SEVERAL housing developers told The Post yesterday that they had already seen a positive response to the changes in the foreign co-ownership law, with sales boosts and key players in the property market as well as investment experts all positive in their reactions to the changes.

The law enables foreigners to own property above the ground floor of a building, which is not within 30 kilometres of a border, and was rubber-stamped by King Norodom Sihamoni on May 24 last year after being passed by the National Assembly and the Senate.

Kheng Ser, Assistant to the Project Management Team of World City, a South Korean developer behind the US$2 billion satellite city as known as the Camko City development project, said yesterday that the law had already attracted foreigners wanting to buy condominiums, and the numbers were increasing every month.

“Until now, we had sold 45 units to foreigners, who come from South Korea, Australia, Singapore and China,” he said. “We have sold better since the National Assembly approved the foreign ownership law, and we strongly hope that we will get more and more foreigners to buy our condos this year,” she said.

He said the new law would attract more investors as property opportunities opened up.

“I think it’s a good idea to allow up to 70 percent of units to be owned by foreigners,” he said.

He added that foreign citizens will invest more and more, and more foreigners will come to live here because they can now own property.

The Camko City project started in December 2005 and is expected to be finished in 2018. The development lies on 119 hectares of land in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district that was reclaimed from Pong Peay Lake.

Un Mouy, the sales and marketing manager for Two Town Co, a Taiwanese developer behind the Bali Resort housing development project, said yesterday that they had already seen a jump in demand from foreigners following the foreign property law’s introduction earlier last year.

“We have already sold 80 percent of the project and 60 percent is foreign-owned. Thanks to the new law my project sales [condos] are better and better,” she said.

She said that since Cambodia passed the law, many foreigners now feel confident about buying a home and living here.

The law has paved the way and attracted foreigners to buy her apartments, she said. “It was the right time and a good time to invest in housing development. Now we are going ahead with the second lot of apartments,” she said.

The site for the project is over one hectare at Ka Kab Commune in Dangkor district, about one kilometre from Phnom Penh International Airport.

Keuk Narin, the general manager of Bonna Realty Group and Secretary of the National Valuers Association of Cambodia, said the laws regarding property that a foreigner could own would enable investors to feel confident and comfortable about entering the Kingdom’s property market.

According to a report from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction released to The Post yesterday, in 2010 Decastle TK83&TK24 has sold seven units to foreigner, Decastle Diamond 35 units, Decastle Royal 15 units, World City 38 units, Two Town 12 units and Mekong View Apartment 46 units.