Understanding the market · 6

Sea, hill, slope

In Phuket and on Samui, what you may build reads in layers: distance from the shore, altitude, slope. This guide stacks them over Kamala bay, then over both islands, and sets them against our developments as of 19 October 2026.

Survey of 19 October 2026 · asking prices, median per development

Each dot is a development we track; its colour is its median asking price per square metre.

30,000 ฿/m²180,000 ฿/m² and above

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1 of 11 · Phuket · the west coast

Three texts decide what will rise from the ground, and the strictest one wins

The building control act, the town plan and, on these coasts, an environmental protection notification. None replaces the others: they stack. This guide stacks them before your eyes.

developments tracked in Phuket: 1,350
developments tracked on Koh Samui: 320

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Phuket notification of 9 December 2024, in force until 13 December 2029. A building permit shows that one administration checked its own rules, not the other two. Developments tracked as of 19 October 2026.

2 of 11 · Kamala · the shoreline

Everything is measured from a line the map does not know

The notification's bands start from the line the sea reaches at its highest normal natural level. It is neither the boundary of your title deed nor that of public land: it is a physical line, and it moves.

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The line drawn here is OpenStreetMap's, not a survey. The line that counts is surveyed on the ground, by a surveyor, before you sign.

3 of 11 · Kamala · the bands

From the shore, the permitted height climbs in steps

Nothing in the first 20 metres, 6 m up to 50 m, 12 m up to 200 m, 16 m up to 400 m, 23 m beyond. Each volume stands at the height the notification allows.

from the sea, with no building at all: 20 m
at most, beyond four hundred metres from the shore: 23 m

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Heights exaggerated, one scale for all. Beyond 200 m, where a local town plan sets its own height, that plan applies, sometimes lower.

4 of 11 · Kamala · the first fifty metres

Within 50 m of the shore, a full impact assessment, whatever the size

Hotel, apartment building or condominium: no room or floor-area threshold, proximity is enough. Further back, the threshold returns to 80 rooms or 4,000 m². Krabi's notification has no such rule.

developments in our database within this band in Phuket: 12

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Straight-line distance to the island outline, as of 19 October 2026. Being in the band says nothing about a development's assessment: check it in ONEP's public database.

Reflexion survey of 19 October 2026 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 9 December 2024 on the environmental protection area of Phuket province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 141, special part 342 ง, 13 December 2024 (sections 4 and 6), in force for five years, accessed 13 December 2024 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 26 March 2025 on the environmental protection area of Krabi province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 142, special part 154 ง, 31 March 2025, accessed 31 March 2025 · OpenStreetMap — island outlines (extract of 24 September 2026) and named places (extract of 13 October 2026) — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), accessed 13 October 2026

5 of 11 · Kamala · the hill

Above 80 m, the view is paid for in prohibition

Between 40 and 80 m above sea level, the ceiling drops to 8 m. Above that, nothing is built, except one detached house of 6 m and 90 m² of footprint, up to 140 m, on land lawfully held before 16 December 2017. Above 140 m, no exception.

of our Phuket developments between forty and eighty metres: 178
above eighty metres: 18

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Altitude read from a terrain model of about thirty metres, the site's relief: measure it on site, at the plot's highest and lowest points.

Reflexion survey of 19 October 2026 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 9 December 2024 on the environmental protection area of Phuket province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 141, special part 342 ง, 13 December 2024 (sections 4 and 6), in force for five years, accessed 13 December 2024 · AWS Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) — ground altitude, the site's relief tiles (zoom 13, about thirty metres), read on 19 October 2026 for the altitude bands and the slope, accessed 19 October 2026

6 of 11 · Kamala · the slope

On a 35% slope, only a house can be built

Both notifications agree: on land with a slope of 35% or more, only a single house is allowed, 6 m in the coastal band and at altitude, 12 m elsewhere, 90 m² of footprint at most. In violet, those slopes; the free land shows in the gaps.

of the island beyond this threshold, according to the terrain model: 15%

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Slope computed from the terrain model: it smooths out banks, so a real slope can be steeper. Recent hillside demolitions fell under the previous notifications.

7 of 11 · Kamala · two plots

The dearer plot carries the least

One plot 177 m from the shore, at the foot of the slope: 12 m, three storeys. Another above 80 m, with the view, more expensive: one house of 6 m and 90 m², if the seller held it before 16 December 2017, and nothing otherwise.

on the first plot: 12 m
on the second, on conditions: 6 m

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The case modelled in the article: two typical positions read from the layers, not real plots. The acquisition date is on the back of the title deed, where the land office records each transfer.

Reflexion — “Where you can build in Thailand, and how high”, analysis of 30 September 2026 (notifications read in the Royal Gazette), accessed 30 September 2026 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 9 December 2024 on the environmental protection area of Phuket province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 141, special part 342 ง, 13 December 2024 (sections 4 and 6), in force for five years, accessed 13 December 2024 · AWS Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) — ground altitude, the site's relief tiles (zoom 13, about thirty metres), read on 19 October 2026 for the altitude bands and the slope, accessed 19 October 2026

8 of 11 · Phuket · the whole island

The dearest square metre is where you can build lowest

Within 200 m of the shore, our 104 developments ask a median 133,087 ฿ (€3,468) per m²; beyond 400 m, where buildings may rise to 23 m, 76,895 ฿ (€2,004). The scarcity of the seafront is written into the notification.

฿ per m² within two hundred metres of the shore: 133,087 ฿/m²
more than beyond four hundred metres: 73%

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ASKING prices on 19 October 2026, median of developments (93 and 1,097 priced). An association, not a cause: the view and the beach are paid for too. Smoothed overview: the twenty- and fifty-metre bands do not show at this scale.

Reflexion survey of 19 October 2026 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 9 December 2024 on the environmental protection area of Phuket province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 141, special part 342 ง, 13 December 2024 (sections 4 and 6), in force for five years, accessed 13 December 2024 · AWS Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) — ground altitude, the site's relief tiles (zoom 13, about thirty metres), read on 19 October 2026 for the altitude bands and the slope, accessed 19 October 2026 · OpenStreetMap — island outlines (extract of 24 September 2026) and named places (extract of 13 October 2026) — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), accessed 13 October 2026

9 of 11 · Koh Samui · the hill first

Samui reads the other way round: the sea sets nothing, the hill everything

From the shore up to 80 m, the notification of 24 April 2025 sets neither height nor setback: only free access to the beach and half the open space planted. Above, Phuket's logic: one detached house of 6 m, on private land lawfully held.

developments in our database above eighty metres: 44
฿ per m², their median asking price: 69,152 ฿/m²

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On Samui's shore, height comes from the municipal regulation and the town plan, not from the notification; the ten-metre setback often quoted applies to the islets. Koh Phangan falls under the same notification. Terrain-model altitude, asking prices on 19 October 2026 (43 priced).

Reflexion survey of 19 October 2026 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 24 April 2025 on the environmental protection area of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan (Surat Thani province) — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 142, special part 199 ง, 21 May 2025, accessed 21 May 2025 · AWS Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) — ground altitude, the site's relief tiles (zoom 13, about thirty metres), read on 19 October 2026 for the altitude bands and the slope, accessed 19 October 2026 · OpenStreetMap — island outlines (extract of 24 September 2026) and named places (extract of 13 October 2026) — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), accessed 13 October 2026

10 of 11 · The South and the East · one threshold

The same 35% threshold, two opposite rules

In Phuket and on Samui, a 35% slope limits you to one detached house. In Krabi, steeper land cannot be built on; in Pattaya and Sattahip, no construction or alteration beyond it. No figure travels from one province to another.

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Notifications for Phuket (9 December 2024), Samui and Phangan (24 April 2025), Krabi (26 March 2025) and Bang Lamung and Sattahip (16 July 2020, extended). Phang Nga has its own, which we have not read. The discs locate the island or town, not the notification's perimeter.

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 9 December 2024 on the environmental protection area of Phuket province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 141, special part 342 ง, 13 December 2024 (sections 4 and 6), in force for five years, accessed 13 December 2024 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 24 April 2025 on the environmental protection area of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan (Surat Thani province) — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 142, special part 199 ง, 21 May 2025, accessed 21 May 2025 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 26 March 2025 on the environmental protection area of Krabi province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 142, special part 154 ง, 31 March 2025, accessed 31 March 2025 · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 16 July 2020 on the environmental protection area of Bang Lamung and Sattahip districts (Chonburi province) — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 137, special part 170 ง, 24 July 2020; extended by the notification published in vol. 142, special part 177 ง, 28 April 2025, accessed 28 April 2025 · OpenStreetMap — island outlines (extract of 24 September 2026) and named places (extract of 13 October 2026) — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), accessed 13 October 2026

11 of 11 · Before you sign

Three measurements before any reservation: the line, the altitude, the slope

A surveyor's record of the high-water line and the plot's distance from it; the altitude of its highest and lowest points; its average slope. And for any seafront development, the reference of the approved impact assessment.

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This guide qualifies, it does not conclude: every address is checked, with a Thai lawyer before signing.

Your plans begin here

City or coast, apartment or villa, to live there or to spend part of the year: three gestures are enough for your advisor to start from your project, not from a catalogue.

Find my property

Method and sources

Prices are asking prices, surveyed on 19 October 2026 in our database. For each development we take the median price per square metre of its unsold units; for an area, the median of those medians, shown only from 20 developments upward. A unit is set aside as an outlier below 10,000 ฿/m², above 1,000,000 ฿/m², above 500,000 ฿/m² on less than 30 m² or with no known floor area, above 500 M ฿, or with less than 10 m² per bedroom. The off-plan share counts developments whose status is known. Distances are measured as the crow flies. Euros are converted at €1 = 38.374 ฿ (13 September 2026).

These are listing prices, not sale prices. No figure on this page is a promise of return.

Sources specific to this guide:

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 9 December 2024 on the environmental protection area of Phuket province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 141, special part 342 ง, 13 December 2024 (sections 4 and 6), in force for five years, accessed 13 December 2024
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 24 April 2025 on the environmental protection area of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan (Surat Thani province) — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 142, special part 199 ง, 21 May 2025, accessed 21 May 2025
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 26 March 2025 on the environmental protection area of Krabi province — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 142, special part 154 ง, 31 March 2025, accessed 31 March 2025
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment notification of 16 July 2020 on the environmental protection area of Bang Lamung and Sattahip districts (Chonburi province) — Royal Thai Government Gazette, vol. 137, special part 170 ง, 24 July 2020; extended by the notification published in vol. 142, special part 177 ง, 28 April 2025, accessed 28 April 2025
AWS Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) — ground altitude, the site's relief tiles (zoom 13, about thirty metres), read on 19 October 2026 for the altitude bands and the slope, accessed 19 October 2026
OpenStreetMap — island outlines (extract of 24 September 2026) and named places (extract of 13 October 2026) — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), accessed 13 October 2026
Reflexion — “Where you can build in Thailand, and how high”, analysis of 30 September 2026 (notifications read in the Royal Gazette), accessed 30 September 2026

This page is market information, not legal, tax or financial advice. The rules quoted are dated; check that they still apply with a professional before any decision.

Three texts decide what will rise from the ground, and the strictest one wins

Everything is measured from a line the map does not know

From the shore, the permitted height climbs in steps

Within 50 m of the shore, a full impact assessment, whatever the size

Above 80 m, the view is paid for in prohibition

On a 35% slope, only a house can be built

The dearer plot carries the least

The dearest square metre is where you can build lowest

Samui reads the other way round: the sea sets nothing, the hill everything

The same 35% threshold, two opposite rules

Three measurements before any reservation: the line, the altitude, the slope

Your plans begin here

Method and sources

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