Discerning property investors interested in resort destinations in Thailand require hard data to compare the villas available in Phuket with those in Koh Samui. In this article, we provide a detailed analysis of the luxury villa sector in these two leading property markets of Thailand.
- Share of Villa Listings for Phuket Vs. Koh Samui from 40M THB
- Phuket’s Ultra-Luxury Villas (10M+ USD) as a Share of Villas Priced from 2M+ USD
- Price Per Square Metre Comparison: Phuket vs Koh Samui
- Why Phuket Leads the Luxury Villa Sector
To discover percentages of luxury listings across price points, we have set our minimum threshold to be villas priced from 40M THB, using data collected from multiple sources in August 2025. This allows us to compare luxury villas for sale in Phuket to Koh Samui, segmented by price bands to highlight the distribution of listings at different levels. We have also zoomed in on Phuket’s ultra-luxury sector, examining the percentage of villas priced from $10M USD, a level that the Koh Samui market does not reach. The greater depth of luxury villa stock in Phuket is clear, but to assess whether it also commands a premium over Samui, we compared the average price per square metre of villas in both destinations, looking at the $2–7.5M USD range.
Share of Villa Listings for Phuket Vs. Koh Samui from 40M THB
| Price Band (THB) | Phuket (% of Listings) | Koh Samui (% of Listings) | % Difference (Phuket vs KS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40–50M | 5.4% | 3.8% | +42.1% |
| 50–75M | 5.3% | 4.9% | +8.2% |
| 75–100M | 3.0% | 2.6% | +15.4% |
| 100–150M | 1.7% | 2.0% | –15.0% (KS slightly higher) |
| 150–200M | 1.1% | 0.8% | +37.5% |
| 200–300M | 1.8% | 0.9% | +100.0% (Phuket double) |
| >300M | 1.4% | 0.3% | +366.7% (Phuket > 3.5× the concentration) |
Phuket's Increasingly High Concentration at the Top End
Looking at our luxury sector as a whole - villas in the 40M THB+ range - Phuket has stock concentrations roughly 50% higher, with 18.7% of listings at this level compared to 12.3% of villas for sale in Koh Samui.
Examining the distribution across price bands, the trend is clear: Phuket consistently shows a higher concentration of listings. The only exception is the 100–150M THB bracket (1.7% vs 2.0% for Koh Samui), but this is best viewed as an anomaly caused by data limitations, likely duplicate listings or a cluster of properties within a single development skewing Koh Samui’s smaller market, rather than a meaningful trend.
Phuket is well known for its large selection of super-luxury villas, and the data confirms this once we look above 150M THB. The island has twice as many listings in the 200–300M THB bracket (1.8% vs 0.9%) and shows complete dominance above 300M THB (1.4% vs 0.3% - a huge difference of 366.7%). This demonstrates Phuket’s impressive depth in the super-luxury segment, while Samui thins out sharply once listings pass the 150M mark. From experience, we also know that Samui’s market effectively tops out around 300M THB. Overall, the comparison highlights Phuket’s broader spectrum of high-end villas, becoming increasingly dominant as you move towards the ultra-luxury market.
Phuket’s Ultra-Luxury Villas (10M+ USD) as a Share of Villas Priced from 2M+ USD
| Price Band (USD) | Phuket (% of Listings) |
|---|---|
| 10–20M | 6.6% |
| 20–30M | 0.9% |
| >30M | 0.5% |
Here we focus on the most exclusive sector of the market, $10M+ USD, expressed as a share of Phuket’s $2M+ USD villa segment. Koh Samui has virtually no presence at this level. Within Phuket, 6.6% of the $2M+ USD listings are priced at $10–20M USD, 0.9% at $20–30M USD, and 0.5% above $30M USD. These percentages may not look high on paper, but in reality, even 0.5% - one in every 200 villas - is a very high proportion of stock considering the truly super luxury price tag of $30M USD or more.
Note, Koh Samui has virtually no meaningful stock above the $10M USD threshold. When we conducted our research in August 2025, there was only one villa advertised at this level – a 13-bedroom property listed at around 900M THB (~$24M USD), which should be considered a statistical outlier. As an indication of realistic price levels the island can sustain, it is extremely rare for residential villa sales in Koh Samui to complete above $6M USD.
Price Per Square Metre Comparison: Phuket vs Koh Samui
So far, this analysis has focused on the percentage of villas for sale at different price points within the luxury sector. But another useful angle is to ask whether a like-for-like property is more expensive in one destination than the other. We have used average price per square metre of build area to measure this, because this is the best metric widely available on villas on the market. This allows us to see whether Phuket commands a premium over Koh Samui in the luxury villa market.
To compare average price per square metre, we first reviewed a statistically significant sample of listings in the $2M–$7.5M USD range from multiple agency sources. We then validated the findings with a second large dataset from our own portfolio.
| Dataset | Phuket (avg & range per m²) | Koh Samui (avg & range per m²) |
|---|---|---|
| Portal dataset (multiple agencies) | $4,415 (range $2,072–$8,578) | $4,040 (range $1,225–$9,870) |
| Our portfolio dataset | $4,543 (range $2,312–$10,274) | $4,205 (range $1,696–$9,714) |
Both sets of results confirm the same regarding price per square metre: Phuket villas consistently command a premium of around 8–9% compared with Koh Samui. The fact that this outcome is replicated across two separate datasets, one aggregated from multiple agencies and one drawn from our own listings, reinforces its reliability. The wider range seen in Koh Samui is explained by the fact that its luxury villa market is smaller and less mature. In economic terms, it does not function as efficiently as Phuket’s market: with lower listing volumes, even one or two outliers are enough to distort the overall results.
*Overall, Phuket’s premium in the $2–7.5M USD range is confirmed at 8–9% across two datasets.
Why Phuket Leads the Luxury Villa Sector
Phuket’s dominance in the luxury villa sector can be explained by several structural factors. The island has a higher prevalence of high-end branded real estate developments, a more mature luxury property market attracting more international developers, and stronger infrastructure essential for high-end property development and demand. This includes not only its far better air connectivity and road network, but also notably far more choice in international schools, hospitals, shopping centres, golf courses, and a selection of marinas – still absent in Koh Samui as of today. Both markets are driven by tourism, but this develops on the back of infrastructure, and in Phuket, that foundation has been in place for much longer. Koh Samui, by contrast, is still playing catch-up.
While Koh Samui is likely to continue its progression as a luxury destination, it is unlikely to ever fully catch Phuket. The key point is the Thai government’s stronger long-term commitment to infrastructure investment in Phuket, reflecting its greater strategic importance in terms of tourism GDP generation. This will ensure that Phuket continues to be Thailand’s leading destination for luxury villa investment.
View all villas for sale in Phuket.
