Cost of Buying a Condo in Chiang Mai (2026)
What it actually costs to buy a Chiang Mai condominium
The asking price is the part everyone compares. The costs below are the part that decides whether the purchase was sensible, and they are the same in Chiang Mai as anywhere else in Thailand because they are set nationally.
At purchase
Transfer fee, 2% of the registered value, paid at the Land Office. Who pays it is negotiable and is one of the few genuinely movable line items in a Thai purchase — splitting it is common, and a seller carrying all of it is not unusual on a slow unit.
The money leg. Funds must arrive from abroad in foreign currency, documented by an FET certificate in your own name. Not a fee, but getting it wrong costs more than every fee on this page combined, because it is what makes the eventual sale proceeds repatriable. The FET guide covers it.
Every year you hold it
The common-area fee (CAM), charged per square metre per month, so it scales with the size of the unit rather than its price. Roughly ฿40 to ฿70 per m² is typical across Thailand. On a 35 m² unit that is a few thousand baht a month, every month, whether or not there is a tenant in it.
The sinking fund, a separate contribution toward major works. It is the line most buyers never ask about and the one most likely to produce an unexpected bill years later. What it is and how it fails.
Free, before you sign
The Thailand condo breakdown
The 49% foreign-quota check, the full cost stack, and a worked case study of a unit I own in Chiang Mai. One email, instant download.
When you sell
2% transfer fee again, plus either 3.3% Specific Business Tax if you sell within five years of acquiring, or 0.5% stamp duty if you held longer — and a withholding tax the Land Office calculates on the day. The five-year line is the single largest avoidable cost in a Thai condo exit. The exit guide works through it.
The rates above are set nationally and do not move between cities. If you are comparing Chiang Mai against the eastern seaboard, the same stack is worked through line by line at Pattaya condo buying costs.
// The building file
Area medians tell you where to look. The Chiang Mai Condo Buyer’s Guide names the buildings inside those areas, each with its unit count, size range and the rent evidence behind it.
The Chiang Mai Condo Buyer’s Guide — $99Who pays the closing costs in Chiang Mai, buyer or seller?
The sale costs are split between buyer and seller by default under the Civil and Commercial Code, unless the contract says otherwise, which is why the 2% transfer fee is negotiated. The seller's taxes are the seller's: specific business tax or stamp duty, and the withholding income tax.
| Cost | Rate | Who pays | Set by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer fee at the Land Office | 2% of the appraised value | Split equally by default, unless the contract says otherwise | Law (Civil and Commercial Code s.457) |
| Specific business tax, sale within 5 years (unless on the house book 1 year or more) | 3.3% of the higher of price or appraised value | Seller | Law |
| Stamp duty, only where specific business tax is not due | 0.5% | Seller | Law |
| Withholding income tax | Progressive, on the appraised value after a holding-years deduction | Seller | Law |
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Are these asking prices or achieved prices?
Asking. They are what the market is currently testing, computed as the median per area from the building file. Achieved prices sit below asking and are not published by any Thai portal.
Can a foreigner buy a condominium in Chiang Mai?
Yes, on freehold title inside the building's 49 percent foreign quota, in their own name. Land is closed to foreign individuals.
What are the main costs of buying a condo in Chiang Mai?
A 2 percent transfer fee at the Land Office, then the building's common-area fee and sinking-fund contribution every year you hold it, then transfer fee again plus either Specific Business Tax or stamp duty when you sell.
Who pays the transfer fee, buyer or seller?
It is negotiable and it is one of the few genuinely movable line items in a Thai purchase. Splitting it is common; a seller carrying all of it is not unusual on a slow unit.