Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok (photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The Sukhumvit corridor continued to dominate downtown Bangkok's rental housing market in the second quarter, with expatriate demand, particularly from the Japanese, supporting high occupancy and driving rents up despite a slight quarterly dip.

Chotika Tungsirisurp, head of consulting and research at property consultancy CBRE Thailand, said Sukhumvit accounted for the majority of both serviced apartment and apartment supply, representing 65% and 86% of the total, respectively.

At the end of June 2025, the total supply of serviced apartments in downtown Bangkok tallied 17,729 units, up 3.5% from the previous quarter following new completions in Sukhumvit.

The apartment sector remained unchanged at 8,668 units, with no new projects completed during the period, according to CBRE.

In terms of leasing activity, CBRE reported two-bedroom and three-bedroom serviced apartments each made up a significant share of transactions, at 33% and 30%, respectively.

For apartments, two-bedroom units were the most popular, accounting for 38% of all transactions.

"Sukhumvit was home to the majority of preferred serviced apartments and all preferred apartment transactions, primarily rented by Japanese nationals," Ms Chotika said.

"This reinforced Sukhumvit's status as the city's rental hub."

In the second quarter, the serviced apartment market in downtown Bangkok posted an average occupancy rate of 84.8%, down 0.7% quarter-on-quarter, but up 6.2% year-on-year, according to CBRE.

International branded residences represented 32.6% of the total supply, led by The Ascott Limited.

Thai brands made up 34.7%, with Chatrium Hotels and Residences, Onyx Hospitality Group and Centre Point among the top operators.

The pipeline included four projects with 921 units, one under construction and three in planning.

Grade A serviced apartment rents continued to edge up, averaging 1,261 baht per square metre per month.

Sukhumvit commanded the highest rates at 1,271 baht, followed by Central Lumpini and Siam at 1,194 baht, and Silom and Sathon at 1,099 baht.

According to The Ascott Limited, La Clef Bangkok by The Crest Collection on Sukhumvit Soi 38, which opened two months ago with 115 units, has already leased 20 units, mostly to Japanese tenants.

Unit sizes range from 38-95 sq m, with monthly rents between 115,000 and 210,000 baht, roughly 20-30% higher than Ascott Thonglor, its other serviced apartment located opposite, as the new project is in the super-luxury segment, said Kanit Sangmookda, country general manager for Thailand and Laos at The Ascott Limited.

The conventional apartment market also reflected Sukhumvit's dominance. Average occupancy for downtown apartments rose to 94.4%, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous quarter and 3 points year-on-year, with total supply steady at 8,668 units. Sukhumvit hosted 86% of that supply.

Rents in the Grade A apartment segment continued to grow annually despite a 0.7% quarterly dip.

Average asking rents tallied 584 baht per sq m, up 4.1% year-on-year.

Central Lumpini and Siam recorded the highest rents at 635 baht per sq m, followed by Sukhumvit at 594 baht, and Silom and Sathon at 505 baht.

As of June 2025, Thailand's expatriate population slipped slightly to 192,896, with 52% (97,232) based in Bangkok.

Chinese nationals remained the largest group, accounting for 24% or 50,197 people.