The latest report on the Phnom Penh property market from local firm Vtrust Appraisal says that Sen Sok district is starting to pick up in value as nearby Tuol Kouk climbs to the likely upper reaches of its recent dizzying price rises.

The Vtrust report says both districts, which lie northwest of central Phnom Penh, have enjoyed rapid growth in terms of residential and commercial developments.

The suburban Sen Sok, for example, has witnessed what Vtrust calls a noticeable change in pace of developments, especially in mixed-use housing and infrastructure, which can be seen in the changing skyline and the rapid surge in land prices over the last three years.

“This growth will continue its pace as developers foresee market optimism over the next coming years,” the report says.

In Sen Sok, the average market price of land at the end of 2013 was $380 per square metre. By the first-half of this year, prices had risen to $690, an average year-on-year growth of 27 per cent.

The report notes that over the last decade, the northern fringes of Toul Kouk have been the main destination for residential relocation from those in central parts of Phnom Penh because of the large portions of vacant land and the area’s proximity to the centre of the capital.

This caused a heave in land prices, from an average across the district of about $1,100 per square metre in 2005 to a figure of around $2,530 in the first half of this year.

But the report also says that many parts of Tuol Kouk seemed to almost- reach their price caps, “as many available development and establishment opportunities have now appeared elsewhere throughout many of the peripheral parts of the district and its neighbourhoods, offering much lower prices and promising opportunities.”

According to the report, the ongoing trend of relocation from central Phnom Penh to suburban areas in a bid to cope with rapid land price growth, worsening traffic and increasingly overcrowded central areas, has led to people moving out and forming new towns and communities.

More importantly, Vtrust notes, new projects including the second Aeon Mall are planned for the outskirts of the city.

“These factors have brought about more demand for the area, including housing units and parcels of land, thus pushing prices to hike rapidly.”