the super luxury segment, now similar to Phuket and properties at the top end of the market listed for as much as 8M USD and more.