Despite the government’s recent efforts to expand infrastructure development – such as roads, airports and airstrips – Cambodia’s real estate market in the first nine months of 2024 has not shown any notable positive signs, according to industry experts.

Sam Soknoeun, president of the Global Real Estate Association and SAM SN Group, told The Post on October 9 that although the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, geopolitical conflicts and ongoing armed disputes between certain countries continue to negatively impact global economic growth. 

He said that since Cambodia’s real estate market heavily depends on international investment, a struggling global economy is bound to adversely affect the Cambodian real estate sector.

“For buying, selling, renting and real estate prices in Cambodia during the first nine months of 2024, there has been no significant change compared to the end of 2023,” he added. 

However, with more than a decade of experience in real estate, Soknoeun mentioned that now is an opportunity for those with available funds and a long-term vision to acquire property in good locations at reasonable prices.

Once the global and Cambodian economies improve and the country’s infrastructure is fully developed, many national and international investors will likely pour capital into the country, all of which will require real estate, he added.

“Currently, I see potential investment areas in Phnom Penh, such as the new airport area, the areas near the Funan Techo Canal project and Arey Ksat. These are all long-term investment locations. Real estate in these areas will see significant development when the global economy recovers,” he explained. 

Sorn Seap, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA), said that the current downturn in Cambodia’s real estate market is due to multiple factors, including a slowdown in government investment resulting from the global economic crisis, the impact of war in certain countries and political tensions in various regions.

He added that the situation is so severe that property in some areas has dropped by as much as 50% below market value and remains unsold.

“When there is an economic crisis and money is hard to come by, demand for everything decreases. As I said, demand falls while supply has already risen,” he noted.

Seap explained that, based on past experience, the real estate market needs adequate time to recover after a downturn. He noted that Cambodia’s real estate sector, which struggled in 2008, only began to recover in 2012. He anticipates that the industry will recover by around 2028 this time.