_What to expect: Villas and Houses in Phnom Penh

Every year at Knight Frank Cambodia we receive many enquiries from families moving to Phnom Penh for villas and townhouses. Typically the standard requirement is for 4 bedrooms, a garden, swimming pool and possibly a western fitted kitchen including an oven for cooking.

The most common location requested is usually BKK 1 or to a lesser extent Tonle Bassac and the area surrounding Independence Monument, this is partly due to its central proximity to the CBD and its relative online popularity in many online property articles.

I for one fully understand the demand for these properties especially coming from the UK where the idea of a spacious villa in a tropical country bathed in sunlight and warm temperatures for the majority of the year evokes images of weekend BBQ’s and a quick dip in the pool to cool off.

Sadly the reality that will follow in this blog will, unfortunately, burst some of that bubble. That’s not to say that spacious residential villas are not available, but be prepared to make some sacrifice on your requirement should you share the same vision that I once had.

Location location location….

BKK 1 and to a lesser extent Tonle Bassac are certainly two of the most popular and in-demand residential areas. Their central proximity to Independence Monument and Norodom Boulevard makes them the perfect access point too many of the city’s major office buildings and commercial centres however this now comes at a premium. If you were to live in central London, New York City or even Bangkok you would expect to pay far higher rental rates than that of the surrounding suburbs and this is now the case for Phnom Penh.

It’s fair to say that any residential villa or house suitable for an ex-pat family will come at a very high price over USD $2,000 per month. Some properties have event breached an eye-watering USD $4,500 per month rental rate which is largely outside of the budget of most ex-pat families.

Supply vs Demand

BKK 1’s meteoric rise in popularity among a fairly affluent ex-pat residential market created a huge commercial opportunity for businesses looking to tap into that market. With the lack of traditional retail space available at the time circa 2009, many of the districts larger villas were since occupied for commercial purposes by both companies and also F&B retailers. These days you’ll see Burger King, KFC, Domino’s Pizza plus many legal and tax office and other companies, bars & restaurants operating out of former villa properties. Their budgets being considerably more than the average ex-pat family has the knock-on effect that helps inflate the higher rental rates mentioned above.

The few villa properties left suitable for residential purposes now command a very heavy premium.

Taking a dip

March and April in Cambodia are particularly hot months, with temperatures soaring way into the high 30’s and humidity fairly high a quick dip in the pool to cool off would be an ideal end to the day or a great start to the weekend.

Unfortunately, swimming pools in residential villa properties have never been common and are very hard to find. This is due in part to the lack of space surrounding the property in these central residential areas. Tightly packed urbanisation and minimal space surrounding private property mean few to non-existent swimming pools are included as part of a city centre residential property.

Cooking up a storm

Quite often we find that our European clients would like a western fitted kitchen including a large spacious oven suitable for preparing meals for a family.

The reality is that due to the age of most residential villa properties in central Phnom Penh almost all of them do not have modern western standard kitchens. Wooden cupboards, gas canisters fitted to gas hobs are the norm. Large fridges are common, but dishwashers and hot water heaters are not.

Reality vs Expectation

Now that the reality of inner-city living in Phnom Penh has set in what can we do? How can we fulfil that dream of a spacious family home in a tropical paradise? Well fear not as here are some tips from our residential experts at Knight Frank Cambodia.

As with many cities around the world, the outer suburbs can provide better value for money. Borey’s or gated communities that surround Phnom Penh are on the increase. Many of which have a variety of 4 bedroom spacious villas ranging typically from as low as USD $800 per month to USD $2,000 per month. These properties are often modern in design, spacious and with large kitchen areas fitted with western style ovens.

Also, many Borey developments also have onsite mini-marts, children’s playgrounds and even communal swimming pools. There is, of course, a tradeoff, which is a longer commute to your place of work should you work in the city centre. This is of course down to personal preference, the idyllic relaxed dream life on the weekend at a reasonable rental amount or an expensive inner-city property that is much older but shorter commute time. The choice they say is up to you.

Knight Frank Cambodia’s residential experts have up to date listings of villas and houses for rent and sale in Phnom Penh, just get in touch with us to talk about your needs.

We look forward to serving you as your real estate agent in Cambodia. For more information on residential property in the Kingdom check out some of our other pages and guides to real estate in Cambodia.