From 8:30AM on Saturday 12th March 2016, The Penthouse Residence proudly broke ground for their exciting new project onsite on Sothearos Boulevard. The ceremony was graced by the presence of most honorable guests, including H.E. Oknha Ly Hong and other key shareholders of the project.SEE THE FULL LISTINGAs expressed by Sunna Lee, Shareholder and Sales Coordinator for the Penthouse Residence, “For the first five weeks, we have already sold over 50% of our condominium. This is due to our unique location, design and the offering the best off-plan price for our customers.”Sunna continues, “This event marked our promised delivery to our valued clients because we want them to know that their investment starts from the moment that they signed their contract with us. Our projects started the groundbreaking/construction even before our showroom is finished. This illustrates how much progress we have made since the inception of The Penthouse Residence’s venture.” The Penthouse Residence are strategically located on Sothearos Boulevard and architecturally designed to meet the demand for luxurious condominium living within the contemporary city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.With its bold and innovative architectural design, nothing has been spared in creating Cambodia’s first luxury condominium development. 36 floors of luxurious residences complemented by every amenity will result in nothing less than lavishing, from the spectacular panoramas of the city skyline to the attentive services of the concierge and dedicated management team.The Penthouse Residence comes with roof top terraces, infinity swimming pool, fitness center and the first and only world class revolving restaurant in Phnom Penh, giving you a 360 degree panoramic view of the city skyline while you drink and dine. Surrounded by conveniences of international standard, Penthouse is located next to premium residences and business centers such as the Sofitel Hotel, Aeon Shopping Center and ICAN British International School to name a just a few key venues. Learn more about this exciting project today on Realestate.com.kh: SEE THE FULL LISTING

Undertaking a robust development appraisal (feasibility study) can make or break a project. What Makes a Development Feasible? Understanding the inputs to a model and how these can be affected and manipulated is key. This is a full day RICS Training session. In the morning, participants will cover the key terminology, principles and inputs relevant to a Development Appraisal and in the afternoon, through case studies and a practical session, candidates will construct their own development appraisal model.This session focuses on Commercial, Retail and Industrial property. The session will be particularly useful for: Property Agents – seeking to better understand and market developments/land. Property Owners & Analysts – looking to sharpen their skills in development feasibility. Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers – looking to better interact with clients and developers. Property Valuers, Developers – seeking to construct a feasibility using best practice techniques. Banks & other financial teams – looking to manage risk better. By the end of the course, delegates should understand:  Underlying Principles & Terminology (DCF, NPV, IRR)  Key Property Development Performance Indicators  What makes a development feasible  Determining Land Values  Principles of Financing Modelling  Stages of a Development Appraisal  Development Preliminaries  Development Constraints  Case Studies  Building your own Development Appraisal Model About the Speaker: Tim Peisley, National Training Manager, Estate Master Tim has been working as a highly experienced training manager and technical writer for over 10 years with large commercial institutions. As a certified trainer and workplace assessor, Tim is responsible for training the Estate Master suite of products extensively in the Asia-Pacific region delivering content for all levels of property professionals. Having studied within the property industry, Tim works to bridge the gap between technology and the property industry across the Asia Pacific region. Tim is also the Estate Master Coordinator for the International University Partnership Program where Estate Master partners with universities around the world and assist them in educating their students on the principles of discounted cash flow, development feasibility and valuation. For registration, please email to Mr. Seyhak Bun at admin1@ibccambodia.com OR Ms Linda Kwok at LKwok@rics.org

The upcoming 19th Asean Valuers Association (AVA) Congress meeting will be held from May 4 to 7 in Phnom Penh at the Sofitel Hotel. Realestate.com.kh is proud to be the OFFICIAL PROPERTY PORTAL sponsor of this years Asean Valuers Association Congress. This will be the first AVA congress to be hosted in Cambodia, as the delegates of the eight ASEAN member countries, and representatives from Laos and Myanmar as observation countries, have been invited to the Kingdom by the new president of the AVA, Kim Heang. Heang is also the president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA).SIGN UP FOR THE AVA CONGRESS TODAY! All Asean Valuers Association members shall come together to confer on matters regarding real estate and valuation regulations, standards and techniques adopted in the profession. The theme of this year’s congress shall be “One ASEAN, One Valuation Standard.” “The AVA will build a stronger, clear and transparent relationship with the government to make sure that we will become the leading center in future ASEAN,” said Kim Heang. AVA was established in 1981 with five founding members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. AVA has expanded its membership to include Brunei in 1990, Vietnam in 1997 and Cambodia in 2009. Laos and Myanmar, the last two ASEAN countries yet to have been brought into the fold, are not officially members yet as they have no formal valuation profession in their countries. For this year’s congress, Laos and Myanmar retain an observer status in AVA. SIGN UP FOR THE AVA CONGRESS TODAY!

The latest Phnom Penh Land Price map has been released, for Q1 2016, by the CVEA.In December last year, over 20 CVEA Executive Committee and Members holding valuation certificates came together to discuss average Phnom Penh Land Price for the First Quarter of 2016. The group discussed average Phnom Penh land prices across all Sangkats of the 4 major Khans of Phnom Penh, namely Chamkarmon, Daun Penh, 7 Makara and Toul Kork. The meeting considered the growth of Phnom Penh land price as according to their proceeding 2015 report, with all members voting on reasonable increases on these statistics for the Q1 2016 report. The follow up from this meeting will include a consultation with Bank and Micro Finance Associations in order to ensure the land price survey includes all relevant stakeholders. Now - the Phnom Penh Land Price results have been released:

Even though the sounds of construction ring across Phnom Penh, the Cambodian real estate market still needs development in terms of consistency and quality to encourage a higher rate of FDI in real estate.  Nevertheless, in the eyes of many investors, Cambodia is demonstrating the political stability and consistent economic growth necessary for confidence in new foreign investments. The director of Khmer Real Estate, Mr. Kim Heang, said that the real estate development in Cambodia is showing great potential as the Cambodian economic sector is rising by around 8 percent per year for the last 20 years. Cambodia in becoming an increasingly attractive place for investors because Cambodia today has better infrastructure, low labor prices, and 70 percent of people are under 35 years old. These factors are the most encouraging for investors, believes Heang.    ​He went on to say that the growth of the construction sector is demanding more responsibility and respect, as it is becoming a crucial industry for the nation’s growth and people's’ wealth. “Now Cambodian valuers and agents are also rising in their abilities and professionalism in order to prepare for the Asean economic community integration” he said. “Cambodia is one the leaders in economic growth within Asean, and we will step forward into the future as a strong market”.   General Director of Century 21 Mekong, Chrek Soknim, said that he is optimism about the growth of real estate in Cambodia. “This should continue to grow sustainably until 2018 because the sector faces no impediments.” He claimed that there are three factors currently supporting the growth of the real estate market sector. First of all, good political stability is important to attract more investors. Secondly, the Asean integration at the end of this year will mean more commerce and cultural exchanges between Asean states, naturally supporting demand for accommodation, investment properties and office space. Thirdly, the increase in quality and variety of available real estate will allow investors more choice when they buy real estate in Cambodia. And Forth, the royal government of Cambodia will soon be able to grant loans to its citizenry on long repayment terms of 20 years and higher, meaning more people will have credit to buy their own homes. When the majority of people are able to buy a house, then the construction and real estate sector can only grow.   “Even though new development projects face some obstacles in the coming years, if they choose the right location, and build to the right quality standards, these problems will be limited,” he added. He mentions that the economic growth rates of 7 to 7.5 percent are ideal for business growth, and will also support the real estate market development industry. Sear Chaylin, general director of CL Realty Estate, said that the property being sold has decreased a little bit in a last few months, but this is normal when the rainy season is coming. During this period, buyer transactions are usually slower. It will increase when Cambodia is ready to integrate with ASEAN at the end of this year. Many Japanese companies are now flowing into the Cambodian market, bringing new challenges and opportunities to the market. “I think that the real estate market and property sector will continue to develop because the needs of the people are rising, strong economic growth is occurring alongside relative political stability, and security in the market is better than ever,” Mr. Sear Chaylin said. “Even though we are seeing increases in construction, it will be suitably matched to the current economic growth and the needs of the people”. Senior National Economic Counselor, H.E Mey Kalyan said that “for instance, when we buy fish, vegetables, and rice today, then we can eat. But, if we buy a house and property, we cannot eat the benefits immediately. We have to keep it for a long time and it represents a big risk. If you don’t have enough money, you can borrow that money from the bank in order to invest, and hope that it will gain profit in the future. However, if the house is not sold or rented, people will not have money to pay back to the bank and, if this happens to too many people, the bank will collapse. When banks collapse the financial system and national economy is in great jeopardy.”       “Be careful if you are building for rent or sale, then you cannot rent or sell upon completion - this is a big problem. So, control your risks and always try to limit your chances of failure.” H.E Mey said. “The royal government of Cambodia can see this risk. Be careful, because any sector growing so fast has risks like this.” H.E Kalyan went on to say that the government should manage the flow of money in the right way in order to control this growth risk. But when you prevent the flow of money, the growth of the economy can suffer. Therefore, the management of money flow must play a balancing role into the future. H.E Mey Vann, General Director of Financial Industry of Ministry of Financial and Economy, said flows of money into the real estate market sector have come with few risks thus far, but the ministry is being proactive in working with investors in order to manage the data of development, demands, and specific support for preventing risk in this sector. “Data management and money flow management in this sector is very important for us if we want real estate development sustainability” H.E Mey Vann said. Realestate.com.kh is proud to support the CVEA's Property View publication. Click here to get your copy, or if you are interested to join the CVEA today.

The Cambodia and other Asean member states will integrate into the economy and cultural community on 31 December 2015. This will open the profit of the entire economy to all of the 600 million people in this region, allowing more shared benefits and improved living standards for all. Dr. Sok Siphana discusses how this opportunity will challenge and benefit Cambodia.How does Cambodia prepare for the Asean economic community integration at the end of this year?Dr. Siphana: Cambodia has already prepared for the Asean integration but now we look back in the context of the last 10 years of Cambodian economics. Particularly, in the previous decades, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pushed Cambodia to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the context of negotiation, Cambodia opened some policies such as tariff cuts, free flow policies for investors, and some freedoms within major industries.Cambodia has improved in the last 10 years and become very friendly to foreign investment. So, Cambodia has in many ways already prepared for the Asean integration, now we face the second phase of a deeper integration.    The regional economic integration is to join markets all over the region.Our problem is to communicate with the investors effectively because Cambodia has a medium to small market, only 15 million in population, and most of these people do not have enough money to invest. Therefore, Cambodia needs to tap into the biggest markets before the Asean integration. Cambodia will succeed in its goals and become the member of a region which has more 600 million people.   Our prime targets are not places such as Indonesia, Philippines, and Brunei - which have many islands and are a long distance from Cambodia. But when we think about our position in the sub-region with Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar, there are more than 200 million people easy to access. So, Cambodia has more opportunities when we open our policies to welcome investors to Cambodia. The investors always expect to sell their products to Europe, America, China, and Japan before coming here. But now, the investors come to Cambodia to tap into more markets within the subregion.Why do the investors come here? What special factors does Cambodia have?Dr. Siphana: Why? Because Cambodia has free policies for investors. Before negotiating to be a member of WTO, Cambodia had already opened its market. With this point, Cambodia’s policies were opened to permit investors to own 100 percent of their Cambodian-based company. Generally, if we run a business in any country, we want to manage and control that business entirely, and in Cambodia this is possible. We have one problem in that foreigners cannot buy land, but we have prepared and corrected some laws which permit foreigners to buy above the first floor of apartments.Therefore, some problems have not yet been solved because they relate to Cambodia’s constitution, specifically foreign land ownership limitations, but we can solve these problems somewhat by allowing them investment opportunities in Cambodia. Cambodia between the big markets such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar meaning we will see a lot of cross-economy traffic. And Cambodia is one of the joint regional product producers.How do Cambodian people and entrepreneurs catch this opportunity?Dr. Siphana: In the last 10 years, Cambodian entrepreneurs and intellectuals have a chance to gain more capacity and skills because of the free market. The development of the country is not only building the bridges and roads so that it is easy to walk, but also gaining knowledge and skills. The opening of free markets gives a chance for Cambodian youth to study abroad and apply equally in the global society. Learning from other countries is fundamental to their success when competing in the region. Local producers are worried they will lose their market share when Cambodia joins ASEAN - because only 2 percent of enterprises produce products to correct quality and safety standards.What do you think?Dr. Siphana: I would like to disagree with this. What have we achieved since the civil war ended? Take a look at new enterprises we are capable of, like Khmer TV series, movies or videos, and digital marketing.If we try to survive on only 2 percent of possible products, we will die. But in the last 20 years, Cambodia did not have 50 thousand different enterprises available. Today we do. Because of this growth in opportunities, we cannot say that Cambodia has only 2 percent of our businesses able to compete with others. Therefore, the important thing is providing technology and education that will allow Cambodian youth to compete on even ground.The opening of the economy has given abilities and new skills to Cambodian people and entrepreneurs for 20 years already. They grew the businesses and studied from them. There were not many entrepreneurs before, now we have two percent of 50 thousand enterprises which are able to compete. And what the Cambodian people are best able to compete in is technology. We did not have abilities to research the technology before, but now we have human resources who are quickly able to compete when we have the right technology.For example; we can produce a modern camera and use it very well. Recently, we can buy modern technology and packing machines for our factories. So, don’t think that we are lost in this sector. In the context of fast development where technology can step us forward faster than ever. Another example is Keo Mom, now the CEO of LyLy Food Industry. She had a dream for her business that went beyond making a stamp on the industry. Before her company produced a small amount of products and worked very hard to survive, but now her company can export to the United States, Canada, and other countries with modern technology. So that means we are able to import technology, and improve our industry fast.We were dependent on ourselves for the last 20 years. However, now our young generation are knowledgeable enough to tell their parents what technological systems they need to buy to improve their business. Therefore, a Thai company that has been around for the last 20 years is not automatically better than us. If the world has modern technology available, Cambodia can buy it, Thailand can buy it, and also Vietnam can buy it.That is why I want Cambodian enterprises to use technology as the power to overcome our competitors. The foreigners are not better than us, and we are not cleverer than them. But, technology makes the company and entire enterprise smarter. Now, Cambodia can build 20 storey skyline buildings. The ground breaking is done by Cambodians using machines and technology. This is just one example, but we can follow up with many others.What if all skilled Khmer labour is absorbed after the Asean integration and we don’t have enough human resources?Dr. Siphana: I think that if we don’t have knowledge, we have to look for the knowledgeable. If we are ignorant, we have to work with intellectual people. If we don’t have any money, we have look for those that have. We don’t think about the competition, at first, we think about the cooperation. After cooperating, we have some basic knowledge to learn and grow from.It doesn’t mean we steal skills from others, but we have worked with them for a few years, and now we can run the business ourselves.   Don’t think we cannot compare ourselves to others. We have already come a long way - because our country just finished the civil war only 20 years ago and since we have seen economic growth of 7 percent every year.There aren’t many countries that have done what we have done in 20 years. However, we have to recognize that we still have negative points as well. They know better than us in some cases, and have had more experience than us. With this in mind, it doesn’t mean we are unknowledgeable. We should not feel hopeless and jump off the bridge.We have to try our best to be better than others. There are so many technologies to study. Social networking (Facebook and Twitter) is fundamental knowledge today. But you do not take pictures of your birthday cake and post it on your business page - you must research about enterprises, talk about technology etc. These things will give more benefits than posting about useless things.During 1993, I worked as a law councilor of the UN. I was worried because there was no law documented, but now the government of Cambodia was asking me about the laws. I spent only a few days researching it. We went to cafés to research, because it had internet connection. Therefore, I think technology is crucial to modernization the economy.It is used it to strengthen our fundamental capacity. Then we have ideas and look for the partners who can understand. After that, we can do it by ourselves.   It is said that Cambodia has already opened to the global economy.So, is the economic integration at the end of this year really going to change much beyond the status quo?Dr. Siphana: We haven’t integrated into the Asean economic community yet. But we have already prepared for some investors who are surveying the market. Even though it has not been opened yet, the growth of the economy is still progressing. Even if you don’t want it to, it will go forward. When the market has not been opened, Cambodia only has a 15 million population cap. This is the psychology. But when Cambodia is integrated, it will not be analyzed as a market that has 15 million. It will be analyzed as a country with 600 million. Realestate.com.kh is proud to support the CVEA's Property View publication. Click here to get your copy, or if you are interested to join the CVEA today.Find out the best real estate news on Realestate.com.khLooking for real estate for rent in Cambodia or real estate for sale in Cambodia?

The ASEAN Integration came into effect at the end of 2015. However, Cambodians seem to lack an in depth understanding about the community and its influence on people's day to day lives. Consequently, to provide more knowledge about the ASEAN community, Property View Magazine raises key information to grant a greater understanding for our readers.The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) comprises a joint population of 622 million people and $2.6 trillion of overall GDP, which increased by 4.6 per cent in 2014, as according to a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. ASEAN took many measures in order to deeply integrate all member states and improve regulation, infrastructure and flow of goods, ease of trade tariff barriers and improved economic relationships generally. How do people describe the ASEAN Economic Community?AEC will make the 10 member states closer. This means that all the states will need to compromise to have one vision in the region with peace, stability, and security in perpetuity. The ASEAN Community is comprised of three pillars, namely the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. The ASEAN community hope to have a population of 620 million people with “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.  This community officially came into effect in 31st December, 2015. What do we expect from the integration this year?The ASEAN evolution is still progressing, but it does not change quickly. To initiate this community, the member states implemented the three pillars vision, with the aim of becoming integrated deeply and comprehensively. More specifically, ASEAN leaders adopted the ASEAN Economic Vision 2025 which continues to integrate and strengthen their relationships over the next 10 years. How will the community influence the daily lives of people?The main goal of the ASEAN region is to promote people’s livelihood. The 2015 statement about the AEC, as issued by the ASEAN leaders on the 27th November, 2015, focused mainly on people and people’s power in the community. People continue to work together and gain benefits from ASEAN such as freedom, neutrality and seeking to find ways to strengthen solutions mechanisms. Can we travel across ASEAN by free visa or work in another country in ASEAN without any barrier?The agreement and ASEAN initiation has eased the travel restrictions throughout all the ASEAN countries and now many agreements confirming these rights are being prepared. For the working sector, an agreement that all the members acknowledge each other in ASEAN allows limited flow of labors such as engineers, nurses, architects, real estate experts, doctors, accountants, and tourism professionals. Some ASEAN countries have climaxed. How will the AEC resolve this problem? The ASEAN members have different perspectives on one particular subject and some members still have demarcation disputes. However, all the members are committed to obey the ASEAN Charter in principle and use this charter to guide them to resolve any dispute. In the ASEAN way, reconciliation and peaceful means of confrontation and solving problems, and neutralization, are implemented.  ASEAN have many agreements to promote peace, cooperation and the regional consolidation, including the 1971 statement which is about peace, consolidation, and aseanization. There are many ways to ease the free flow of goods, service, and people in the region which has highways, 47 ports, corridors, fast data, ASEAN energy supply systems, and infrastructure across the border Three transportation agreements will connect all the member states, and the three agreements also ease transportation across all the ASEAN countries and multi-transportations - which is aimed to reduce expense and boost transportation services across the borders. Lao and Vietnam, for instance, launched a checking system along Bao Danh Savanh border in 2015 in order to boost the bilateral trade in the east and west economic corridors.  The ASEAN members are easing the goods transportation across ASEAN countries’ borders and single gate mechanisms. In 2016, the single gate in ASEAN is ready to be implemented by all ASEAN members. ASEAN continues to implement a single airline and production base, and open investment inside and outside ASEAN. Many measures connect the institutions involved and ease the trade among the countries, such as the ASEAN trade data storage and national trade data storage systems. ASEAN is solving the tariff barrier to boost the trade and investment in ASEAN. Realestate.com.kh is proud to support the CVEA's Property View publication. Click here to get your copy, or if you are interested to join the CVEA today.

Flowing credit from banks in Cambodia have been increasing the rise of buildings and property in the last decades. The chief of purchasing and marketing of Borey Vimean Phnom Penh, Mrs. Chhay Sina, said banks have important roles to support construction and property in Cambodia. 90 percent of building buyers need lending money from the banks with the low interest around 8 percent a year. She added some buyers pay for building step by step and some need lending money with home loans from the banks. Most of young building buyers need lending money from the banks, especially, new couples but old building buyers don’t need home loans from the banks. They use cash to buy it for their self or for the children. Executive director of credit of ACLEDA, In Siphan, said home loans are not the first step of ACLEDA because its credit for property is only 7 percent and credit for repairing building is only 1 percent but buildings or property in Cambodia are increasing every year with 7000 credits from the banks with around 160 million dollars. He said the credit of the bank is important for new couples to buy a house or flat so buildings are increasing every year. After economic crisis 2008, the bank of Cambodia allow all banks in Cambodia give only 15 percent of its total money to the lenders to buy property on home loans. But after that the bank of Cambodia allow all banks to gives lenders buying property over 15 percent. In Siphan added that to be avoid of losing money or crisis, the bank is always careful for customers but sometimes the bank is wrong also for giving money to the home loans customers. So family and characteristic of customers are important. Consultant of national economic council, Dr. Mey Kalyan said if we buy food, we can eat immediately, but if we buy house or property, we can keep it for a long time and it isn’t easy to buy it and spend so much to buy it also. But we can sell and rent to get money easily. Dr. Mey Kalyan added that the banks should be careful with customers but credit of the banks are important to increase building or property. The buildings or property projects always need money from the banks so banks are important for this field. Director of finance industrial department of economic and finance ministry , Excellency Mey Vann said until now, he’s never seen crisis of buildings or property field but ministry is watching data project or planning of building or property to be avoid crisis. Excellency Mey Van added that it’s very important to control data, project or planning of building or property of the banks or companies in Cambodia. Realestate.com.kh is proud to support the CVEA's Property View publication. Click here to get your copy, or if you are interested to join the CVEA today.

It is no accident when foreign investors enter Cambodia and spend millions on highrise condo projects. Why do foreign investors invest in Cambodian condos? The answer relates to political stability, strong economic growth, and the free use of the US dollar.The Cambodian economy has increased so fast since the civil war’s end, and relative stability has been achieved in only two decades. Cambodia maintained a 7.8 percentage GDP increase every year since, which makes it the sixth fastest growing economy in the world.CEO of Eastland HK Development, Sam Yang, who has been building Cambodian condos and high office buildings in Phnom Penh, said that his latest project, East Commercial Center (ECC), will finish at the end of 2017. This building is 38 floors on Norodom Boulevard - with small, adjustable office spaces for sale and rent, with reason prices and a good location.​ He went on to say, “I think that 2018 will be ok. There isn’t any market which is unaffected by politics. You have to remember that Myanmar and Thailand will also have elections, and it will be the same type of situation we predict in Cambodia”. He added that there three main points in this market which make it very attractive. Firstly, we are sure that the next major international economic boom will occur in an Asean country. Secondly, Cambodia is the third country in Asean to have achieved relative political stability. Thirdly, investors can rely of the US dollar in Cambodia, and this is very attractive.” Yang also sees Chinese investment continuing to increase in the next few years, citing plans for a regional Chinese railway in the coming years.He added that thus far the Cambodian real estate market has only attracted relatively small investment pools, in comparison to international standards of major investments. Generally, new real estate investments in Cambodia are valued at around 5 to 10 million dollars only. The larger real estate investment funds of 200 to 600 million dollars have not yet come to Cambodia - but they will soon.  “The Cambodian condos market will continue to improve and Chinese investors plan to construct more roads and railway lines in 2018 to link the Asian markets together.” Mr. Sam Yang asserted “Even though the investment in Cambodia is growing fast, we should still think about the correct supply while this country is developing. This is why ECC is focusing on affordable office space.” The director of JS Land Limited, Koy Lesan, said that even though there are many condo projects being built recently, some of condos don’t respond to needs of customers and are too expensive. Prices per unit of around 80 to 100 thousand hundred dollars do not reflect Cambodian incomes. He went on to say that the needs for more housing for locals and foreigners is increasing, but most condo projects are still overpriced. This understanding has inspired JS Land’s new project. The Cambodian condos project is 19 storeys high and has 212 units. Each unit is priced at just $38,000. The important thing is that it will be easy for the customers to cooperate with Maybank, who has offered financing for the project. They can install payments on long terms from 20 to 25 years, allowing buyers to manage their investment alongside a low average income across the population. KH NIRON Investment’s executive director, Ms Lok Sovanna, invests in many condominium projects in order to resell the units. She said  “there is some risk but we observe that Cambodian people and foreigners demanding more and more condos and apartments and understanding the benefits of investment. She went on that KH NIRON INVESTMENT has spent a hundred million dollars investing in big projects. For example; units in Bodaiju Residences, DI Riviera, The Peak, The Bridge, and East One.    General Director of Century 21, Kevin Goos, said that the Kingdom is the most attractive market among Asean countries. The biggest real estate markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are decreasing in investment by around thirty percent. Hence, we can expect increased investment in Cambodia in the next 2 years.    He went on to say that the real estate market in Phnom Penh has affordable prices, if we compare to other countries in Asean. Cambodia is still growing fast across economic sectors, as it has been since 2001. If we compare the real estate market in Cambodia, it is the same as other countries such as Singapore, Taipei and Hong Kong during decades of the 1980s and 90s. Phnom Penh is growing fast and we also seeing some successful construction projects, such as the North Park Condominium project, which sold around 40 percent in the first phase of its inauguration last week. ​He went on to say that Cambodia granted a good opportunity for business expansion and the stand of the government on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is very attractive if we compare to other Asean member state policies. He added that the creation of the new construction law, and development in the country generally, will open the door for investors to invest more heavily in real estate,  and aid foreigners buying condos with greater transparency and consistency. Realestate.com.kh is proud to support the CVEA's Property View publication. Click here to get your copy, or if you are interested to join the CVEA today.

The construction sector has become the most dynamic engine of growth, partly due to the return of political stability and a revival in consumption, according to a recent report by the World Bank. Economic growth here is still led by construction, garment exports and tourism, the World Bank said in its report “World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update – Staying the Course.” Construction investment increased nearly 3 billion US Dollar in the first 11 months 2015 if compared with the same period last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction.According to Im Chhunlim, senior minister of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction, said construction investment capital reached about 2.9 billion US Dollars in the first 11 months in 2015 if compared with the same period last year, increased 27 per cent. A group of local real estate expert said the construction sector helps invigorate the economy as well as GDP growth. Kim Heang, CEO of Khmer Real Estate and president of Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA), said the construction sector took the biggest part in Cambodia’s GDP because most wealthy people gain benefit from the land and construction. He warned, “We don’t have to concentrate only on the construction sector because the prices can increase or decline depending on the situation as there are many sectors we have to focus on such as tourism, agriculture, as well as garment.” “People’s income does not meet the current residential, and number of tenants saw an increase, so the government must take action to make middle income people to be able to afford housing,” he said. In order to become a developed country with strong GDP, we have to depend on human resource. It is a long-term investment and the education system has to be improved,” Mr. Heang said. Chrek Soknim, CEO of Century21 Mekong, stressed the vital role of the construction sector in the Cambodian economy. “The economy talks about money. Currently as we can see, construction sector in Cambodia injected a lot of money into the economy. That’s the reason the construction sector took a big part in the GDP growth,” Mr. Soknim said. However, he said, “even though the Cambodia property sector is younger if compared with other countries, the Kingdom gains advantages from the sector.” “With people’s stable income bank sector in Cambodia also plays a vital role in boosting the property sector, and cash flow can help the economy,” he added. “To make the construction sector consistency, the government has to take care of investors by issuing laws to projects both investors and buyers,” Mr. Soknim said. In Sitha, vice-president of World Trust Estate, said currently there have been many construction sites popping up in Phnom Penh, and this creates many jobs for people as well as experts in the sector: “It means workers and experts in the construction sector earn more income from the construction, and many constructions boost the GDP growth and according to the current data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, the construction saw an increase, and this means it took a part in the GDP as well,” Mr. Sitha said. “Bank sector plays an important role in providing loan for people to have enough ability to afford home as many middle-income people use the loan to buy their own home,” he added. Return On Investment of condo investment in Cambodia is around 7.5 per year if compared to the same Asian markets, Cambodia’s investment provide more benefit as Thailand and Japan at 6.3 and 5.5 per cent respectively, China and Hong Kong are offering rent yields of only 2.7 and 3.3 per cent respectively, and Philippine at 7.1 per cent annually, according to a recent study of Century 21 Mekong. According to a report of real estate agency Century21 condominium development increased by 20 per cent annually from 2008 to 2014 with 13 projects successfully completed, which translates to 3,090 available units as of today. With another 17 projects currently underway, the report predicted that by 2018, when many of the current projects are slated for completion, the number will have more than tripled to over 10,000 available units across Phnom Penh. Cambodia’s per capita GDP is forecast to reach $1,220 this year, up from $1,123 last year, according to official data. This places the country near lower-middle income status. Its new forecast comes just a few weeks after the Asian Development Bank revised its March forecast for economic growth this year from 7.3 per cent to 7 percent. The construction sector has become the most dynamic engine of growth, partly due to the return of political stability and a revival in consumption; however, the tourism sector is underperforming, despite the initial recovery in tourist arrivals to Thailand. Tourist arrivals during the first six months grew by only 4.6 percent (reaching 2.3 million visitors), compared to 6.9 percent during the same period last year, the report from the World Bank said. Realestate.com.kh is proud to support the CVEA's Property View publication. Click here to get your copy, or if you are interested to join the CVEA today.

The official opening ceremony for the Camhomes’ Sihanoukville office was held last Saturday, March 26, graced by a host of honourable guests, including Oknha LAV Kang from the Sihanoukville Chamber of Commerce. With the launch of Camhomes’ Sihanoukville sales office, opening daily beside the 2 Golden Lion Roundabout, Camhomes can now provide investors close-proximity information about D’seaview and other upcoming Camhomes’ projects. It is also just minutes away from the buzz of the D’Seaview construction site... The D’Seaview construction is moving very quickly now. Already, 14% of the piling works are completed under the guidance of an international team of engineers, supervisors and construction professionals. Having accumulated more than 25 years of experiences in the design, construction and management of property developments in Singapore since 1988, D’Seaview will incorporate the latest in construction methods and modern building management concepts from Singapore.  The use of precast panels will allow for a smoother and more consistent finish throughout the complex; hollow core precast panels also allow service connections to be hidden within the wall therefore minimising the need for hacking and plastering or exposed ductworks; quality international standard fittings and fixtures will be used throughout, along with homogenous floor tiles, safety glass ( for windows which extends below 1m height), and a safe and quality assured elevator system; wall tiles to wet areas come standard, and beautifully-crafted roof terraces are provided for selected units; finally, all bathrooms have windows to allow for natural light and ventilation, and all enclosed kitchens have windows for ample ventilation. Naturally lighted and ventilated corridors, via cross ventilation, ensure a high level of comfort in all common areas within D’Seaview. As importantly, your new home will be a safe haven – with a high level of security via separate commercial and residential car park levels, card access and an integrated intercom service. Residential units will enjoy unrestricted sea views through design thanks to D’Seaview’s efficiently shaped floor plans. Prime units also include spacious balconies for outdoor enjoyment. Luxurious amenities shall fall at your doorstep, with subscription facilities such as a pool cafe, swimming pool, kid’s room, yoga room, library, and fully equipped function rooms. Realise your housing and commercial dreams now; and visit Camhomes’ D’Seaview showrooms in Phnom Penh at the Canadia Tower, level 3, or in Sihanoukville, Golden Lion Roundabout 2.Or check out the full listing information online at realestate.com.kh.And if you're in Sihanoukville this weekend, call the local sales team for a tour of the site and showroom.

Realestate.com.kh spoke with talented freelance architect & accomplished artist Sothea Thang about innovative architectural design and how to add value to your property.Sothea Thang is a self-taught Cambodian artist born in 1983. He graduated from Norton University in Phnom Penh with a degree in architecture and urban planning, and he worked at an architectural agency from 2007 to 2010. In September 2009, Sothea took a leave from his architectural position and turned to painting for a break from his office job. This soon became his vocation when he developed “Happy Together”, his first collection of paintings. The series was commissioned by a Siem Reap hotel and was exhibited later that year, and its success pushed Sothea to explore his skills across visual media, even as he continued to work as a freelance architect. In 2011, he opened his own studio-gallery in Phnom Penh, Top Art Gallery.What made you decide to be an architect?Sothea Thang: As a child with a wild imagination, I always enjoyed all kinds of creative activities. When I finished high school, I looked around at the art scene in Cambodia. The scene was small and there were not many opportunities for local artists at that time. I thought about what I could do for my studies that was still connected with creative activities and thus decided to try architecture. I found I really enjoyed studying the subject at university and that led to my continued work in the field. What trends do you feel are important in architecture/design?Sothea Thang: I appreciate naturalistic aspects that emphasize space, functionality, and light. Green space is important too. Architecture is about merging elements in designing a structure, and I feel it's necessary to bring these things all together into the building as well. What is your design philosophy?Sothea Thang: Simplicity and strength through purity. Less is more. Practical yet beautiful. I like to bring about something that is unexpected; creating new forms within older structures and merging them together. This can be challenging but has often led to my most unexpected and novel successes.What key aspects are essential for innovative design?Sothea Thang: Space: the feeling when you walk in, that it's an open space with light, air and with green/natural elements. You feel like you can breathe. Also need to study and consider what's around the building. The result is needs to fit well. The materials inside and outside also need to fit with a vision and belong with those naturalistic elements informing the design.  Some businessmen today, they build without thinking about the space itself or about the surroundings, they just build and want to sell. But this omits any thought about the people living, working, or passing time in that space.What's happening in Cambodia in terms of "green" or sustainable design?Sothea Thang: In Cambodia, we don't really see this a lot right now. Past architects have paid more attention to the light, the air, the rain, but today we see buildings going up quickly with focus on maximizing profit. For example, they make housing developments, and they divide the land plots as much as they can to maximize the number of units available for sale. This minimizes space for greenery, it blocks out light and air, and it actually leads to increased energy and water costs. From one unit to another, the space is not enough. No attention to trees or nature, and not enough focus on the space within the units they build. How do you know if a building is well designed?Sothea Thang: There is more attention to the way the elements flow in and around the structure, better technical connections such as water pipes, drains, and electricity. I look at the details and the quality of the chosen materials. These signal the quality of the construction work. I also look at how the space is arranged to determine what kind of concept there was in the design. The finishing on the walls or the way a floor is polished, signal to me the intentions and the techniques behind the designs.Regarding renovation, what elements add the most value to a property?Sothea Thang: When I'm renovating an old building, it's important for me to determine the existing elements of the space. Then I try to retain key features of the building while merging my own contemporary additions into the structure. Often, the key step is opening up the blocked interiors of the property. I select higher quality materials, open up the space to more light and air, add green features, and maybe create some aesthetic flourishes. My clients have appreciated when the spaces are opened up to more light and air. This also requires thoughtful consideration of the overall floor plan and the way people actually walk through the rooms and use the space. Modernizing the appliances and updating the materials with higher-quality detailing are also key. This is the same for every part of the house: living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and terrace/garden. This interview has been edited for length and clarity purposes.

Welcome to Real Estate Investment Opportunities High Value Networking Event... Successful people agree that effective networking is crucial to growing your business. That is why we are organizing the very special and high value networking event to provide you with the Best real estate investment opportunities and discover many good ideas how the seasoned investors invest in the property market in Cambodia. We have 3 Successful Entrepreneurs sharing their valued experiences.You will meet new business contacts such as Season Real Estate Investors, Decision Makers, Property Owners, Real Estate Professionals, SME Owners and Executives from across industries, and the Best of it’s Fun sharing together. We will be served Cocktail and Drinks and you will get a chance to win great PRIZES. Bring an associate, lots of Business Cards and be ready to have a GREAT TIME!Date: Wednesday 30th March 2016. Time: 6:00- 8:30PM. Venue: At Skybar of Frangipani Boutique Hotel (Toul Tom Poung). Address: #15 Steet 123 Khan Chamkarmom, Toul Tom Poung (Near Russian Market), Phnom Penh. Your investment is only $15/person.Call: Ms.Vannak 095 666 298 to reserve your place now!

On the Thursday 24th March 2016, The River Premium Developments (Cambodia) proudly announced the groundbreaking of their latest project, Center City Ta Khmao, onsite at the showroom complex the Ta Khmao riverside area.SEE THE FULL LISTINGThe ceremony was graced by the presence of most honorable guests H.E. Hun Manet, Lieutenant General of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and H.E. Mao Pherun, Governor of Ta Khmao. Over 500 guests from the public and media were present for the groundbreaking ceremony. As stated by H.E. Hun Manet at yesterday's groundbreaking ceremony, “Center City Ta Khmao is a true landmark of development in Cambodia, which the Royal Government of Cambodia considers as the leader in economic growth, increasing the employment rate and GDP. I highly appreciate the effort of the Tang Kung Group and other investors that have made this significant investment in Cambodia.” As announced yesterday, Phase I construction of the Center City Ta Khmao project is now underway. The River Premium Developments are accordingly currently pre-selling the commercial shop houses of the mixed-use development. Phase II details will be revealed in the coming months. Center City Ta Khmao is a joint venture between Tang Kung Group and a Malaysian investor who also developed the Riverside Group in Melbourne, Australia. The Tang Kung Group brings over 16 years in the real estate industry. Center City Ta Khmao will be the pioneering development of Ta Khmao City, the complex being centrally located along Tonle Bassac riverfront in Ta Khmao. As noted by The River’s Chairman, Oknah Tang Kung, “Ta Khmao was our firm’s natural choice for development as we firmly believe residential development will grow toward Ta Khmao primarily because this area is highly flood resistant.”“We see Ta Khmao as the most sustainable region for development in the near future. Phnom Penh central city will soon face overcrowding, infrastructural limitations and traffic congestion, and also higher risks of flooding. Thus, Center City Ta Khmao is a smart investment moving forward into the future of this great city.” The City Center Ta Khmao project incorporates residential, commercial (with office and retail space) and leisure amenities all in a single complex. Center City Ta Khmao will cover 15,463 square meters with a modern architectural design of two 27-story towers totaling 484 condominium units, surrounded by a 68 unit commercial complex, 2-story shopping mall, 3-story car park and one level dedicated entirely to leisure amenities. Residential units will range from studio to 3 bedrooms. SEE THE FULL LISTING

Urbanland is firmly setting themselves above the competition when it comes to Phnom Penh inner city design and residential development.  Their hugely successful Embassy Residences project, set for completion by the end of 2016, has sold 90% of all its available units. This year also heralds the upcoming launch of their second condominium project, Embassy Central. Mostly through word of mouth and exclusive networking and open house events, Embassy Central has steadily seen increased buzz and interests from buyers and investors. Hok Kang, the founder of Hok Kang Architects and Urbanland, is also the principal architect behind the leading locally owned cafe chain, Brown Coffee. Launching its first Brown’s branch on the capital’s Street 214 in 2009, the chain now has 11 unique locations each with its own architectural flare thanks to Hok and his team of architects & designers. While each Brown Cafe in Phnom Penh reflects consistent architectural and interior design themes, all embrace their own individual spin; a franchise style that the Phnom Penh cafe culture seems to have wholly accepted. Urbanland consistently separate themselves from rival projects with their attention to detail and sleek, usable design, and this is clearly demonstrated at the highly popular outlets of Brown Coffee, each humming morning and night with coffee-sipping Phnom Penhers. Meanwhile, both of Urbanland’s condo developments have heralded popular success too, for many of the same reasons. Both Embassy Residences and Embassy Central were not only shortlisted for the Cambodia Property Awards 2016 on 25 February but in fact both were awarded top in their entered categories. Embassy Residences was awarded the “Best Condo Development in Central Phnom Penh” award at this year Cambodian Property Awards series, and both Embassy Residences and Embassy Central were awarded the “Best High Rise Residential Architectural Design” prize. Upon winning the awards, Victor Huot, Urbanland's Marketing Manager said: "Being a new developer, we feel that we can separate ourselves by focusing on creating great quality spaces that we know this market needs and being awarded the top prize for both our projects gives us the confidence to keep heading in that direction." Urbanland enters all of their projects with a clear and uncompromising vision, and this confidence and demand for quality is impressing buyers.Embassy Central, an 119 unit, 25 storey condo, holds a prime location in Boeung Keng Kang 1 (BKK1), Cambodia’s classiest suburb and home to some of the city's best shopping, eating and entertainment venues. Residents can enjoy the swimming pool, multi-function room with courtyard, fitness center, sauna, outdoor dining area, and - unique to this development - residents will find some reprieve from the buzz and the heat of the inner city with the help of four idyllic sky-gardens. The project nearest completion, Embassy Residences, an 85 unit, 18 storey complex located to the south of Norodom Boulevard, shall feel the beating heart of Phnom Penh’s CBD. Facilities include guard house, underground car park, swimming pool and sundeck, children’s play center, fitness centre and lush sky garden. All condo units within Embassy Residences are furnished to the very highest standard and decorated in modern taste. "As a young local team, our mission is to help shape the landscape of Phnom Penh by creating buildings and spaces that inspire people and through this, we hope that people will start to demand quality designs and products like Embassy Central," said Victor Huot, Marketing Manager at Urbanland. Want to find out more about Urbanland’s projects currently for sale on Realestate.com.kh?Check out the full listing for Embassy Residences; and the exciting new project: Embassy Central.

Realestate.com.kh is proud to be the “OFFICIAL PROPERTY PORTAL” of the 2016 Cambodia Property Expo, in association with AMB Tarsus Events Group.The Cambodia Property Expo is an annual, international expo that brings together a host of the nation’s finest construction and property related companies under one roof. It is hosted by the Cambodia Constructors Association and the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, Cambodia.  The Cambodia Property Expo allows industry leaders to share knowledge and experience with each other, and show the public their latest projects and accomplishments. A wide variety of property developers also attend the event to showcase their latest projects and offer expo-only discounts to new buyers. By attending the Cambodia Property Expo, all exhibitors will also get an opportunity to build business relationships and network with all attendees. Meanwhile, guests from the general public will get a unique and comprehensive insight into the Cambodian construction and property industry. The Cambodia Property Expo proudly unites property owners and buyers, key shareholders and decision makers, builders, contractors, architects and real estate agents and consultants all in the same place. This expo is is not to be missed. CAMBODIA PROPERTY EXPO '16Venue: Diamond Island Convention & Exhibition Center Chamkarmon, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia Date: 8-10 September 2016Contact Information for Exhibitors, Sponsors and Guests:AMB TARSUS EVENTS GROUPM: +855 16525142 E: veasna@ambtarsus.com DOWNLOAD THE FULL EVENT BROCHURE

The first annual Real Estate Market & Outlook Conference 2016 (REMOC2016) will launch this April 1st at the Phnom Penh Hotel, 8:30am until 5:00pm, with a host of the local and regional industry leaders giving their outlooks on the state of the Cambodian real estate market.  Realestate.com.kh caught up with the speakers of REMOC2016 to get their 2 cents on the state of the current and future Cambodian property market prospects.Mr. Sim Hoy Chhoung, ceo, V Trust Appraisal Co. Ltd:What topic will you speak to at REMOC2016, and why is it a key consideration for the Cambodian Real Estate sphere?At REMOC2016 I will be speaking about property valuation industry and practice, and its importance in Cambodia. Of course, property valuation should be considered the heart of all the real estate activities and a key to developing our industry. This means that brokers and salespeople serving their clients should have a good understanding of valuation; the concepts, practices and methodology. A seller’s unrealistic asking price is a roadblock that an agent should avoid to save time and effort! Because banks take property as collateral to secure loans, weaknesses in valuation processes in the booming years could lead to a banking crisis later on, as we see from lessons learned from the Central Bank of Ireland study 2012.What were the most significant developments for the property market over the last year?Last year was the year of the condo and retail development. Thousands of units of condo launched and international grade shopping malls starting construction. These new developments still drive land market prices higher and higher until late last year.What makes you optimistic and what worries you about the Cambodian real estate market?Personally, I would not be worried about the real estate market for the year to come. The market will correct itself. In addition, compared to other countries, Cambodia still has a strict credit limit on mortgage loan and interest rates are high, and terms are shorter (below 70% credit availability while other countries are up to 80% or 90%). Let’s imagine what is going to happen if banks can increase the limit, lower interest rates or extend the terms... Or alternatively, if the government did some things to benefit the condo market such as taxes incentives… Steps like this could add more liquidity to the market and quickly boost it.What significant changes are you anticipating for the Cambodian real estate market over the next year?There will be a market correction in some subsectors and a switch of project development proposals toward the sub-sector’s that exhibit continuously high demand. The only thing that we all should know is that the market space is becoming narrower; so before committing to doing a development project, there needs to be a detailed market and feasibility study. And Vtrust is here to help in this regard. As I mentioned earlier, there are still room for policy makers to manipulate. So over the next year, the market can remain stable, one way or another.Thida Ann, senior associate director, CBRE Cambodia:What topic will you speak to at REMOC2016, and why is it a key consideration for the Cambodian Real Estate sphere? CBRE are really pleased to be involved in the conference and will have two speakers discussing the commercial office market and also Phnom Penh's Serviced Apartment Market. CBRE will aim to provide attendees with new insights and outlooks into these key sectors through our active market participation as the leading international property advisory firm in Cambodia.What were the most significant developments for the property market over the last year? 2015 marked another extremely active year in the Cambodian property market with all sectors seeing significant activity. To run through a few key trends; CBRE tracked land price appreciation at approximately 8.4% across central districts. New mid-rise office developments that came on stream through 2015 saw strong take up and grade B and C rents increased by 6.2% and 2.3% respectively. 7,014 condominium units were announced across 26 buildings in 2015 bringing total future supply due for completion by 2018 to 21,414 units. Chamkarmon saw the greatest number of project launches announced with a 37% share, secondary locations such as Sen Sok and Chroy Chang Va accounting for 15%. Occupancy in serviced apartments held strong at a healthy 90% with occupancy keeping pace with supply.James Padden, Commercial Agency Manager, CBRE Cambodia:What makes you optimistic and what worries you about the Cambodian real estate market?CBRE are optimistic about the office market. Exchange Square is due for completion in Q4 16 and has seen strong interest locally and regionally highlighting growing demand for grade A space in Phnom Penh. Increasingly we are seeing interest from companies in office space in secondary cities such as Sihanoukville, Battambang and Siem Reap highlighting that Cambodia is not all about Phnom Penh but these provincial cities are seeing strong economic growth in their own right.I think there is a need for caution regarding the residential market and we are yet to see strong domestic owner/occupier demand that is required for condominiums to really drive the market forwards. Existing investment is predominantly by overseas investors looking for capital growth. This market will be driven long term by Cambodian occupiers and this has been slowly changing but is yet to become a clear segment of demand.What significant changes are you anticipating for the Cambodian real estate market over the next year?We have seen the announcement of strata title office space for the first time in 2014 and this is a welcome trend with this asset being a popular investment in other markets such as Hong Kong and Bangkok. There will be further segmentation of the office market as Exchange Square adds to grade A office stock. High prices and limited availability of land in prime, central areas is likely to continue the trend for development in secondary locations such as Sen Sok and Chroy Changvar. I think we will also see continued development and investment activity in provincial cities such as Sihanoukville, Battambang and Siem Reap. Overall we expect 2016 to be a year of a lot of activity driven by Cambodia’s continued strong economic growth and further bolstered by the movement towards ASEAN integration as there is continued intra-ASEAN investment and regional expansion of businesses out of their home markets.Chrek Soknim, CEO, Century 21 Mekong: What topic will you speak to at REMOC2016, and why is it a key consideration for the Cambodian Real Estate sphere?At the upcoming REMOC-2016 on 1 April, I’m going to talk about the most updated Phnom Penh's Condominium Market and Trends, with Most Insights into Primary Market, Supply, Demand, and Key Successful Factors for Developers.Condominium isn’t a nascent market anymore in Phnom Penh. It’s been here now eight years, yet there are many things for developers, buyers and key players to carefully learn to get into the market insights so that they can gear to the right paths for this real estate subsector. What were the most significant developments for the property market over the last year?I believe condominiums are one of the solutions to curb with heavy traffic, increasing land prices, convenience, and a quick pace of modernizing living standards among young white-collar generation. However, with an excessive influx of condominium launches last year, the market now becomes stiffly competitive while it also offers numerous choices for buyers.What makes you optimistic and what worries you about the Cambodian real estate market?When looking at the Kingdom’s market absorption rate at an average of 32.4 months, in recent months it’s started to slow down and this needs a careful analysis on local demand, affordability, and trends, instead of relying solely on foreign market comparisons when a new developer wants to enter into condo market.What significant changes are you anticipating for the Cambodian real estate market over the next year?The condo market will suit the young generation and fulfill to their lifestyle demands. This sector will grow very fast if financial support comes from financial institutions providing the easy conditions to afford to buy condos. It is also the open market for the foreigner, which will help to supplement this sector’s growth.Kuy Vat, chairman, CVEA; chairman and ceo, Century 21 Cambodia:What topic will you speak to at REMOC2016, and why is it a key consideration for the Cambodian Real Estate sphere?At REMOC-2016 to be held on the 1st of April, we’re going to talk about general views on real estate sector, addressing opportunities and challenges for this year and the years to come.Bolstered by a gradual growth of our economy, we’ve seen that the real estate market is growing bigger and bigger, as it is so to meet the rising demand for housing, office space, retail space as well as industrial amenities, just to name a  few.  With lots of improvements in this industry so far, the year 2016 sees many opportunities despite emergence of some challenges that might somewhat cool down the market heat, for example, the condominium market. So far we’ve heard that there’s some sentiment over the condominium market, for instance, that has come with too many, resulting in stiff competition for developers to sell off their projects. But to me, I’ve got a different point of view. First, this will create jobs for local agents who are asked to help developers sell off their units. Second, through numerous available suppliers, it offers an opportunity for foreign investors to come over to our country and enjoy the newly available infrastructure and amenities currently or to be soon in place. Mr. Kim Heang, president, CVEA; ceo, Khmer Real Estate:What topic will you speak to at REMOC2016, and why is it a key consideration for the Cambodian Real Estate sphere?At the upcoming REMOC2016, I’m going to talk about situation of real estate industry and address the challenges and suggestion for future improvements in this sector.Construction and real estate sector plays an important role as an economic driving engine by increasing its economic influences on the country’s economy, especially providing construction jobs to about 10,000 workers throughout Cambodia and spillover impacts on several other economic sectors. We appreciate our industry leaders as well as key players for their effort in bringing construction and real estate sector to this point.Nevertheless, without some changes, unity and strong cooperation among the players to further improve and perform best practices for the industry (for instance, valuation subsector), we can hardly develop this sector to become a key leading industry for our country’s economy. Therefore, we have to address opportunities and key challenges for all of us to solve and improve so that everyone in the industry benefits.Hoem Seiha, Director of Research, VTrust Appraisal Co., Ltd:What topic will you speak to at REMOC2016, and why is it a key consideration for the Cambodian Real Estate sphere?At REMOC-2016 to be held on 1 April, I’m going to present to the audience about the macro perspectives on real estate industry. Developers, policy makers and related key stakeholders need sound knowledge and in-depth insights into real estate sector at macro level so that they can together work to develop and, if any, curb with challenges in the sector.Construction and real estate sector has recently grown its importance to overall economy by contributing to creation of tens of thousands of jobs, pushing demand on mortgages to rise by 19 percent in 2014, and attracting US$ billions of real estate related FDIs that have spillover impacts on many other economic sectors.With my future outlook for this sector, even though real estate market has grown so quickly that it might pose potential risks and growth volatility, I foresee this sector will soon create a new economic engine alongside with the country’s key leading sectors such as garment, tourism and agriculture.Sorn Seap, ceo, Key Real Estate:What topic will you speak to at REMOC2016, and why is it a key consideration for the Cambodian Real Estate sphere?At REMOC-2016, I’m going to present about the most updated Phnom Penh’s land market, going in-depth into market prices, zoning and development trends in the future.Phnom Penh land prices continue to rise up by 10 to 20 percent a year. Nevertheless, the whole Phnom Penh has many areas that see different price growth rates depending on many factors, including zoning, planned infrastructure, and location special features.Over the last 10 years, I’ve seen that Phnom Penh has expanded quickly. Residents not only concentrate in central business zones but also spread out to form new clusters of housing in the outskirts – with some areas are now home to tens of thousands of residents. Other locations, furthermore, will also have the same experiences in the next few years.Sung Sina, Director, Bonna Asset Appraisal Department:What topic will you speak to at REMOC2016, and why is it a key consideration for the Cambodian Real Estate sphere? Industrial Estate Market, with Most Highlights on Supply, Demand, Market Performance, Zoning, and Future Trends, and Opportunities. Thirty Years after the genocide, Cambodia is just beginning to recover. The garment industryis the country‘s main industrial activity in Cambodia. The main topic will consider the heavy traffic jams developing on the outskirts of Phnom Penh (National Road Number 2, 3, 4, 51, 41, 6A, PPSEZ, Sihanouk SEZ, Bavet SEZ and Other SEZs). I will also consider how to reduce the pollution on the environment, the need for good infrastructure and ways in which we can bring the profit to the villagers in that area. What were the most significant developments for the property market over the last year?  Over the last year, I believe condominiums are one of the solutions to the rush traffic jam, increasing the land prices, convenience, and a quick pace of modernizing living standards among the young generation. However, with an excessive influx of condominium launches last year, the market now becomes stiffly competitive while it also offers numerous choices for buyers. On the other hand, the industrial estate market is located on National Road Number 2, 3, 4, 6 and National Road Number 51, with an excessive influx and new built of factories and warehouses for Chinese investor. What makes you optimistic and what worries you about the Cambodian real estate market? When looking at the Cambodian real estate market averages increasing 5 to 10 percent for 2014, 2015 and 2016. Since last month, it has started to slow down - and this needs careful analysis on local demand, affordability, and trends; instead of relying solely on foreigner market comparisons when a new developer wants to enter into the condominium market. On other hand, with the industrial market increasing year to year, the market now becomes stiffly competitive. Yet, it also offers numerous choices for the renter. What significant changes are you anticipating for the Cambodian real estate market over the next year? The condominium market is increasing the land prices, convenience, and a quick pace of modernizing living standards among the young generation to fulfill to their life style for living. This sector will grow very fast. But the banking and microfinance sector must provide the loans with easy condition so normal Khmer can afford to buy the condominium. It is also the open market, based on the Cambodian Regulation for the foreigner, that will help to push some part of the sector to grow. Don’t miss out on REMOC2016 - find out more details HERE.

D’Seaview brings Sihanoukville’s first fully integrated residential and commercial mixed development, located alongside Sihanoukville’s most beautiful beaches.D'Seaview is selling fast! Inquire todayWith its twin towers standing at 28 storeys each, D’Seaview will bring a collection of premium executive condominiums, commercial units and a hotel to Sihanoukville’s pioneer integrated living complex. The official opening ceremony for the Camhomes’ Sihanoukville office will be held on Saturday, March 26, 2016 - This Saturday! The location of the office, where the opening ceremony will be held, is at Independence Street, beside the 2 Golden Lion Roundabout, Sangkat 4, Khan Mitipheap, Sihanoukville City. This Saturday’s opening ceremony will open to the public from 8:30AM. The chief guest of honour will be Oknha LAV Kang, from the Sihanoukville Chamber of Commerce, will also be sharing about Sihanoukville’s 5 year real estate development plan at the ceremony. With the opening of Camhomes’ Sihanoukville sales office, Camhomes can now provide investors more close proximity information about D’seaview and other Camhomes’ projects. Residents of D’Seaview can expect to live, work and play within the integrated commercial mixed residential development complex in the future, with their daily needs and desired lifestyle fully satisfied within the compound. The first phase of residential units in D’Seaview have already been fully subscribed with its second phase gaining more subscriptions everyday. D’Seaview is also supported by Camhomes’ unique Guaranteed Rental Returns offering: a significant 30% GRR over three years. With the booming tourism industry in Sihanoukville to both local and international visitors, D’Seaview’s integrated hotel and its local shophouse-style blocks are also open to bids from investors and Cambodian retailers looking to maximise their investment returns. Realise your housing and commercial dreams now; and visit Camhomes’ D’Seaview showrooms in Phnom Penh at the Canadia Tower, level 3, or in Sinhanoukville and talk to their property consultants, or check out the full listing information online at realestate.com.kh. And if you are in Sihanoukville this weekend, don’t miss the D’Seaview opening ceremony on Saturday morning. To find out more information about the Camhomes’ Sihanoukville Office Launch, please call +855 23 985 828 today.

The CVEA tour group's itinerary included conferences with the Institute of Estate Agents of Singapore (IEA), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS Singapore) and the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Johor, Malaysia. While visiting the IEA on the 4th of March, an association of real estate agents in Singapore much like the CVEA in Cambodia, a MOU agreement was signed. The purpose of the MOU “is to provide for exchange, representation, and other mutual benefits…” between the two professional associations. CEO of Towncity Real Estate and Vice President of the CVEA, Van Chanthorn, said that, “the benefit of this MOU for members of CVEA is that all CVEA members can connect directly to IEA members that have 1000 members to cooperate, promote and sell the projects that they have in Cambodia. Meanwhile, Members of the IEA in Singapore can connect directly to CVEA’s 86 member companies to cooperate and bring customers to buy the projects in Cambodia.” The agreement hopes to facilitate the sharing of ethics, real estate and valuation practice standards, and to actively encourage and facilitate business opportunities between the two association's membership. The MOU also calls for an annual exchange of information between the two parties in the form of trade junkets and conferences. Chanthorn notes that, “it is part of a longer term strategy for the CVEA. CVEA is not only focusing on the benefit sharing between IEA and CVEA but we also focusing on training and learning from each other on how to improve our members’ knowledge and experience to compete with not only in Cambodia but throughout ASEAN and Internationally.”

Condominium sales saw a slight decline in 2015, despite the rise of supply in the market and there is speculation that this pattern may seep into 2016.A 2015 CBRE report noted that the number of condos sales decreased last year largely due to investor concerns around uneven supply and demand in the market, and that many local investors prefer villas over condos. See our recent article Villa vs. Condo. In a recent Realestate.com.kh story on the real estate market predictions for 2016, Simon Griffiths, Associate Director at CBRE Cambodia stated confidence in the Phnom Penh real estate market  particularly in the condominium market, may remain low within Cambodia due to oversupply and too-rapid growth causing over-saturation, ultimately heightening exposure to risk.