Real estate transactions mirror state incentives

via CAAI

Thursday, 14 October 2010 15:02 Soeun Say

SEVERAL housing developers have already seen a positive response to the foreign co-ownership law changes with sales boosts and key players in the property market, and investment experts are positive in their reactions to the changes.

Interviewed by the Post, many believe the co-ownership property law and a sub-decree will boost Cambodia’s market potential although they remain uncertain of the time frame for change.

Un Mouy, sales and marketing manager for Two Town Co, a Taiwanese developer behind the Bali Resort housing development project, said that it had already seen a jump in demand from foreigners following the foreign property law’s introduction earlier this year.

“It is good news for us to build more apartments and condominiums to sell in Cambodia. Thanks to the new law my project sales [condos] is better and better,” she said.

Un Mouy believes the 50 percent sales to date is a positive sign for the co-ownership law’s impact.

“Once the law was passed it paved the way to attract foreigners to buy our apartments. It is the right time and a good time to invest in housing development – that’s why we started to build,” she said.

A South Korean housing developer has sold almost half of its US$4 million condominium development project in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, and the foreign property ownership law passed three months ago has helped sales, Sy Veacha, personal secretary to the Maison Ruby condominium developer In Keun Oh said.

“We have already sold 25 units out of 56. We have sold our condos since the National Assembly approved the foreign ownership law, and we hope to sell all of them by the end of the year,” she said.

Sy Veacha said the law had paved the way to attracting foreigners to buy the Maison Ruby condos, slated for completion in early 2011. All the condos sold so far have been bought by South Koreans.

“Despite the economic crisis affecting Cambodia’s property market, we never delayed our project construction because we were confident of the foreign co-ownership law,” she said.

Kheng Ser, from the management team for the South Korean developer World City, which is the developer behind the satellite development Camko City, told the Post that it would attract more investors as the property opportunities opened up.

“I think it’s a good idea to allow up to 70 percent of units to be owned by foreigners,” he said, adding the company had also sold 85 percent of the condominiums at its $2 billion development in Camko City.

Touch Samnang, project manager and architect of Oversea Corporation Investment of Cambodia, a developer behind the Diamond Island satellite city project development, expressed hope that legal changes would help develop the market by boosting sales as the number of investors able to buy into property increased.

“[The sub-decree] is quite good in developing emerging real estate markets in Cambodia. We expect that through the provision, more foreigners will consider Cambodia for their investments and second home for them to stay,” he said.

Sung Soo Kim, director of Hyundai Amco Company, said that now, he could see that foreign direct investment, tourism and imports-exports were increasing together with the number of companies registered to do business here.

“Cambodia’s real estate sector is not in a downturn anymore,” he said, adding that South Korean developers also remained confident about Cambodia’s real estate sector which was hit hard by the economic crisis and had seen rental supply outstrip demand this year.