While Vietnam has surpassed Thailand as Asia's most valuable branded residence market, Thailand still leads its peer with the largest launch of luxury development, according to hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks.
Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks, said Vietnam has been growing at a rapid pace, particularly in the mass market segment, as the country is still in the early stages of branded residences.
Operators are developing branded residences combined with hotels within the same project, while the government is accelerating construction of public infrastructure to support them.
Meanwhile, Thailand has entered the mature stage, where buyers seek branded residences for long-term living and have more luxury brands to choose from.
Across 14 markets in Asia, the branded residence market is valued at US$40 billion or 1.3 trillion baht in 2026, increasing by 30.3% year-on-year, with a total supply of 64,584 units across 268 developments, including an inventory of 14,556 unlaunched units. There are 18,545 units scheduled for completion from 2026-2028.
Condos lead product types, accounting for 94%, while resort-based properties represent 55% of total supply, with 45% as urban properties.
Vietnam, Thailand and South Korea, the three largest markets in the region, represent 50% of the regional total market value, calculated based on launched projects or projects with active sales, noted the consultancy.
Vietnam's market is valued at roughly $8 billion, or 257 billion baht, with nearly 16,000 total launched and unlaunched units, while Thailand's market is worth $6.4 billion or 205 billion baht with roughly 14,000 units.
However, Thailand is leading the luxury segment in Asia with 30 projects, surpassing 18 projects and 13 projects in Vietnam and South Korea, respectively. One notable project in Thailand is Porsche Design Tower.
In Thailand, 48% of its total developments were in the luxury segment. According to C9 Hotelworks, luxury development in Thailand refers to units priced at least 20 million baht, and villas priced at least 100 million baht.
Mr Barnett said that with increasing land prices and construction costs, developers have pivoted to building branded residences or a combination with hotels in order to earn a better return of investment than solely developing hotels.
Across Asia, the research also shows a development trend shifting towards more standalone branded residences, from co-located projects with hotels. Completed standalone projects from 2025 onwards account for 19% of supply, up from 13% previously.
In Thailand, standalone developments account for 22%, of which 72% are in resort destinations, said Mr Barnett.
He said Bangkok led the total supply in Thailand with 5,031 units, followed by 3,017 units in Hua Hin and 3,465 units in Phuket.
However, development in places like Koh Samui is growing fast with 480 units, thanks to its attractive location and cheaper land prices compared to similar destinations like Phuket.
