Illustrating what many in the sector say is a growth of diversity in the real estate industry, the Cambodia Real Estate Association (CREA) has been created to focus on the situation of small real estate companies.

In Mean, spokesman for CREA, which is set to launch in the third quarter of 2018, said the association aims to fill gaps that have been missed during the sector’s period of rapid expansion.

While the existing real estate association is mostly focused on big companies, the new association will focus on smaller outfits, he said.

“One of the key principles of CREA is to work hard to help smaller companies so that they can join the sector and create a single voice,” he said. “The new association also gives companies in the sector a different option when choosing to join an association.”

An annual report from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction released earlier this year showed 3,052 development projects were approved last year, with a total value of $6.42 billion. That’s up from 2,405 projects totalling $5.25 billion in 2016.

Kim Heang, president of Cambodian Valuers Estate Agents Association (CVEA), welcomes the new body, however he questioned whether it would benfit the sector.

“Cambodia has valuer and real estate agent associations that is already running smoothly,” he said, adding that the existing association is sufficient to meet demand in the country.

CVEA, he claimed, is already cooperating well with real estate associations in Asean, Korea, China and the US.

CVEA currently has 92 members, or nearly 70 percent of all licensed real estate companies in Cambodia, according to Heang.