Siem Reap is renowned for its overwhelming number of hotels and guest houses. However, the city is also starting to witness a growing number of residential properties being built, specifically boreys.

About five to 10 years ago, in the outskirts of Siem Reap city, there was only one borey project named Siang Nam, but this number has now expanded to at least six, with Borey Prem Prey and Borey Perfect Angkor among some of the new comers.

A female employee stationed at the under-construction Borey Perfect Angkor said the new development will consist of flats and villas.

However, the employee did not specify the price of the houses, only revealing that the starting price was $100,000.

The success of borey Premium Angkor Palace in Siem Reap has prompted its local investor to build a second borey development in the area, according to general assistant for the project, Vann Dara.

“We are going forward with the second project which is to start off with 150 houses or so,” she said.

Dara explained that because Premium Angkor Palace was one of the biggest mixed-used development projects in Siem Reap city, the timeframe for a completion date has yet to be set.

“But we’re going forward with the development little by little,” she added.

While borey developers are pouring into Siem Reap, for the locals, buying a borey to call their own is not so easy.

For Sem Theoun and his wife, who work as employees of a hotel in addition to managing their own restaurant, getting a foot into the property market is getting more difficult.

“When I arrived in Siem Reap in 2012, the land and house price here was only about $40,000-$50,000; therefore, you could afford a house in Borey Sieng Nam quite easily,” he said.

“These days, the price goes up so high that you can’t afford a borey house unless you have $10,000 on hand.”