Off-plan trade-offs, Rawai's rental case study, and awards at the ten-year mark

· Thai Property Desk

Thailand's Real Estate Awards reached their tenth anniversary this week. Two major stories cut through the noise: off-plan versus completed condos, and a detailed breakdown of Next Point Condominium in Rawai, which shows what specific rental terms actually look like.

Off-plan versus completed: price discount versus time cost

Buying off-plan versus completed depends entirely on what you need the property to do. The question is not which is objectively better, but whether the discount compensates for waiting.

Off-plan can offer lower prices and staged payments over construction. You also get more choice of floor, view and layout. But your money is committed to a project that may not arrive on schedule, and you cannot rent the unit or move in while the site is still under development. Completed property costs more upfront, but you can inspect the actual unit, see the building management in action, and start generating rental income immediately if you choose to let.

One practical caveat: if you are buying specifically for the three million baht Longstay visa route, you need registered ownership now. An off-plan unit cannot provide that, since the title will not transfer for one or two years after completion. A completed condo can transfer immediately and meet the visa requirement at once.

Rawai as a case: two rental seasons instead of one

Next Point Condominium in southern Phuket matters because it answers four questions most project brochures avoid: freehold or leasehold, guaranteed returns or marketing figures, how long the promise lasts, and who runs the building afterward.

Rawai differs from much of Phuket in one structural way. The district has long-stay demand all year—families and relocators who live there, with international schools nearby—as well as the familiar tourist season anchored by Nai Harn beach. That second revenue stream means an owner letting a unit in Rawai is not betting everything on four months. At Next Point, foreigners can own freehold in three of the four buildings, within Thailand's standard foreign quota. The fourth, managed as Radisson Serviced Apartments, is leasehold only. Prices start from 4.2 million baht in the freehold buildings and 5.75 million baht in the Radisson building. The contractual guaranteed rental return is 6% per annum minimum, but only for studios and one-bedroom units in the freehold buildings, for the first three years only. After that period ends, the unit enters the Rental Pool, where the operator takes 20% and the owner receives 80% of rental income. The developer confirms construction started December 8, 2025, with completion expected in Q4 2028. Management standards across all four buildings follow the Radisson benchmark, which matters more over ten or fifteen years than any headline figure quoted in year one.

Thailand Real Estate Awards marks a decade with fresh structure

The Thailand Real Estate Awards held their ceremony on August 27 at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, marking ten years of recognition under the new theme "10 Years, New Era." The ceremony introduced a new trophy, a strengthened awards structure, and professional oversight from Savills Thailand, Colliers Thailand and FazWaz as Awards Consultants. Site inspections were conducted across the country during the assessment period to deepen the awards team's understanding of each entry.

The 2026 programme broadened the geographic scope beyond Bangkok to include Phuket, Pattaya, the Eastern Seaboard, Hua Hin, Koh Samui and other markets. A new Developer of the Year regional structure was introduced before culminating in the national honour. The awards are now part of a wider Southeast Asia Real Estate Awards platform, with ceremonies already held in Vietnam and more scheduled in Jakarta, Manila and Phnom Penh before a Grand Final in Bangkok in December. Winners will be showcased across Dot Property Group's platforms throughout the following twelve months, not just on awards night.

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