Despite reports of Kampot land prices dropping as low as 50 percent between 2019-2021 on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for land in the province appears to be strengthening again in 2023, buoyed not by the local market uptake – but by Phnom Penh land bankers.

Local Kampot buyers meanwhile are keeping their hands in their pockets, lacking capital, finance options and confidence to buy.

Sok Ken, owner and operator of Kampot Street Real Estate Co. Ltd. since 2015 (registering the business formally in 2019), is one of just a few local Kampot city-based real estate agencies able to weather the storm of the post-covid real estate sector in the province and keep their companies doors open to customers.

Ken notes that in 2023, while the local buyers’ market is very slow, demand for investment land by wealthy Phnom Penh buyers is the strongest it has been since pre-covid, and Kampot sellers are asking up to 30 per cent more for their land.

“In 2023, Khmer investors from Phnom Penh are seeking land tracts for residential home development with total prices between $500,000 and $1 million,” says Ken

“These buyers have cash in hand, without need for any bank loans, and are looking to put those savings into land for future residential development, for the family.”

“These buyers are looking for riverside, downtown, mountain view, or other unique and special residential properties, and the purpose is for private residential development, first and foremost,” explains Ken.

However, real estate agencies still have their work cut out for them, notes Ken, stating that, “while Phnom Penh land buyers are often looking for rock bottom prices around Kampot, sellers are generally asking 20-30 per cent more than they were in 2021 for well-located properties.”

Prime residential riverfront properties in Kampot city previously asked for around $300 per square meter in 2021.

However, sellers in 2023 are flexing more so than in previous years, allowing properties to sell at $200-250 per square meter in 2023.

The final selling price will ultimately reflect the financial position of buyer and seller, however, says Ken. “Some sellers are willing to drop to close the deal, others are not. Meanwhile, affluent buyers sometimes pay a premium for what they believe are unique and special tracts of land.”

Ken estimates that such incoming Phnom Penh buyers represent 90 percent of the provinces residential land transactions in 2023.

“In this respect the market is good,” says Ken, adding, “in that these larger investor class from Phnom Penh are not speculating, they are transacting, and at rates we didn’t see for the last few years.”

These buyers are most interested in prime land areas around the city, and seeking at least 800-1000 sqm plots or more.

The same buyers will go on to invest several hundred thousand on the construction, says Ken. Read More