In Thailand “new build” almost always means buying during construction — pre-sale or off-plan. The developer collects payments from buyers in stages while the building goes up, and the buyer gets launch pricing and an interest-free schedule in exchange for carrying the risk that the project is late, delivered below specification, or not delivered at all. This guide is about pricing that risk properly: what the payment schedule looks like on the Pattaya projects in our catalogue, what to verify about the developer before the reservation fee, and which contract clauses protect your deposit.
How off-plan differs from finished stock
A completed unit is a simple transaction: full payment, title transfer at the Land Department, keys. Off-plan is a contract with the developer for a unit that does not yet exist, paid in tranches — reservation, contract payment, instalments during construction, balance at handover — with title transfer only at the end. Launch pricing is usually below what the same unit will cost once finished, and that difference is the developer’s payment for your patience and your risk. How large it is depends on the project and the phase; there is no fixed discount, and a promised one that looks too generous is itself a signal.
As of September 2026 we list 33 new developments in Pattaya, with starting prices from 1.42 million THB and a median starting price of about 3.9 million THB; most are scheduled for completion between 2026 and 2029. The current selection is on our new condo developments in Pattaya page.
What a payment schedule actually looks like
Developers publish their payment terms per project, and our catalogue records them. The ranges below are what the 33 Pattaya projects state for foreign buyers — use them to judge whether a schedule you are offered is normal.
| Stage | Typical terms in our catalogue (Pattaya, foreign quota) |
|---|---|
| Reservation fee | Most often 100,000 THB; some projects 50,000 THB, some 200,000 THB or more. Fixes the unit and the price. |
| Contract payment | 20–35% of the price, most often 30%; where a deadline is stated, 15–30 days after reservation |
| Instalments during construction | Varies widely: from 0% to about 70% of the price (commonly 15–30%), e.g. 30% spread over 30 months or 15% over 18 months |
| Balance at handover | Most often 50–60%, ranging from 10% to 75%, paid at title transfer |
| Sinking fund | One-off, 500–700 THB per m² in most projects |
| Maintenance fee | Typically 40–70 THB per m² per year, set per project |
| Transfer fee | Most developer contracts state the buyer pays 1% — i.e. the 2% government fee split 50/50 |
The instalment logic matters more than the percentages: a schedule tied to construction milestones protects you, a schedule tied to calendar dates does not. Interest-free developer instalments are covered in detail in our guide to developer instalment plans in Thailand.
The contract
The document is the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA). Thai consumer-protection rules set a standard form of developer contract for condominium sales — have your lawyer compare the developer’s draft against it, because clauses that deviate from it against the buyer are your negotiating points. At minimum the SPA must contain:
- the exact unit: building, floor, number, area, with the floor plan appended;
- the price and the full payment schedule, ideally pegged to construction milestones;
- the handover date and the compensation for delay — a stated figure, not a promise;
- the finish and furniture specification as an appendix with brands and models, not adjectives;
- the first-year maintenance fee and the sinking fund;
- an explicit statement that the unit is sold in the foreign freehold quota;
- cancellation terms: what you recover if construction stalls, and what you forfeit if you walk away.
Escrow legislation exists in Thailand, but escrow is optional and most developers do not use it: payments go to the developer’s account. That is the single biggest reason developer vetting matters more here than in markets where escrow is mandatory.
The pre-reservation checklist
1. The developer’s registration
Every company selling property in Thailand is registered with the Department of Business Development, and the registry is public (datawarehouse.dbd.go.th). Check that the entity in the contract is the one that owns the land, how long it has existed, its registered capital and filed financial statements. Projects are often held in separate special-purpose companies; the reputation you are buying belongs to the group behind them, so look at both.
2. Building permit and EIA
Before you pay, the project should hold its building permit and — for larger condominium projects — an approved Environmental Impact Assessment. Ask for the EIA approval number and date. A sales gallery open before the permits are granted is a red flag: money paid at that stage can sit frozen for years if the permit never comes.
3. The land title
Ask for a copy of the land title deed (Chanote) under the project and have a lawyer check it: whether it is mortgaged to a bank, whether the use matches the zoning, and whether the company in the contract is the owner.
4. Foreign quota
Foreigners can hold at most 49% of the residential floor area of a building. In popular projects the foreign quota is reserved first, and a buyer whose contract does not name the quota can find at transfer that only a lease is left. Ask how much of the foreign quota is already sold and make sure your contract states foreign freehold explicitly; the mechanics are in our article on checking the foreign quota, and the units currently available in quota are listed on our foreign quota condos page.
5. Track record
How many projects has the developer delivered, when was the most recent, and were the earlier phases handed over as promised? Walk the completed phases, in person or on a live video call. The finished product tells you more about your own handover than any showroom.
6. The specification
“Fully fitted European kitchen” in a brochure means nothing. The SPA needs an appendix naming brands and models for the kitchen, sanitary ware, air conditioning and flooring. Without it the developer can legally install anything “of equivalent class”.
Common failure scenarios and how to hedge each
- Late handover. Delays happen even with reputable developers; the danger sign is silence in response to direct questions. Hedge: a compensation clause with a stated daily or monthly figure and a cap beyond which you may cancel with a full refund.
- Specification swap. Agreed materials replaced with “equivalent” ones. Hedge: the detailed appendix plus a clause entitling you to a price reduction for the difference.
- Developer insolvency. Without escrow, buyers rank behind the developer’s bank. Hedge: prefer projects where the land is not mortgaged, developers with delivered phases, and the smallest pre-handover exposure the schedule allows.
- Foreign quota sold out. Hedge: a foreign-freehold clause in the SPA with a penalty and a refund if the quota is not allocated to your unit.
Paying: the FET trail and the handover
Every tranche should arrive in Thailand from abroad in foreign currency with the purpose stated, so the bank issues the Foreign Exchange Transaction form (FET) — without it the Land Department will not register a foreign buyer at handover. How to structure the transfers is in our FET guide. At handover, inspect the unit against the specification before the final payment — an independent inspector, on site or on a live video call, and a written snag list are the norm, not an insult to the developer.
When off-plan makes sense — and when it does not
It makes sense when the project is well advanced or handover is within about a year, the developer has completed phases you can walk through, the launch price is clearly below comparable finished stock, and a lawyer has read the SPA clause by clause. It makes less sense when handover is years away, the developer has no delivered projects, the “discount” is small, or the promised timeline is implausible for the size of the building. And if you want income from day one, compare against resale: our new build or resale guide sets the two side by side.
Bottom line
Off-plan in Thailand is a trade: launch pricing and an interest-free schedule against construction risk that you, not a bank, carry. The risk is manageable when you treat the reservation fee as the last step of due diligence rather than the first: developer registration, permits and EIA, land title, foreign quota and delivered phases checked before you pay; a contract with milestones, a delay figure and a specification appendix; and every tranche routed from abroad with an FET. Do that, and the payment schedules in the table above are simply how you buy a new apartment in Pattaya — not a leap of faith.
