PM: Real estate still doing well
PM: Real estate still doing well
Cambodia's real estate sector is performing well as usual although the Covid-19 crisis has slowed down home sales activity, Prime Minister Hun Sen said via Facebook on Tuesday.
He said the pandemic has hit swathes of the Kingdom’s economy but local businesspeople remain as active in their professions as ever.
Although homes may not be selling as well as they did prior to the outbreak, shophouse sales have experienced regular bursts of growth, he said.
“The home-buying business is still up and running, it’s just not as strong as it used to be. But on the other hand, shophouses appear to be all the rage now,” said the prime minister.
Khmer Foundation Appraisals Co Ltd president and CEO Nuon Rithy told The Post on Wednesday that the crisis had only taken the sector’s fast pace down a few notches, despite many countries closing their borders and restricting travel in response to the outbreak.
But things are starting to get better now, he said, attributing progress to, inter alia, political and macroeconomic stability and strong international trade relations, with emphasis on China.
“Although the real estate sector in Cambodia is now very vibrant, I am still optimistic that the sector will more than double once this Covid-19 disease has completely gone,” said Rithy.
He added that the construction and improvement of roads and new international airports will be a major driving force for economic growth and real estate in the Kingdom.
There are more and more foreign entities looking to invest in Cambodia, he said. “The more investment grows, so too does the real estate market.”
Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association president Chrek Soknim said the market has begun to shift away from Covid-19-induced stagnation.
He said more real estate players are looking to snatch up properties in almost every part of the Kingdom.
“The potential of the Cambodian real estate market has started to increase steadily,” said Soknim, noting that the rental market remains fairly stagnant.
Last month, Hun Sen said the majority of construction sites in the Kingdom continued as usual during the pandemic, but noted a drop in building material sales.
He was speaking during a visit to the construction site of the new Phnom Penh International Airport in Kandal province’s Kandal Stung district.
The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction approved a total of 1,647 construction projects nationwide in the first four months of this year, up 223 or 15.66 per cent from the same period last year, data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance show.
Their combined value was $3.049 billion, up 20.5 per cent year-on-year.
