Living in condominiums in Phnom Penh will become more popular over the next five years as flat constructions are expected to move farther away from the city centre, said VTrust Appraisal Co Ltd research director Heom Seiha.
Speaking to the press during the “Current and Future Situation of Real Estate in Cambodia” forum on Thursday, Seiha said new flat construction projects in 2030 will spring up some 20-30km away from the city centre, buoying the condo sector’s growth.
“This trend [can] further boost the rise in number of [condominium] skyscrapers in the city centre. When [new] flats move farther away from the city, the younger generation may prefer living in condos because they can be built in the city centre,” he said.
Citing a book titled Phnom Penh 2030s – 10 Predictions for the Real Estate Sector, which was studied and compiled by VTrust Appraisal, Seiha said that the supply of flats is set to increase by 450,000 units and condo supply by more than 300,000 units between 2000 and 2030.
“The influx of foreign investors to Cambodia, such as those from China, Japan and South Korea, has generated very fast growth in the real estate industry in recent years,” he said.
Seiha continued that there are a total of 60,000 condo units across all projects currently either under construction or in the planning phase in Phnom Penh, and that supply increases by around 10,000 units each year.
‘More than 20,000 flats per year’
From 2000 to this year, more than 150,000 flats were constructed, while currently more than 20,000 flats are being built per year, he added.
At the same forum, Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association vice-president Mann Chandy, said that in the mean time investment in small plots of land is a decent alternative for low and middle income earners to invest in the condo and housing sector.
However, he called on potential buyers to find out if there are any development projects scheduled in the area under the government’s master plan as they can boost land prices.
“I think saving up to buy plots of land is better than saving at a bank. But we have to carefully look at whether the real estate company [which sells the land] is licensed or not. We have to do proper research to avoid being cheated,” said Chandy.
Data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction shows that in the first six months of this year, more than 2,000 construction projects were approved and capital investment in construction was worth $39.392 billion, up 57.57 per cent over the same period last year.
