Cambodia’s real estate sector is projected to recover, supported by a gradual increase in foreign investment inflows, while domestic investment and demand for low and medium-cost real estate units are on the rise.
This was revealed by Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance, at the 23rd virtual ASEAN Valuers Association Congress yesterday.
Similar to global trend, Cambodia’s economy in 2021 is forecast to recover at a rate of 2.4 percent due to the continued threats of Covid-19 and the slower than expected recovery of global demand, the removal of administrative measures, and the transition to the “new normal” of socio-economic activities, he said.
“At the same time, the real estate sector in Cambodia is forecast to recover at a rate of 2.4 percent in 2021 and 4.8 percent in 2022 in the wake of a weaker FDI but domestic investment and demand in affordable housing continues to show strong growth,” he added.
Pornmoniroth also emphasised that these forecasts remain as estimates due to the risk of new waves of new variant of Covid-19 that are more virulent and continue to pose challenges to global and regional development.
According to Pornmoniroth, Cambodia has already introduced 10 rounds of highly effective intervention measures, aiming at stabilising businesses and livelihoods of the people, especially workers-employees, poor families, and those who are most vulnerable to the impact of Covid-19.
The 10th round of relief measures, released end October, aimed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 crisis on social and economic sectors as well as to support and restore businesses in the context of the gradual recovery of social and economic activities in the new normal, the government said.
This was also to keep businesses afloat and to stimulate economic growth, and as such, the government decided to extend tax holidays for airline companies and tourism-related businesses for another three months from October to December, 2021.
Also, unemployed workers in garment, footwear and travel goods sectors would continue receiving $40 from the government and $30 from the suspended factory per month until end 2021, while the jobless in tourism would receive $40 a month from the government for the same period, it added.
In mid-October, the government also announced to continue providing cash assistance to nearly 700,000 families hit by COVID-19 for another three months from October to December.
Government support to the affected population has been unprecedented, at up to 5 percent of GDP. A broad package of support includes health-related spending and income assistance, equity injections and loan guarantees, development spending, and tax relief.
The government’s large fiscal support program is expected to turn the budget from a surplus in 2019 into a deficit in 2020.
Construction & Property reported that after the number of COVID-19 cases dropped and the government announced the country’s reopening on 1 November, many real estate analysts are optimistic that the market will significantly recover in 2022.
President of Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA) Chrek Soknim has projected that the real estate market in Cambodia will see considerable growth in 2022, especially after Chinese New Year, with a 30% – 40% increase in foreign investors expected.
Chrek stated that the most important point to help investors make a profit in real estate investment is to clearly understand about their own financial situation.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
