Real estate careers in Thailand

The rules you must know

Public bodies

There is no real estate regulator in Thailand: no state body licenses brokers, sets an exam or keeps a register of agents. The rules that matter for the job come from elsewhere. The Ministry of Labour decides which jobs foreigners may do and issues work permits, under the Foreign Workers Management Emergency Decree. The Department of Business Development registers companies, and the Foreign Business Act limits foreign-majority firms in brokerage. The Department of Lands registers transfers, leases and condo titles, and is involved in the 2026 checks on nominee ownership. The Real Estate Information Center (REIC) publishes the official figures on condo transfers to foreigners. Voluntary associations, such as the Thai Real Estate Broker Association (TREBA) and the Real Estate Broker Association of the Eastern Seaboard (REBA-ES) around Pattaya, offer training and membership but have no legal power over the profession.

Licence

No licence is needed. Thailand has no state broker licence and no mandatory exam, so anyone legally allowed to work can be a property agent (Themis Partner, 2025; Thaiger, May 2026). Credibility comes from elsewhere: membership of TREBA, the international CIPS designation from the US National Association of Realtors for agents serving foreign buyers, and the agent certifications run by portals such as DDproperty. An agency is an ordinary Thai limited company registered with the Department of Business Development, with the usual anti-money laundering duties. No draft law to create a broker licence was found in the 2025 and 2026 legal guides consulted, so the profession should be described as unlicensed rather than as about to be regulated.

Who can work

Brokerage is closed to foreigners. The Ministry of Labour notification on works foreigners may not do, dated 1 April 2020 and published in the Government Gazette on 21 April 2020, lists 40 jobs in four annexes; List 1, which foreigners can never do, includes at item 19 brokerage or agency work, except brokerage or agency in international trade or investment (Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, May 2020; Acclime, 2024). In practice, listing a property, showing units, negotiating and earning a commission on a Thai sale are reserved for Thai nationals, and checks have tightened since 2024 (Thaiger, May 2026). Thai citizens can therefore work as agents without any licence. Foreigners can still work legally in roles that are not brokerage: international sales consultant or director, overseas marketing, business development, investor relations, consulting, administration, or director and shareholder of an agency within the 49% foreign limit, while Thai colleagues handle viewings, negotiation and contracts (Thaiger, May 2026; Themis Partner, 2025). These roles need a Non-Immigrant B visa obtained from a Thai embassy before arrival (2,000 baht single entry, 5,000 baht multiple entry) and a work permit, issued in about 7 to 10 working days in Bangkok. The employer needs 2 million baht of paid-up capital and 4 Thai employees for each foreign work permit, and Western staff must be paid at least 50,000 baht a month; the job described on the permit must match the work really done (Thaiger, May 2026). Working without a permit can mean a fine of up to 100,000 baht, deportation and an entry ban of one to five years, and the employer risks up to 400,000 baht per worker; one agency source reports 14 raids on agencies in Chonburi in 2025 that found 27 foreigners working illegally (Leto, June 2026, indicative). A tourist visa never allows work.

Commission and agencies

Commission is not set by law. On sales, agents usually charge 3% to 5% of the price, paid by the seller or owner and built into the asking price, so buyers normally pay no agent fee (FazWaz, 2025). One agency source puts developer sales at 3% to 5% and resales at 2% to 3%, with exclusive developer deals paying 5% to 7% (Leto, May 2026). Most agencies pay their agents on commission only; some large Bangkok chains add a base of 15,000 to 25,000 baht a month. The agent's share of the agency commission is often 30% to 40% for newcomers, 50% to 60% for experienced agents and 70% to 80% for top producers (Leto, May 2026, indicative). Foreign employees must earn at least the 50,000 baht work permit salary, so they are usually on salary plus bonus rather than pure commission. A foreign-majority agency needs a Foreign Business Licence, because brokerage and agency businesses are on List 3 of the Foreign Business Act of 1999 and real estate is not among the exceptions (Siam Legal); such a licence is described as very hard to obtain, so most agencies are 51% Thai-owned, while BOI promotion can allow full foreign ownership in some cases (Themis Partner, 2025; Leto, June 2026). Clients mostly come from referrals and repeat buyers, portal listings, paid social ads, personal channels on YouTube or Telegram, inspection tours for overseas investors and language communities (Leto, May 2026).

Foreign buyers

Foreigners can own a condominium unit freehold, but the foreign-owned area of a building cannot exceed 49% of its total saleable floor area under the Condominium Act of 1979; beyond that, only leasehold is possible (Bektu, June 2026). Foreigners cannot own land, and a company with more than 49% foreign capital or a majority of foreign shareholders is treated as foreign and cannot own land either (Leto, June 2026). Houses and villas are therefore usually bought on a registered lease, limited to 30 years; renewal promises such as 30+30+30 are contractual, and courts generally enforce only the first registered term (Bektu, June 2026; Pattaya Mail, February 2026). In June 2024 the Cabinet agreed in principle to raise the foreign condo quota to 75% and extend leases to 99 years, but the draft was not ready (The Nation, June 2024), and as of 2026 neither change has become law. The direction in October 2026 is the opposite: on 19 October the Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, ordered a nationwide crackdown on nominee land ownership covering 13,088 suspected parties, including 1,550 companies, and 2,360 plots worth about 14 billion baht, with priority cases to be finished by the end of December 2026, extra checks on purchases above 2 million baht, and Thai spouses asked to prove the source of their funds (Thai Examiner, October 2026). To register a freehold condo, the money must arrive from abroad in foreign currency, with a Foreign Exchange Transaction (FET) form from the receiving bank, usually for amounts of USD 50,000 or more (Storm Real Estate, September 2026).

Tax and fees

At the Land Department, the transfer fee is 2% of the official appraised value, and its split between buyer and seller is negotiable. Specific Business Tax of 3.3% of the higher of the appraised value and the sale price is due from the seller when the property was owned for less than five years or the seller is in the property business; otherwise stamp duty of 0.5% applies instead. Withholding tax is 1% for company sellers and progressive for individuals, depending on the years of ownership. In Phuket resales, costs other than the transfer fee are often split 50/50 by contract. The reduced 0.01% transfer and mortgage fees, extended to 30 June 2027, apply only to Thai nationals buying homes of 7 million baht or less; foreigners pay the full rates (Storm Real Estate, September 2026). Income tax on employees is progressive from 0% to 35%, and the monthly wage ceiling for social security rises to 17,500 baht from 2026, a contribution of up to 875 baht on each side (Thaiger, May 2026).

Off-plan

Much of the condo market is sold before completion, with payments in stages: a reservation fee, a deposit at the contract, instalments during construction and the balance at transfer. Escrow is voluntary: the Escrow Act of 2008 applies only when buyer and seller agree to use a licensed escrow agent, so most buyers pay the developer directly (Thailand Law Online). The main protection is the contract itself. Since 2008, condo sale contracts must follow the Ministry of Interior standard form, and terms that do not conform are invalid, with a fine of 100,000 baht for developers. The developer must give a transfer date with 30 days' notice, cannot halt construction for more than one year, and is liable for defects for 5 years on the structure and 2 years on other parts; the buyer can assign the contract without a fee, and late delivery is penalised by at least 0.01% a day, capped at 10% (Siam Legal). Reservation agreements come before the contract, and whether the fee is refundable depends on the clause, so read it before the client pays.

Leasehold and rentals

For foreign investors, rental income and leasehold matter more than resale. Villas and houses are held on registered leases of up to 30 years, so the investment case should be built on the first registered term only, not on renewal promises (Bektu, June 2026). Supply is high in several resort markets: Phuket had 14,008 unsold homes worth 193.7 billion baht at the end of 2025 (Krungsri Research, August 2026), and Pattaya faces structural oversupply, worst in Jomtien and the southern beachfront (Pattaya Mail, February 2026), so expected rents and occupancy should be checked against what similar units really achieve.

Platforms

Ministry of Labour: list of works prohibited for foreigners (notification of 1 April 2020), work permitsDepartment of Business Development (DBD): company registration, source of capital declarationsForeign Business Act 1999: List 3 for brokerage, Foreign Business Licence, BOI promotionDepartment of Lands: transfers, registered leases, condo titles, transfer feeBank FET form for foreign funds used to buy a freehold condoReal Estate Information Center (REIC): condo transfers to foreignersTREBA and REBA-ES (voluntary broker associations), CIPS designationPortals: FazWaz, DDproperty, Thailand-Property, Hipflat