Phnom Penh’s rental apartment supply of both grades stood at 3,200 units across 54 projects as of June 30. Heng Chivoan
Rents for serviced apartments in Phnom Penh were on a steady decline in the first half of this year, as the presence of foreigners in the Kingdom remains limited, amid a deepening coronavirus pandemic, according to a new real estate report.
CBRE Cambodia, the local affiliate of US commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE Group Inc, said in the report that average monthly rent for top-quality “Grade A” apartments was $21.60 per sqm during the first half of this year, down 5.22 per cent from $22.70 in July-December 2020.
In the “Grade B” category, apartments went for $15 per month per sqm at the time, down 6.7 per cent half-on-half from $16.
The study said the capital’s rental apartment supply of both grades stood at 3,200 units across 54 projects as of June 30, with no new development completed in the January-June period.
The majority are in Boeung Keng Kang district (48 per cent), followed by Chamkarmon (27 per cent), Daun Penh (17 per cent), Chroy Changvar (five per cent) and Tuol Kork (three per cent).
Restrictions on cross-border travel have had a significant impact on the market, CBRE Cambodia said, adding that occupancy rates for both grades A and B dipped to around 50 per cent on June 30, from 60 per cent on December 31.
CBRE Cambodia expects three new apartments to be completed in the second half of 2021, and add 395 units to the capital’s supply.
Kim Kinkesa, senior manager of research and consulting at CBRE Cambodia, told The Post on August 4 that the market had felt the gap left by the absence of foreigners since the onset of the pandemic, when most left and have yet to return. “This has led to a drop in rental rates,” she said.
She portended that the fight against the pandemic would be a long haul engagement, and would likely put unprecedented levels of strain on the market, voicing further concern that housing supply would further outstrip demand as more condominium projects are put on sale later this year and in 2022.
“Given how interconnected the apartment and condo markets are, it is expected that by the end of 2021 and in 2022, there will be more condominium projects completed, so pressure on the apartment market will rise to some extent,” Kinkesa warned.
