New villa supply launched in Phuket in the first half of 2024 surpassed total launches for the whole of 2023, with the value exceeding that of condos for the first time in 15 years, largely driven by strong demand from Russians.

Phattarachai Taweewong, director of the research department at property consultancy Colliers Thailand, said the Phuket villa market was hot and should remain so in the second half of this year.

"Some projects were quiet in May and June because of floods, but activity picked up significantly in July, with sales at one project reaching 400-500 million baht in just a month," he said.

Even with an influx of new supply, said Mr Phattarachai, demand is still strong and this positive sentiment was expected to continue.

In the first half of 2024, the number of new villas launched in Phuket tallied 1,285 units, worth 36.3 billion baht from 65 projects, compared to around 1,100 units launched in the whole of 2023.

"There are 170 villa projects with units available for sale, most of which were launched in the past two years," Mr Phattarachai said. "The usual number was only 30-40 projects, with 100-150 new units launched per year."

The number of new condos launched in the first half tallied 4,690 units, worth 36 billion baht from 20 projects.

This marked the first time in 15 years that the value of new condo supply was lower than that of villas.

In total, the value of condos and villas launched in the first half of the year was 72.3 billion baht, and it is expected to reach 150 billion baht by the end of the year, up from 110 billion baht last year.

A significant amount of new supply is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter, said Mr Phattarachai.

Among the new projects in the second half, four will be from Sansiri Plc worth around 4 billion baht, which will comprise a luxury pool villa project with units priced between 30-50 million baht, a condo project in Cherngtalay, and a new single detached house project in Koh Kaew.

Mr Phattarachai said Bang Tao, Cherngtalay and Rayan were locations where villas had the highest absorption rates, with 2-3 units per month, while other areas recorded only 1-1.5 units per month.

For condos, the absorption rate in the first half was 5.8 units per month, meaning they would be sold out in less than two years, especially those priced below 2 million baht per unit, as these prices are considered affordable.