Eyes Back on Phnom Penh’s Property Market

• Kongleaphy Keam
• 19 April 2022
• Local News
• 3907 Views

By Eric Wong Chon Lap

While many business sectors in Cambodia struggle to keep afloat from the current COVID-19 wave, property buyers are expanding their portfolios. As all businesses reopened and restrictions lifted, more attention has been drawn back to the Cambodian property market as investors demand first or second homes.

With the government’s policies supporting property purchases in terms of bank loans and lower interest rates for the locals, the residential market in Cambodia – Phnom Penh in particular – has done much better than expected and housing prices are expected to increase up to 20% in the next five years.

Another factor is the increased demand from existing residents seeking larger usable areas and outdoor space to facilitate their lifestyles. Housing projects in the suburban areas of Phnom Penh are becoming more attractive. More and more Cambodians are considering a property in the outskirts of the city due to factors such as cheaper prices, larger homes, as well as a greener and peaceful environment.

This price growth is one of the positive signs of Phnom Penh’s recovery from COVID-19, as the lockdown in Cambodia is completely lifted and the country’s roadmap has improved the economy – encouraging both local and foreign buyers toward the local property sector.

Nowadays, there is more bargaining powers on the buyers’ end largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and depending on the popularity of residential development. New residential properties attached to commercial developments are likely to have high demand, boosted by amenities such as educational institutions, hospitals, retail malls etc.

In addition, furniture packages or other discount packages are offered by some developments to attract buyers. This is a good opportunity for local buyers to own residences, as these additional offerings together with the buyers’ knowledge will quicken the decision-making process.

In the end, there will be recurrent demand from well-to-do local buyers. This is a good time to invest in a resilient market such as Phnom Penh. The market has always positively drawn back to buyers owing to the favourable factors mentioned above that stimulate the buyers’ decision making.

The main purpose for buying property has always been focused on providing the best accommodation for their children, as well as making a good investment that can be passed down as a family inheritance.

As Cambodian buyers are starting to get back on their feet, and slowly rebuilding their buying confidence, more incentives should be therefore introduced to help spur the local property market.

Eric Wong has extensive experience in the field of property consulting and development sectors, primarily within the emerging markets of Southeast Asia. From the property consulting perspective, he has led market research assignments inclusive of providing descriptive, exploratory market research and analysis reports within the office, residential, hotel, and retail segments in both quantitative and qualitative methods to determine suitable development types, scale, and product mix, and address property-related matters from project positioning to absorption rates, phasing, and pricing and marketing strategies, etc.

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