Samui’s development plans spur land demand

With the current Thai government whole heartedly supporting development on the island of Samui, and the subsequent interest in investment from housing and retail sectors, prices on the island are expected rise steadily over the next many years. The price of land on the island is expected to rise anywhere from 20 to 30 percent per year if the current trends and speculation continue at their present rates. These figures are according to Thailand-Estates Corporation’s chief executive officer Chaiyagarn Sudamphanthorn, who quoted retail land price hikes on Ko Samui as going from 10 million baht per rai in 2006 to 60 million per rai this year. Residential prices now float somewhere between 15 and 25 million baht for a decent location close to the beach.

As the island watches its commercial vultures swoop overhead, the price bracket of Ko Samui seems on ly set to rise, and Big C, Siam Makro and Tesco Lotus are all lined up to get their piece of the new and improved Ko Samui pie.