Renting in Pattaya: What 798 Live Rental Listings Actually Cost, Area by Area
Most people arriving in Pattaya rent before they buy — sometimes for a season, sometimes for a decade. We have been arranging both sides of that since 1978, and one thing has stayed constant: renters ask far more practical questions than sellers expect. What does a one-bedroom actually cost in Jomtien? Is East Pattaya cheaper because it is further out? Should I be looking at a condo or a house?
Rather than answer in generalities, here is what our live book looks like today, and what it tells you about the market.
The shape of the stock
We currently have 2,388 live listings. Of those, 1,393 are for sale and 798 are for rent (a listing can appear in both columns where the owner will do either). So roughly a third of everything on our books is available to rent — that is a genuine choice, not a handful of leftovers.
By type, the stock is dominated by two categories: 1,508 condos and 773 houses, with 46 townhouses, 22 land plots, 10 villas and 6 commercial units making up the rest. If you are renting, in practice you are choosing between a condo — usually closer to the beach, usually in a building with shared facilities — and a house, usually further inland with a garden and more space per baht.
By size, the market skews small: 727 one-bedroom units and 320 studios, then 458 two-beds and 410 three-beds. Larger stock thins out quickly — 264 four-beds, 112 five-beds, 33 six-beds. Families needing four or more bedrooms have real options, but the choice is narrower and, as the area figures below show, concentrated in the house-heavy districts east of the city.
Median rents by area
These are medians from our own live listings — the middle of the range, not the cheapest unit and not the headline penthouse. Treat them as a budgeting starting point, then let us show you where your specific number lands.
| Area | Live listings | Median rent (THB/month) | Median sale price (THB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Pattaya | 126 | 18,000 | 4,145,000 |
| Central Pattaya | 268 | 22,000 | 4,500,000 |
| Jomtien | 565 | 24,000 | 4,740,000 |
| Pratumnak | 377 | 25,000 | 4,950,000 |
| Na Jomtien | 154 | 35,000 | 7,404,375 |
| Wongamat | 128 | 35,000 | 8,000,000 |
| East Pattaya | 428 | 55,000 | 9,900,000 |
| Huay Yai | 100 | 70,000 | 12,500,000 |
What the table is really telling you
The jump from THB 25,000 in Pratumnak to THB 55,000 in East Pattaya is not a distance premium — it is a change of product. The beachside areas are condo territory, so their medians are set by one-bedroom and studio units. East Pattaya and Huay Yai are house and villa territory, so their medians are set by three- and four-bedroom homes with land. A THB 70,000 median in Huay Yai and a THB 18,000 median in South Pattaya are not competing for the same tenant.
Volume matters too. Jomtien (565), East Pattaya (428) and Pratumnak (377) are the three deepest pools in our book, which usually means more comparable units to view in a single day and more room to negotiate on longer leases. Huay Yai, at 100 live listings, is a smaller and more specific market.
A few live examples
To show how wide the spread is inside a single price band, here are current listings from our book:
- Corner sea view 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom in Pratumnak — condo, THB 26,000 per month, effectively at the Pratumnak median of THB 25,000.
- 1 bedroom for rent in Na Jomtien — condo, THB 13,000 per month, well under that area's THB 35,000 median.
- Arcadia Millennium Tower for rent, South Pattaya — 1-bedroom condo, THB 15,000 per month.
The Na Jomtien example is the useful one: a median is not a floor. If your budget is fixed, the job is finding the units that sit below the middle of their area, which is exactly what an agent with the full list in front of them is for.
If renting is a step toward buying
Plenty of our tenants become buyers, and the sale medians in the table above are the reason we publish both columns side by side. A tenant paying THB 24,000 a month in Jomtien is renting in an area with a THB 4,740,000 median sale price; the same comparison in East Pattaya is THB 55,000 against THB 9,900,000. Living in an area for six months before committing is the cheapest due diligence available.
Two legal points worth knowing early, because they shape what you can eventually buy. Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand freehold — houses on land are held through a lease or a company structure, and that needs proper advice before you sign anything. Foreign freehold condo ownership is capped by the 49% foreign quota per building; a unit outside that quota is available to a foreign buyer on a leasehold or company basis, not freehold. We will tell you which side of that line a unit sits on before you view it, not after.
We are an agency, not a developer — we do not build or own the projects we list, which means we can be straight with you about which sois flood, which buildings have had management problems, and which areas have changed since the condo boom. That is the part of the job that took decades to learn.
Next step
Tell us your monthly budget, your must-have bedroom count and whether you want beach access or a garden, and we will come back with the units in our 798 rental listings that actually fit. Arrange a viewing or speak to an agent — enquiries go straight to the agent handling the listing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to rent a condo or house in Pattaya each month?
Across our live book, median monthly rents run from THB 18,000 in South Pattaya and THB 22,000 in Central Pattaya, through THB 24,000 in Jomtien and THB 25,000 in Pratumnak, up to THB 35,000 in both Na Jomtien and Wongamat, THB 55,000 in East Pattaya and THB 70,000 in Huay Yai. Those are medians from current listings, so individual units sit both above and below them — we have a 1-bedroom condo in Na Jomtien listed at THB 13,000 per month, for example.
Which Pattaya areas have the lowest rents?
On our current listings, South Pattaya has the lowest median rent at THB 18,000 per month across 126 live listings, followed by Central Pattaya at THB 22,000 across 268 listings. Both are condo-dominated areas, which is a large part of why their medians sit below the house-heavy districts inland.
Why is East Pattaya more expensive to rent than the beachfront areas?
It is a difference in property type rather than location premium. East Pattaya's median rent of THB 55,000 and Huay Yai's THB 70,000 are set by houses with three or more bedrooms and land, while Jomtien (THB 24,000) and Pratumnak (THB 25,000) medians are set by one-bedroom and studio condos. Our stock overall is 1,508 condos and 773 houses, and those two groups are not competing for the same tenant.
How many rental properties do you actually have available?
798 of our 2,388 live listings are for rent — around a third of the book. A listing can be marketed for both sale and rent where the owner is open to either, so some units appear in both the 798 rental and 1,393 sale figures.
Can a foreigner rent, and can a foreigner later buy the same property?
Renting is straightforward. Buying has limits: foreigners cannot own land in Thailand freehold, so houses are held via a lease or company structure and need proper legal advice. Foreign freehold condo ownership is capped by the 49% foreign quota per building — a unit outside quota is leasehold or company-structure ownership for a foreign buyer, not freehold. We confirm which applies to a specific unit before you view.
I own a property in Pattaya — where can I list it for rent?
We have been letting and selling property across Pattaya and the wider Eastern Seaboard since 1978, covering condos, houses, townhouses, land and commercial units. Speak to an agent about adding your property to our rental book; enquiries on a listing route to the agent assigned to it.