Construction in Preah Sihanouk province’s Sihanoukville last month. The presence of Chinese investors and tourists in Sihanoukville continues to increase prices in the city. Heng Chivoan
The presence of Chinese investors and tourists in Sihanoukville continued to push real estate transactions and increase prices in the city, with major construction activities underway, say property insiders.
Previously, local property insiders predicted that real estate transactions in Preah Sihanouk province would begin to saturate, that price jumps would slow down from this year onwards and that they had peaked during the 2017-2018 period.
However, Lucky Realty Co Ltd CEO Dith Channa says the real estate sector in Sihanoukville has continued to grow strongly since early this year, with both market activity and prices rising gradually.
He said due to the large demand for land in central Sihanoukville, prices have increased more than 10 per cent compared to the end of last year.
“The growth of the sector in Sihanoukville can now be said to be strong because most of the land is taken for construction by investors or to open businesses immediately. Land brokers are rarely seen keeping them for resale to make a profit.”
Currently, land prices in the city centre are around $4,500 per sqm, while they are less than $1,000 in suburban areas, according to Channa.
The influx of Chinese investors, the speed of economic growth and the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway project will see the sector continue to grow, he said.
Key Real Estate Co Ltd director Sorn Seap echoed the assessment, saying Sihanoukville real estate transactions and land prices continue to grow.
“Opportunities to invest in real estate in Sihanoukville remains plentiful, especially in suburban areas [which are more spacious],” he said.
Seap said rental prices remain steady. Apartment rent in a commercial area can be between $5,000 and $8,000 per month.
However, Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association president Chrek Soknim seemed to be less optimistic.
He said property price increases were set to slow. “This is a phase of the construction boom, so the price of buying and selling will not strongly increase thanks to it already peaking in 2018,” he said.
