Century 21 Cambodia executive director Grace Rachny Fong said that the use of real-estate services through professional companies has also increased, prompting the company to open more branches next year. Hin Pisei
US franchise real estate agent Century 21 Cambodia has reported that it sold a total of 567 residential units in the first 11 months of this year.
This was an increase of 15 per cent on the same period last year, reflecting the strong performance of the real-estate and construction sectors in Cambodia.
The value of transactions during the period was not disclosed.
The company’s executive director Grace Rachny Fong said at the Century 21 Cambodia 2nd National Convention on Monday night that real estate transactions continued to grow steadily across the Kingdom.
The event attracted more than 700 local and international real estate professionals.
Fong said that the use of services through professional companies has also increased, prompting Century 21 Cambodia, which currently has 23 branches, to open more next year.
“Next year, we are expanding to 38 branches to cover 14 districts in Phnom Penh and 24 provinces due to the strong demand in the real estate sector, coming from key provinces such as Kampot, Kep, Preah Sihanouk, Kampong Cham, Siem Reap, Battambang and Koh Kong,” she said.
Century 21 Cambodia has been present in the Kingdom for five years and currently has around 500 professional agents.
She said that the real estate market next year may face challenges, with buyers entering from other countries, such as Singapore.
Japanese firms are also starting to develop condominiums and small and medium development projects, she added.
Century 21 Imperial Realty Co Ltd CEO Ken Lo said Cambodia’s annual economic growth of seven per cent will have a positive impact on the real estate sector, in line with a growing population and increasing flows of investment into the Kingdom.
This will increase the demand for housing, as well as business and production facilities.
“The increase in operations reflects that we are a professional company and a member of the world-renowned Century 21 family,” Lo said.
Century 21’s current network spreads across 81 countries worldwide, with approximately 100,000 agents.
Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association president Chrek Soknim said that as well as vibrant home buying, awareness of the importance of using services through companies or the right professional agents in Cambodia has also grown.
This makes management much easier once the transaction has been legally completed, he stated.
“The demand from clients for professional services has sped up and [boosted] the growth of Cambodia’s real estate industry,” Soknim said.
The demand for professional services has brought the number of members of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association to 120, while last year there were 100, he added.
It is estimated that there are currently around 3,000 real estate agents in Cambodia, according to Soknim.
The government this year approved some $9.3 billion for capital investment in the construction sector. This is an increase of nearly 80 per cent compared to last year, with most of the growth coming from construction in Sihanoukville, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.
