THE National Valuers Association (NVA) held a seminar on property assessment over the weekend in a bid to train realtors and earn confidence among potential investors.

More than 60 representatives of real-estate companies, property developers, law firms and government offices attended the two-day seminar in Phnom Penh, which taught real-estate assessing at international standards, Sung Bonna, NVA president and owner of Bonn Realty Group, told the Post Saturday.

Cambodian realtors need more professional skills to properly assess property values, especially as the economic crisis has squeezed the sector, he said.

Bonna Realty General Manger Keuk Narin said Sunday the training provided would help boost investor confidence in Cambodia, whose property and real-estate markets underwent a frantic boom prior to the economic downturn in 2008.

“Some investors looking to do business in the real-estate market still are not confident with Cambodia’s real-estate assessors,” he said. A survey suggests 80 percent of foreign investors are confident of real-estate valuation, said Seng Sopheak, valuation manager of Cambodia Properties Ltd.