What happened
In Thong Lor, one of Bangkok's priciest residential districts, developers are moving to leasehold, renting land long term instead of buying it. The reason is price. Landowners ask so much that homes built on purchased land could not be sold at a sensible level, the Bangkok Post reported on October 5, 2026.
The first major project on leased land in the area is a mixed-use complex worth more than 12 billion baht. A Asset Co is developing it on a seven-rai site near Sukhumvit Soi 53. A rai is a Thai unit of land area.
The project
A Asset Co will rent the site for 45 years. Five of those years are set aside for construction and the remaining 40 for running the branded residences. Building work is scheduled to start next year.
The complex will offer 100,000 square metres of usable space in a single structure split into a 39-floor tower and a 28-floor tower. The taller tower will hold a hotel with 640 rooms. The shorter one will contain 220 branded residences, homes run under a hotel brand. Another 3,000 square metres go to offices and shops.
To fund it, the company is talking to banks and to Bcons Group, a Vietnamese developer that has co-developed over 10 housing projects in Vietnam.
Why lease and not buy
A Asset Co chief executive Anavach Chatsirikul was blunt about it. Had the owner put the land up for sale, he said, the company would have walked away, because at that land price the homes could not be priced attractively.
The site previously housed Bangkok Prep International School. Thailand's Treasury Department puts its appraised value at over 1 billion baht.
Surachet Kongcheep, who heads research at Cushman & Wakefield Thailand, said sellers in Thong Lor were asking about 2-3 million baht for each square wah last year, varying with the size and spot of each plot. The square wah is another Thai unit of area. The latest recorded deal, he said, dates from 2019 at 2.86 million baht per square wah. Prices have hardly moved since, because few buyers accept the asking level and no plots are currently on the market.
The tax squeezing landowners
Thai landowners pay a land and building tax on a sliding scale. The first 50 million baht of value is taxed at 0.3%, 0.4% on the following 150 million and 0.5% on the band from 200 million up to 1 billion baht. A plot appraised at 1 billion baht would therefore owe about 4.75 million baht a year.
When land stays idle for over three straight years, the rate goes up by 0.3 points with each three-year period, capped at 3%. The Treasury Department says the aim is to get empty land into productive use. Leasing to a developer lets the owner put the land to use without selling it.
What it means for Bali
In Bali, leasehold is not new. It is the main way foreigners hold property, because they cannot own land outright and instead sign a long term lease, known as Hak Sewa. In Bangkok, according to the report, it is the price of land rather than ownership rules that pushes developers to lease.
The Bangkok project resembles structures found in Bali: homes run under a hotel brand on leased land with a fixed term. Of the 45 lease years, five go to construction and 40 remain for operating the residences.
The source also describes the role of tax in Thailand, where a rising rate on idle land nudges owners to put plots to use. The Bangkok Post report does not discuss Bali.