Phuket: World Leader in Leisure Branded Residences

Phuket: How a Thai Island Became the World's Largest Leisure Branded Residence Market

The numbers are staggering. The total value of new branded residence supply in Phuket has reached THB 80 billion — approximately USD 2.3 billion — concentrated on a single island in the Andaman Sea. Phuket has not simply entered the global branded residence conversation; it has rewritten it entirely.

The Scale

Phuket now ranks 5th globally in branded residence inventory. In the first half of 2025, branded residences accounted for 10% of total condominium units on the island — up from a negligible share just five years prior. Condominium transactions on the island recorded a 201% year-on-year increase in 2024.

Thailand leads the entire Asia branded residences market with a 23.3% regional share — ahead of every other Asian country.

The Projects

The Residences at InterContinental Phuket Resort — launched in 2026 by Thai developer PROUD Real Estate in partnership with IHG — comprises exactly 111 residences, ranging from one-bedroom units starting at 59 square metres to five-bedroom configurations. The development sits 360 metres from Kamala Beach, connected to the InterContinental Phuket Resort — the first InterContinental property globally to receive two Michelin Keys.

Etro Residences Phuket — launched in December 2025 — marks ETRO's first branded residence project in Asia — the second international fashion-branded residence development in Southeast Asia, after Elie Saab's The Rivus in Ho Chi Minh City. Part of the Gardens of Eden luxury complex by the Phuket-based Amal Group on a 73-rai site.

Rental Yields

Rental yields for Phuket branded residences range from 5% to above 10% annually, depending on product type, location, and the structure of the managed rental programme. The upper end reflects actively optimised short-term rental strategies in high-demand beachfront locations, driven by Phuket's record international tourism volumes.

The Legal Framework

Foreign nationals cannot own land freehold in Thailand. Condominium units can be purchased outright, subject to a statutory cap: foreign ownership within any single building cannot exceed 49% of total floor space under the Thai Condominium Act.

For villa-format branded residences, foreign buyers use leasehold structures with initial terms of 30 years and contractual renewal options — a structure standard across all major branded residence developments in Phuket.

The Fashion Dimension

The arrival of Etro Residences Phuket signals a new chapter. Fashion-house branded residences — pioneered in Miami (Aston Martin, Porsche Design), Dubai (Bugatti, Cavalli), and Marbella (Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi Casa, Karl Lagerfeld) — represent a buyer purchasing for identity as much as yield. Etro's entry into Thailand confirms that this dynamic is now firmly established in Southeast Asia, following Elie Saab's The Rivus in Vietnam. It will not be the last.

The Global Context

The total number of branded residence schemes worldwide is expected to reach 910 by end of 2025, up 19% from 764 in December 2024 — nearly triple the 323 schemes recorded in 2015.

Against this global expansion, Phuket's position as the world's largest leisure branded residence market reflects an extraordinary convergence of finite coastal geography, established international tourism infrastructure, and accelerating brand interest in Southeast Asia.

The world's largest leisure branded residence market is not in the Mediterranean, not in the Gulf, and not in the Caribbean. It is in the Andaman Sea — and it is only getting started.