While foreigners cannot buy land in Cambodia, much like in the Philippines and Thailand you can buy an apartment in Cambodia.
The way this basically works is that as a foreigner you cannot own land that is in the ground floor, but you can buy as long as it is not, this basically means you can buy an apartment or a condo.
To read about the laws on owning property as a foreigner click here.
What is the process to buy an apartment in Cambodia as a foreigner?
Not all that much different to if you were to buy one in your own country, with Cambodia pretty much giving you the same rights as a Khmer, so long as you have a work visa in the country.
One you have picked your apartment you then either shell out the cash, or go for some kind of financing, which there are actually some options even for a foreigner.
How does financing work when you an apartment in Cambodia?
There tends to be different options, which range from interest free to developer loans. Interest free will typically have you paying off a fixed sum for two years, then paying the balance after. For a condo that costs $40,000 this roughly equated to say 300 a moth and then paying the balance of 24,000 at the end of the two years.
Other options are taking a developer loan, which for the same $40,000 would mean 10 percent down then about $400 a month for ten years. The interest tends to be higher on a developer loan, but you do not have to go through the hoopla that a bank will make you do.
And while the cheaper ones tend to be out of town, some are conveniently located near football stadiums, which makes watching football in Cambodia easier – I digress somewhat….
How much does it cost to buy an apartment in Cambodia?
This will depend greatly on where you want to buy and exactly what you need. The more high end barang friendly places tend to start around the $60-80,00 mark, with ceiling being pretty much as much as you are ready to spend. Phnom Peng also has some truly high end digs.
On the lower budget end it is possible too get places for as little as $32,000 out in the sticks, or closer to $40,000, or $50,000 if you want to go all in and get a one bedroom apartment.
And what do yo get for it? Well again that depends massively, but for some context a $40,000 studio on the Kandal side of the river comes with a swimming pool and a gym, not fancy ones, but still a gym and a pool none the less.
If one were to go somewhere like Prey Veng, or Svay Rieng I am sure it would be even cheaper, but hey who would want to live in one of these places….
And is it a good investment?
Buying property anywhere tends to be a good investment, but buying in South-East Asia is akin ti buying money pretty much. Your investment will undoubtedly go up and you will also save dead money that would have just gone on rent otherwise.
It truly is amazing how many foreigners throw money away on rent, seemingly unaware just how easy out is to buy and apartment in Cambodia.
And that is the overall skinny on buying somewhere to live in Phnom Penh as a foreigner. Cambodia is frequently voted one of the best places in the world t retire, but I would go further than that! Cambodia truly is in my mind the easiest place to live as an expat, with ease of buying a property but mere icing on an already great cake.