Cambodia’s real estate market in 2020 unforeseeable: experts

Sen Sok remains a top choice for borey developments. But can the country’s infrastructure handle its fast growing real estate sector? (Source: Realestate.com.kh)

The 2019 real estate market in Cambodia has been growing due to increasing demand from both local and international buyers across different property types, the Khmer Times cited experts as saying.

However, industry insiders have mixed opinions on the market next year, according to the daily newspaper.

Po Eav Kong, CEO of Advance Real Estate, said 2020 will be a good year for Cambodia’s real estate.

He explained that the Cambodian government has doubled the approved projects and this will lead to stronger construction activity in the following years.

However, he added, it’s rather unfortunate that the ban on online gaming has resulted in the slowdown of the real estate market in Sihanoukville.

According to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction there were 4,446 construction projects approved with total investment amounting to 9.3 billion USD in the first eight months of 2019, as compared with 2,867 projects worth 5.2 billion USD in the same period last year.

Ping Serey, Vice President of Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, took note of a remarkable growth in purchasing activities in residential projects and office spaces.

He said the real estate market grew anywhere from 10-15 percent this year but still leaves some room for growth, and suggested the government provide better infrastructure such as roads, sewages and electric lines to encourage the private sector to build more affordable housing.

Lack of public infrastructure is the bottleneck to Cambodia’s growing real estate market. While government projects are underway, they cannot keep up with the market demand for commercial and residential projects in dire need of proper access to sewage, electricity, and roads. Some developers have reportedly opted to construct their own roads./.

VNA