Wealthy UAE residents are increasingly seeking a temp-to-perm base in Thailand, with the Asian country’s luxury island playground Phuket emerging one of the most sought-after destinations for international capital.
First reported in the Bangkok Post, unstable geopolitics, particularly in the Gulf region, is oiling the Dubai-Phuket migration path and is one of the key drivers behind the sharp increase in demand for Phuket’s luxury stock from affluent Middle East buyers.
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Typically viewed as a safe haven both for digital nomads and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, Thailand – in particular the luxury island destinations Phuket and Koh Samui – is now a serious contender for long-stay relocations, with appetite for like-for-like luxury homes buoying top-end resort markets.
Phuket's rising capital profile brings new market dynamics
Despite Thailand’s crackdown on nominee ownership structures under the Thai Condominium Act, which caps foreign ownership at 49% of the total floor area in a condo development, the ultra-prime resort real estate segment is proving relatively immune to constraints in the global long game of lifestyle, accessibility, and value.
Agents are reporting that internationally mobile families, especially from the US, and wealthy UAE-based clients view Phuket less as a speculative purchase, tilting towards a lifestyle and diversification decision, buying into brand Thailand first and the asset second.
While the island’s luxury residential market is weighted towards second homes, many of the ‘knee-jerk’ short-stay expat families that moved at the start of the Iran-US conflict, are making longer-term plans to make Thailand’s tropical paradise safe haven a permanent home as they prioritise access to nature, wellness and quality of life over urban skyscraper living.
A wealth-in-flight trend catalysed by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw digital nomads and high-net-worth expats relocate to safer and sunnier climes, Phuket has scaffolded its service infrastructure well, offering premium-tier international school as well as five-star dining and wellness amenities to residents used to the highest standards of living.
Phuket: a long-term investment destination to rival Dubai
According to Asia property portal Juwai IQI, Phuket is the second most popular real estate investment market after Bangkok, with demand at the very top pooling within the prime and ultra-prime coastal areas of Laguna, Nai Harn and Phuket’s ‘Millionaire Mile’ – the golden corridor spanning Bang Tao, Cherngtalay, and Layan.
A number of high-end branded residences and luxury villas are elevating Phuket’s real estate playbook, rivalling the quality, badge value and yield-strength of Dubai’s top-end segment with equal levels of one-upmanship output manoeuvring in terms of coastal development legroom.
Phuket’s branded residence pipeline appears flush
Entering the market in 2026 and 2027 are a number of premium players including Silhouette by The Zero Phuket, by UK developer The Zero. Earlier this year, IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) launched The Residences at InterContinental Phuket Resort.
The ultra-exclusive development features just 111 residences on Phuket’’s ‘Millionaire’s Mile’ Kamala Beach, crowned by five-bedroom penthouses.
In February luxury hospitality brand Banyan Group announced its latest round of golf-themed branded homes via Angsana Golf Residences Topaz, a new branded residential enclave at the heart of the Laguna Phuket integrated resort community.
Banyan Group Residences ranked fifth globally and number one in Asia in branded residences, plans to launch approximately US $1 billion in new residential projects in Phuket in the coming years. In February, ETRO Residences Phuket at Gardens of Eden made an explosive debut, setting a new per square metre sales record just days after launch.
Located within the prestigious Gardens of Eden development in Bangtao, the ultra-limited collection achieved prices of THB830,000 per square metre ($26,350 per sqm) – more than four times Phuket’s branded residence average – and the highest on the island at time of writing.
Non-branded assets face a structural performance gap
The concentration of capital in Phuket’s branded segment could create a widening performance gap with the island’s non-branded residential stock, however.
As international buyers increasingly anchor purchasing decisions to hospitality flags – valuing the management infrastructure, rental guarantees, and global distribution networks that branded operators provide – unbranded villas and condominiums are seeing their competitive position erode.
In markets where branded and non-branded product compete for the same rental pool, the yield differential has historically widened over time rather than correcting.
The risk is compounded by supply dynamics. As developers respond to branded demand by accelerating delivery across the Millionaire’s Mile and Laguna corridors, the rental market will absorb a significant volume of professionally managed inventory over the next three to five years.
Non-branded assets, typically dependent on independent property management and direct booking channels, are structurally less equipped to compete in that environment – leaving owners exposed to occupancy softness at precisely the point when the broader market appears most buoyant.
A safe-haven mirage or a strategic correction?
While any immediate influx of wealth-in-flight capital creates an illusion of The rapid absorption of branded supply is beginning to reframe Phuket’s market position – moving it away from its traditional tourism-linked real estate cycle and toward a more yield-driven capital hub.
That shift carries implications worth noting. While ultra-prime assets along the Millionaire’s Mile are expected to retain strong liquidity, secondary resort tiers may face yield compression as the delivery of new branded stock accelerates ahead of rental demand maturation.
The current UAE-led capital movement is also intensifying competition for limited coastal land, with developers increasingly pivoting toward higher-density structures as prime beachfront plots grow scarcer.
For investors, the strategic question should be more about underlying scarcity than any brand asset name, and specifically which assets hold their value if geopolitical tailwinds shift or tourism demand normalises toward pre-pandemic patterns.
A wider reflection of a regional upward trajectory
According to The Tourism Authority of Thailand, the ‘Land of Smile’ welcomed more than 35 million international visitors in 2025.
Long-haul arrivals exceeded 11 million, a 13% year-on-year increase, generating approximately 668 billion baht in tourism revenue.
According to Savills latest Branded Residences report, market share is gradually shifting to Asia Pacific, where the number of branded residences is expected to increase by 180% over the forecast period until 2031.
Other Asian safe haven markets are also attracting Middle East wealth flows, with property professionals in key hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong also reporting a rise in enquiries for short- and long-term trophy homes from panicked UAE residents.
