Thailand House Prices
Below is the budget price information showing the cost of building a house in Thailand kindly sent to me by email from Kensington Company Limited in Bangkok in response to my emailed request to them as explained on the Thailand House Prices page.
As you can see, the cost is based on unit rates Baht/m2. Because of this, the rate can be applied to any house that you want to build in Thailand, not just the house I have designed as shown in the pictures of the house we are building.
Also included is the cost for the Architect to produce the drawings (plans) to allow me to get a firm price from a Thai building company.
The Budget Price Of Building A House In Thailand
| Client: Mr. Alan BrownProject: Pakchong Area: HouseDate: January 25th 2010
Alan Brown: proposal and fee: 1. Approximate area
Note
2. Construction cost of the house ( *Figures are not including VAT (7%) )
Note
3. The fee for architect service The fee for architect service is 120,000.00 Baht plus VAT (7%) = 128,400.00 Baht Note
|
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My Comments On The Budget Price For Building A House In Thailand
Is the quoted average price for building a house in Thailand – 15,000 Baht per Square metre to 20,000 Baht/m2 realistic?
Well, to check this I did some research on the Internet. Here are some reported unit rates of the cost for building a house in Thailand:-
A1Real.com
Bangkok
Date: 2006
“As of March 2006, buyers had to pay 81,975 baht/m2 in average to acquire a condominium unit in central area of Bangkok compared to 72,596 baht/m2 in the last twelve months”
Due to demand of High end property mainly Thailand condominiums and a short supply, prices have start to increase, with some resale units selling at 120,000 baht/m2
Source: http://www.a1real.com/about_thailandcondominiums.html
Lanna Airpark
Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand
Date: Nov 2009
“A house built to western standard will cost between 160 to 300 Euros / m2″
(At 45 Euros/Baht (Jan 2010) that works out at 7,200 to 13,500 Thai Baht per m2)
“Part A: 1,000 Baht/m2”
“Part B: 800 Baht/m2”
ChiangMai Law Services
ChiangMai
Date: 2008
“Recently in 2008 we have been asked to help foreigners who have paid too much to have their house built….
Plans & fees etc should not be more than 50,000 baht yet we have seen charges of 400,000 baht. The fees for 1 sq metre is 1/2 a satang which is not even a baht…..
We have seen single storey houses charged at 6.8m baht when the price should have been 1/2 this. ….
Prices per sq metre to build are approx: 7-8,000 baht….”
Source: http://www.chiangmailaw.com/housebuying.htm
ThaiVisa.com Forum
Koh Samui
Date: March 2009
“We are joking of course 20,000 baht a square meter will get you a palace with double glazed windows and air con.
Maximum you should be budgeting for up country would be Baht 10,000 a meter.”
Source: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Building-Small-House-Koh-Samui-t246489.html
Phuket-Info.com
Phuket
Date: Jun 2007
“Her mom’s house is approximately 145 sq/mr…on two floors. The finished cost of building was around 8000 baht per square meter.”
Source: http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/general/25788-building-house-thailand.html
ThaiVisa.com Forum
Sukhothai
Date: Jan 2007
“The spaces between the posts are in filled with red brick and the roof is traditional steel and tile construction – 88 square metres overall and this is the cost breakdown:
| Item | Cost Baht | Baht/m2 |
| Roof tile | 22,000 | 250 |
| All steel | 57,000 | 648 |
| Floor slab | 22,000 | 250 |
| Cement | 36,000 | 409 |
| Sand/stone | 11,000 | 125 |
| Brick | 15,000 | 170 |
| Windows | 15,000 | 170 |
| Wood trim | 1,500 | 17 |
| Front door | 13,000 | 148 |
| Other doors | 8,000 | 91 |
| Door frames | 3,000 | 34 |
| Paint | 4,000 | 45 |
| Electric | 11,000 | 125 |
| Plumbing | 2,000 | 23 |
| Tile | 17,000 | 193 |
| Sanitary ware | 5,000 | 57 |
| Labour | 150,000 | 1,705 |
| Water supply (well) | 8,000 | 91 |
| Ceiling | 8,000 | 91 |
| Total | 408,500 | 4,642 |
“One of the most difficult parts of the construction process was the selection of a builder.
The house is located in a very poor village and several builders operate from the nearby town.
We invited a few of them to quote for the work and despite the fact that my handled all the meetings the quotes came in consistently above 1.0 million baht – the perceived presence of a farang in these matters seems to automatically double the price!
We finally managed to find a builder who had already built three houses nearby and he was prepared to detail the costs in a realistic way.”
Source: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Costs-Building-House-t102284.html&hl=baht
ThaiVisa.com Forum
Sukhothai
Date: Dec 2008
If the land is paid for you can start figuring at 12,000 baht per square meter to get to a very rough estimate.
Average rooms are 4×4 or 4×5 meters. If you want all the whistles and bells and a “turn-key” build it will cost more than a do-it-yourself project.
This house sounds like about 200 + square meters or more. So this is 2.4 mil bottom line for a basic house. If you live like the rich and famous then start by doubling this number.
Source: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Build-Family-House-Sukhothai-t229795.html&hl=baht
More Sample House Price Rates Per Square Meter Added
The following prices for houses in Thailand were added on 2 Septemper 2010. They all date back to 2008, so be sure to add for inflation. House price inflation in Thailand is far higher than in Europe.
CoolThaiHouse.com Forum
‘Up Country’
Date: August 2008
Re: bungalow cost per sq metre
by kornoipaddy » Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:29 pm
hi
my build in chiang kham is at 7000 baht per m2. chiand kham however is away out in the sticks.
——————————————–
Re: bungalow cost per sq metre
by AussieBoy » Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:32 am
8,500b m2 Turn Key, includes ready to live in, timber frame plywood floor overlayed with ceramic tiles 60m2 home with 18mt2 verandah, Fully insulated walls ceilings, plasterboard to internal walls ceiling, light weight FC sheets cladding external with corrogated gal metal sheets, all electric wiring, bathroom fittings, basic kitchen, laundry toilet 1 room 1 bedroon 6m x 6m lounge tv room kitchen, all plumbing, water jars 14,000 litre, PVC double glazed tinted windows doors, First class workmanship trademans finish,
Add the fence front gate lighting, and some landscaping, water flush self composting toilet unit, power connection, Gravel crusher dust to soi 30mt long by 4 mt wide, drainage pipe storm water to street complete will be 800,000Bt for 78m2 home (10,256 Baht/m2)
——————————————–
Re: bungalow cost per sq metre
by thomas.fontaine » Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:20 am
I just got a price for a 200 m2 single floor house (including 80 m2 of terrace) of 1,520,000 Bahts, ( 7,500 Baht/m2) with partial material supply only from the Builder, and a solar system for electricity supply. The house is derived from the model 30 that has already been the subject of a previous post (free thai house plan if I remember correctly).
All together, the total price is therefore 2,320,000 bahts, which makes it around 11,500 Baht / m2
——————————————–
Source: http://mail.coolthaihouse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1245
——————————————–
ThailandHomeGuide.com
Chiang Mai
Date Added: 02 Septemebr 2010
This website offers houses for sale in Chiang Mai and they have a very nice brochure in pdf format that you can download for free. This is the link to download the Chiang Mai Homes brochure.
Here are some examples new house prices in Chiang Mai taken from the brochure:-
| Price Baht | 3,600,000 | 2,644,000 | 3,600,000 | 2,055,000 | 2,145,000 |
| Area m2 | 303 | 226 | 303 | 175 | 175 |
| Rate Baht per m2 | 11,881 | 11,699 | 11,881 | 11,743 | 12,257 |
Conclusions About House Building Costs In Thailand
The first conclusion is that it depends upon what style and quality of house you want, where it is located and how you build it.
At the lower cost end there is basic specification and build by yourself. (Or hire labour and buy the materials)
This could work out at say 8,000 Baht per square metre.
At the top end is high specification, built by a Thai builder and paying inflated Farang prices. Say 20,000 Baht/m2.
Condos in Bangkok can cost over 100,000 Baht/m2.
It wouldn’t be prudent for me to post my budget here or what I expect to pay per m2, until the house is done!
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23 Responses to “Budget Cost 1”
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I think some of the costs are either way out of date or not accurate. Seem very low to me having lived in Thailand for twenty years. Surely homes are different and cost different amounts. In Phuket costs can be easily 40,000 baht a sqm. soem 80,000 ! Top end is not 20,000 by any stretch. Low end is 10-15. Maybe a hut in Issan might cost 9000 but nothing comfortable. My tip is get a cost once you have construction drawings !
Hi David,
First thank you for visiting the website and adding your comment. It’s great to get feedback and makes the website more interesting and useful for other visitors.
Are the prices shown for building houses in Thailand out of date and inaccurate?
Well, for one thing, I have not made them up. All the prices have been taken from other websites. The date is shown and yes, some are a few years old.
You mention 40 to 80,000 Baht for houses in Phucket and I can well believe that. I have in fact highlighted the cost of condominiums in Bagkok (Heading: A1Real.com) which are reaching up to over 100,000 Baht/m2.
I have also just added another batch of house prices which are around 12,000 Baht per square meter.
And, yes, my construction drawings are coming along nicely and we will be looking for a builder in October of this year. Should prove very interesting!
[...] Budget price of building a house in Thailandusing Thai house plans and Unit Rates. (Baht per m2). The Author is building a house in Packchong, Thailand where he intends to retire to. In this article he gives advice on how he obtained quotations to build his house using two different methods. [...]
[...] Budget price of building a house in Thailand using Thai house plans and Unit Rates. [...]
[...] More information and examples of Unit Rates for properties in Thailand are shown on his website at The Budget Price Of Building A House In Thailand [...]
[...] More information and examples of Unit Rates for properties in Thailand are shown on his website at The Budget Price Of Building A House In Thailand [...]
Unit Rates and Thai House Plans To Estimate the Cost of Building a House in Thailand
[...] More information and examples of Unit Rates for properties in Thailand are shown on his website at The Budget Price Of Building A House In Thailand [...]
[...] More information and examples of Unit Rates for properties in Thailand are shown on his website at The Budget Price Of Building A House In Thailand [...]
We built a single storey 152 M2 house in Korat in 2004 for Baht 6,500/M2 all in. The builder provided labour only at Baht 200,000. We supplied all materials and the house, whilst not a palace, is of a good standard with tiled roof and western internal fittings, but no AC.
We are just about to build a two storey 342M2 house and the labour only cost is Baht 1,800/M2 – same guy who built the first house. Some builders want Baht 2,500 – 3,500/M2 for labour only. Do not get ripped off. Work out how many man days to build the house (ours will be about 5 months) x Baht 400/day and add 20% overheads & profit and you will have a good idea what the labour SHOULD cost for the whole build. Best of luck.
David,
Many thanks for the comment, that is very useful information on the cost of building a house in Thailand. In particular I found your unit rate (Baht/m2) figures very interesting and informative.
It seems that your unit rates (Baht per square meter) are much lower than the rates we have been quoted.
We have just been quoted around 2,500 Baht/m2 (two floors, ground floor very basic) for labour only for our Pakchong house which I hope should start constructing on site this very day!
However, and this is important for people to know who have not built a house in Thailand before, I can’t stay in Thailand to watch over the build. My wife will be here but she has no construction or materials purchasing experience. Hence we went for an all-in build+materials contract.
Another thing we have just discovered is that (apparently) if you do go for a labour only contract the builder will take you to the builders merchants to buy materials. I’m talking here of materials like wood etc. The main concern we had about my wife purchasing materials is things like reinforcement bar (re-bar) for concrete and the concrete itself. Who does the bending of the re-bar for example? I suppose the concrete is mixed on site so you just buy the raw materials 9sande, cement, gravel) as and when you are running out?
On applying Unit Rates to house construction in Thailand it can be very misleading if it is a two-storey construction where all the accommodation is on the second floor and the first floor (i.e. ground level) is just an open space like a car port or at most an empty shell like our house. Do you base the unit rates on just the second floor accommodation areas or on the floor area times 2 for both floors?
David, thanks again for the information, extremely interesting.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
The thing about labour only is that it does not matter whether you are building a mansion or a simple house or garage or whatever. The labour rate per man day remains the same (although if you are carrying out specialist works the day rate for a skilled tradesman will be higher than a labourer). I used Baht 400/man day as a guide only and this is probably a little generous – Baht 350/man day would not be unreasonable. I would tend to work out a lump sum price for the labour only contract rather than express it as a rate/M2. The day rate and the length of the build are crucial here, not what that works out on a Baht/M2 basis. This gets around the problem of the simple two storey house that you describe.
There is no reason for the builder to accompany you to the builders merchant. You can get all the materials you need from Home Mart and other such places. My wife has a Home Pro card which gets you discounts etc. The purchase should be in your/wife’s name, not the builders!! The builder would have to tell you what quantities to order, and the size/type of re-bar etc and armed with that knowledge you can order it yourself. They will deliver to site.
Our first house plan was simply taken from a book and then given to an Architect known to the family. He produced all the detailed drawings requirerd by the builder for the princely sum of Baht 2,500!!! As the new build is two storey the process is a little more exacting. The Architect needs to have the drawings signed off by a senior Architect before sign off by the Government. The total cost (excluding the minor fees payable to the authorities) is going to be Baht 25,000. A separate Architect quoted exactly the same price. It seems to be Baht 10,000 for the drawings and then an extra Baht 15,000 for the senior guy to approve and sign off.
Hope that is helpful.
David, thanks for the response.
I have to say that your comments represent just about the best statement I have seen to date about how a foreigner should get a house built in Thailand.
Unfortunately, for several reasons, I can’t do it that way. The reasons are that my Thai wife has no idea about building, or house design etc and there is no one in the family who does and I can’t afford the time to stay in Thailand other than for a week or so at a time. That means I had to find a Thai Architect whilst I was in UK (England), we needed a lump-sum build plus materials purchase builder rather than a labour only builder. My wife will look after the build with the help of her cousin when I go back to the UK in a few days time.
[...] More information and examples of Unit Rates for properties in Thailand are shown on his website at The Budget Price Of Building A House In Thailand [...]
Hi, this is all very fascinating, but still very confusing: what’s the length of a piece of string?
Most of the houses or house designs I’ve looked at to try to get an estimate for our house-building project seem to be fairly solid constructions with brick walls, lots of rooms inside and a fancy, high-pitched roof made from tiles (suitable for a snowy country, but surely not for Thailand?)
And therefore quite expensive.
The design I have in mind for our house is, I believe, quite basic:
- open plan ground floor, perhaps with interior partitions and exterior glass French
windows for walls – the floor to be concrete, maybe patterned and stained to give it a natural look;
- four identical bedrooms (6m x 6m) with ensuite shower/toilet and walk-in cupboard;
the interior walls could be gypsum and the exterior walls either glass or a large windows in concrete – all with a flat roof (probably of concrete) that could be used as a kind of roof garden or terrace;
- a steel frame supported on pier-type posts;
- a large but very simple carport style roof made of polycarbonate, gently pitched and covering the entire construction at a height of about 11-12m;
- a staircase to get to the upstairs rooms and then to the ‘roof’ terrace;
So, yes, the surface area for the two floors is huge (470 sqm), but surely such a simple construction wouldn’t cost as much as 4m baht?
- Does anyone have any idea how to calculate costs for pier-type posts for a simple two-floor house?
- And how to work out the cost for a steel structure? And then the cost of concrete (material + construction) for the floors and various walls?
- Also the cost of glass (probably double-glazed with one-way film) as a replacement for brick or concrete walls?
- Finally, the cost of a simple flat polycarbonate roof probably held up on relatively light-weight steel frame (compared with the heavier posts to hold the house up)?
I’m guessing it can all be done for around 1.5m – 2m baht, depending on how strong the steel and glass needs to be. But, so far as I know, no-one seems to think in terms of such a simple design: all the estimates are based on standard doors and door frames and brick walls and an expensive roof, not to mention a large square foundation and fairly solid support structures.
Any ideas or suggestions would be gratefully received!
Thanks
Well, you can get the labour only contarct price right (which we did) but I was way off beam with the material costs. I was still thinking in line with 2004 prices when we built the first house. The second, two storey, build started in March, 2011 and is running well, but material costs are more than I had envisaged. I was simply unrealistic.
Building in Thailand is still cheap compared with say UK/USA but it is not the outright bargain that it once was. The Baht 1,000,000 cool Thai house (check out that web-site – very informative) is, I fear, a thing of the past.
Cheers,
David Todd
David,
Thanks again for your additional insight into house build prices prices in Thailand.
If you start with material prices in 2004 and compound the price by 55 a year to allow for inflation the price in 2011 will be 1.4 times the 2004 price.
Any chance of some details of your new house build project started in March 2011 that i can put on the website?
For the benefit of our other readers when david refers to the first house he built in 2004, this was a 152 m2 single storey house built in Korat,Thailand. You can see details and photographs here:- David Todd’s Self-Built 152 m2 Retirement House in Korat,Thailand, 2004.
David also gives some very clear guidance on how to estimate the cost of building houses in Thailand by labour only contracts.
Hello,
I would like to buid a house on a land i just bought, but for now i would like to build only a “box” that will be the bast of my future house.
Can you tell me how much it would cost to build only 1 room cement bungalow ? Just a square shape 40 sqm bungalow ? Only for wall and roof please.
If i wanted to build this bungalow with wood, would it be cheaper or more expensive ?
Thanks a lot for your help.
Hi and thanks for your question about the cost of building a basic bungalow in Thailand.
I’ll look at the Bill of Quantities for house construction that I have and if I find the correct Unit Rates that match your specification, I’ll work out an approximate price for you.
Hope that helps.
Alan
Some of you guys are getting ripped off pretty badly. maybe you guys should start making Thai friends and ask for help.
Labor charges are 150 baht a day for basic workers 400 for the very experienced one.
Please do not get ripped off and spoil the market for foreigners, ideally you should pay for the materials labor and drawings only. You can do the calculation yourself, 2 bricks cost a baht now, cement blocks are cheaper. You should not be paying more than 500k for a simple single level house excluding rai of course.
I am mixed but grew up here, did up a house in pai sourcing builders and material from chiangmai, my house cost just under a million including one rai of land.
I really don’t understand why are there so many misinformation here.
Please stop spoiling the market and do a proper homework, some prices on the net are so way off. If you are lazy and wish to dump money to developers and agents, so be it.
i am a thai women ,,live in california use. i was from korat.basic..even i was born there i can’t even have my own house in my own country..i try to work hard here to have a better life in in thailand…so nice for all the estimate that you telling us…
sarita
Good site and very interesting but have to agree with David. Are any of the sites you quoted builders ? Or are they web guys and people who have no construction experience. You cannot build for 8000 baht per sqm in Thailand unless it is an upcountry hut structure only. Those days are long since gone. Also what does it include ? Does it include a project manager (essential), does it include doors and windows; this is the danger of the internet. Misinformation and wrong information where people make sweeeping statements about complex topics. Construction is not a simple job. There are so many variables and things to consider. I built 3 houses in Thaiand and all costs different on each home. First one cost us around 16,000 baht, second 21,000 and I think the third was about 30,000. That was finished homes. First two I tried to do myself. Disaster and would not wish that nightmare on anyone. I lost money and had big hassles.
Thrid I used a professional builder who was good. Saved me money and the home was constructed correctly. Beware of people quoting silly figures such as 8000 and 10,000…….that is trouble waiting to happen. Read the horror stroies on the net to see why you should nto do it. Court cases, murders over payments, builders leave job….it is terrible…be careful and be more realistic is my thoughts. If you are goingt o reture do it sensibly and safely. Use a proper builder as you woudl do in your own country. Why do people leave their brains at the airport in Thailand….you woudl not do it backk in USA or Europe…so why do it hear. Most of the builders at thsi silly figure end are either crooks, liars, farmers turned builders or are just goingt o build terrible quality…why risk your hard earnt savings…it makes no sense at all. …..I left Thailand now and it is gret place to live but be careful of reading rubbish on th sorts of sites you have listed there. They are incorrect and misleading.
Just read some of these posts. This is obviosuly the low end no money market. Interesting as most homes built in Thailand now are well into 20-40,000 baht per sqm. Even developers are charging that. On archuietcst draiwngs you pay an archietct to design and shoppinga round for one with only price in mind ia short cut to thinking. An archuitects charges according to skills, experience. I have seen the sort fo rubbish desigend by so called archietcts for 20,000 baht. Only an idiot woudl use them. I wonder why some archietcst are paid millions to design….is the worl so full of fools we forget waht a professional person is these days…..be sensible please.