S’ville real estate posts dull H1
S’ville real estate posts dull H1
The Sihanoukville real estate sector has not exhibited a significant overall improvement in the first half (H1) of 2023, industry experts report, as the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and other geopolitical challenges continue to weigh on the Cambodian and global economies.
Im Seng Hour, branch manager of Century 21 Zillion Holding in Sihanoukville, told The Post on June 12 that, although transactions are up roughly 10-20 per cent from 2020-2022 levels, the Preah Sihanouk provincial capital’s real estate market is far less active than it was prior to the Covid-19 crisis.
The majority of current real estate deals are conducted only between locals and have a transaction value of $50,000-100,000, in contrast to the era prior to 2019, when “most” sales were for hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said.
“Although the real estate market is quite calm right now compared to before 2019, it is not as awful as it was a few years ago. The rental market for residential properties is robust right now,” he added.
Seng Hour explained that the return of foreign visitors has accelerated demand for rental housing in Sihanoukville and driven up costs.
“As more and more Indonesians arrive in Sihanoukville [casinos] to work, demand for housing and prices have increased by about 20-30 per cent compared to 2022,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesians have seen arguably the most remarkable rise in “business” travel to Cambodia, going from 5,835 in January-March 2019 to 23,090 in the same period of 2023, a jump of 295.72 per cent. This is in contrast to a 20.97 per cent drop in overall international visitors during the same time frame.
Regarding the outlook for the industry, Seng Hour noted that many prospective real estate buyers are delaying their purchases until after the general election on July 23.
He mentioned that properties in the most prime locations, such as the Ochheuteal area, can sell for $2,500-3,000 per square metre, which is less than their peak range of $4,500-5,000 in 2018.
Global Real Estate Association president and Sam SN Realty CEO Sam Soknoeun predicted that the coastal province’s real estate sector would require at least another three years to effectively achieve a full comeback, supported by substantive resolutions for more of the unfinished construction projects dotting the landscape.
“Between 2022 and the first half of 2023, there were barely any changes in terms of transactions and property values in Sihanoukville,” he said.
He pointed out that construction work had started back up on many of these developments, claiming that the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Administration and other government agencies are “working hard to address the issue”.
Nonetheless, he argued that Chinese investors will remain major players in the Preah Sihanouk real estate market, as they had before 2019, and support recovery in the sector.
The government has developed projects for roads and other infrastructure in the provincial capital in the past couple of years to encourage tourism and trade. The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, which was opened in October, may be the most notable of these projects.
In June 2021, the government established an inter-ministerial technical committee to develop effective and sustainable land management and usage policies in Preah Sihanouk, in an effort to develop the southwest province as a “Model Multi-Purpose Special Economic Zone”.
