Shelters for Expats
Cambodia’s apartment market has prospered with the arrival of increasing numbers of foreigners.
The journey toward ASEAN Integration in 2015, together with the resolution of the year-long political deadlock has attracted more expatriates to Cambodia which has, in turn, triggered the rapid growth of the apartment sector in the capital, according to a July market research report.
Co-authored by VTRUST Group and its affiliates, the 3-month comprehensive survey studied 180 sample serviced apartments in Phnom Penh’s six central districts of Prampri Makara, Chamkarmon, Chruoy Changva, Daun Penh, Reussei Keo, and Tuol Kork.
The report found the apartment market has rapidly grown over the last three years, to a total of 374 buildings, including both graded and ungraded apartments.
‘Graded serviced’ apartments refers to rental properties from low-class to luxurious with additional in-house services and other amenities. These apartment buildings are classified into grades A, B, and C.
As of the second quarter this year, the supply of graded serviced apartments has reached 180 buildings (equal to 48% of the total) with about 3,500 units. Supply increased 3% in the first half of this year against the same period last year. Among these graded serviced apartments, 92% are in service, 3% are still under construction, 2% are completed but not yet in service, while 3% are still not operating.
The majority of graded serviced apartment units are two-bedroom, representing slightly over 50%, with one-bedroom units representing about 37%. The occupancy rate of these types of unit remains high thanks to their affordable prices and sizes.
Non-graded apartments are those that are below serviced apartment standards with between 5-30 units operated by family-scale operations. The majority of tenants are low-budget foreigners and locals. Currently, the supply of this category has reached 194 buildings equal to 52% of the total supply. The total number of these units on the market was not identified by the research report.
Among the apartment buildings researched, 72% have 20 or fewer units, 37% have between 2-10 units, while those with 11-20 units represent 35%. Apartment buildings with 21-30 units represent about 16% while large-scale apartments with over 30 units remain very low.
The majority of apartment buildings have been built recently. About 47% of the apartment buildings were built less than 3 years ago. 34% of the buildings are between 4-8 years old, while the rest were built more than a decade ago.
Occupancy and Vacancy Rates
The study stressed that occupancy rates among apartments in Phnom Penh remains relatively high. It found that about 84% of all apartment units were occupied in the first half of 2014, while the vacancy rate was about 16%. A small percentage of apartment buildings were fully occupied, while some others remained largely vacant– with up to 40 units to be filled. The average number of vacancies was 5 units.
At the current time, it is estimated that approximately 47,000-50,000 foreigners, representing about 68% of all foreigners working in Cambodia, reside in Phnom Penh. Serviced apartments absorb the majority of these expatriates’ property needs.
The majority of tenants living in apartments are also expatriates. Tenants from Asian countries contribute 50% to the current market, whereas those from Western countries contribute 47%. Local tenants represent only 2%, and African tenants represent only 1% of the apartment market.
Kuy Vat, Chairman of VTRUST Group believes the number of local tenants will increase as the city becomes denser and traffic gets harsher. “Living in an apartment, they can have full services and reduce their traveling time. Even though the price is higher than living in a flat, they will have no choice rather to accept it,” he explained.
Rental Price
The findings suggest that the average monthly rental prices of serviced apartments vary according to types of unit. For studios, the minimum monthly rental price starts at $250, while the maximum commands $1,280, with an average of $640.
The average monthly rental price of one-bedroom serviced apartment units is $720, with the minimum starting at $250, and the maximum commanding $6,500. Rental prices between $250-$500 represent 41% of supply, while rental prices between $501-$1,000 per month represent 51% of supply. Rental prices of over $1,000 represent only 10% of the market.
Even though there is an abundant supply of two-bedroom apartment units, the average monthly rental price is $1,020. The minimum rate is $450, while the maximum is $3,500. The majority (50%) of price ranges for monthly rentals of two-bedroom apartment units are $450-$1,000. The $450-$600 range represents 28% of the total price, while those between $601-$1,000 represent 30% of the market.
Three-bedroom serviced apartment units are priced between $600-$3,500 and average $1,520. However, very few apartments are on offer in the range up to $7,000 per month.
Penthouse serviced apartments units are so far rare, representing only 1% of the total units of all types. The average monthly rental price is about $2,750, with a minimum of $1,000, and a maximum of $7,000. Prices between $1,000-$2,500 represent about 64% of the total range. The price range of $2,500-$3,500 is 8%, while that with over $3,500-$5,000 is 16%. Over $5,000 represents only 12% of the price range.
Because of the many options available for tenants, lengths of rental contracts have started to become shorter over the last few years. According to the survey, 63% of tenants are offered a rental contract of a half year, and about 30% of them are offered a one year rental contract while it is less common for rental periods of 3 months or shorter.
The research also found that the majority of apartments (92%) are managed by the property owners themselves; either family-run businesses or major property developers.8% are managed by property management firms.
The researchers believe these statistics represent is a golden opportunity for companies providing property management services for these family-run apartment buildings.
“It is really a golden opportunity for property/facility management agencies because the apartment owners themselves are now realizing the benefits of having a company manage their properties for them,” said Chrek Socknim, Deputy Director of Vtrust Properties and Chief Executive officer of Century 21 Vtrust. “Normally, a general manager can manage 20-30 apartment buildings so the operation costs start going down for apartment owners.”
In the next five years, he believes the market will see 20-30% in the annual growth of apartment supply to meet the rising demand of the next decade.
With ASEAN Integration approaching, the apartment market in Cambodia will only prosper as Cambodia represents great opportunity in terms of political stability and economic potential which will encourage the free flow of foreign labor and investors, explained Socknim. “Most accommodation investors, including in the apartment sector, are looking towards future demand amid regional merging.” he added.
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