Russian buyers moved into second place in Thailand’s foreign condo market

Weaker Chinese activity pulled the foreign total down

Foreign buyers completed ownership transfers worth THB 13.464 billion in Q1 2026, 17.9% below the same period a year earlier. Foreigners accounted for 13.6% of all condominium units transferred nationwide and 23.9% of transfer value.

China remained the largest foreign buyer group, but its numbers fell sharply. Chinese nationals received 906 units worth THB 3.493 billion, down 38.8% by unit count and 42.9% by value year on year. That decline helps explain why the foreign segment contracted even as several smaller nationalities grew.

The metric needs to be read carefully. REIC is reporting registered ownership transfers, which are a later stage of a transaction than a reservation or sales contract. The figures are therefore strong evidence of completed market activity, but they are not a live measure of current developer sales.

For practical context, see How to buy property in Thailand. This development also connects with Thailand housing transfers rose as foreign condo demand fell.

Russia’s increase was real, but it did not lift the whole market

Russian buyers registered 383 units with a combined value of THB 1.665 billion. Transfer volume rose 33% year on year and value climbed 68.7%, enough to move Russia into second place ahead of Myanmar, which recorded 279 units worth THB 968 million.

Foreign demand was still concentrated in the country’s main economic and resort markets. Chonburi led by unit count with 1,167 foreign transfers, while Bangkok had the highest value at THB 6.138 billion. Those provincial totals should not be used as a nationality map: REIC’s national release does not show that the entire Russian increase occurred in Pattaya, Phuket or any single location.

A later REIC report covering the first half of 2026 adds useful context. Foreign condo transfers for January through June reached 6,533 units, still down 8.8% year on year, while value slipped 1.5% to THB 28.267 billion. Russia remained the second-largest foreign buyer group, so the Q1 rise was not simply an isolated quarterly ranking change.