Many foreigners who have bought real estate in Cambodia have paid more than they should have. If you get a Cambodian to negotiate for you, they normally get a secret commission, so the price may be higher.

I heard of one place where the seller got $7000, the buyer paid $17000, and $10000 was commission.

I guess it depends whether you trust your khmer negotiator to be working for your interests or not.

On the other hand, if you cut the middle man out, aren't you open fodder anyway to be ripped off as a barang?

explorer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:09 am

bittermelon wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:57 am Does anybody have any idea regarding current land prices. I gather they have gone up everywhere.

Prices have gone up.

Some real estate in Cambodia is more expensive than real estate in Australia.

The bubble will burst one day. I dont know when.

Prices vary from place to place. You need to look at each place on its merits. Compare a number of different places.

Many foreigners who have bought real estate in Cambodia have paid more than they should have. If you get a Cambodian to negotiate for you, they normally get a secret commission, so the price may be higher.

I heard of one place where the seller got $7000, the buyer paid $17000, and $10000 was commission. There are laws against this in Australia.

Land in Cambodia is sometimes sold by the lineal meters of frontage. Not by the square meter. But you can convert.

10000 USD commission over a 7000 USD sale seems a bit steep. 5-10% is more common I think. When I bought the land for my house in the province I paid 3.200 USD and the commission was 100$.

In the provinces it's very common to sell by the meter of the front, but this doesn't mean they will sell just a part. It's just a way of displaying the price.

In major towns land prices are outrageous now. For instance in my town in Ratanakiri for a 20 x 40 m plot the price can be over 400k usd. While the plot is in the center of town, on the large scale of things it's still an extremely remote place, with pretty difficult access to the rest of the world. For that price you get very little people passing by, a so so road, no access to clean water, no access to electricity, no access to some kind of sewage system...... How people think they will ever be able to start a profitable business on that piece of land other than selling it with a profit is beyond me.

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:51 am

Many foreigners who have bought real estate in Cambodia have paid more than they should have. If you get a Cambodian to negotiate for you, they normally get a secret commission, so the price may be higher.

I heard of one place where the seller got $7000, the buyer paid $17000, and $10000 was commission.

I guess it depends whether you trust your khmer negotiator to be working for your interests or not.

On the other hand, if you cut the middle man out, aren't you open fodder anyway to be ripped off as a barang?

If you are really interested in buying land, you should spend some time around the place. At least a few days.
Since prices of sales are not recorded in a central place you will have to ask around about past sales prices. Most locals are pretty aware of the current prices of land, and you will need to make sure you get access to the info before even thinking about making an offer.

You should also make sure you are fully aware what the actual status of the land is. In Ratanakiri for instance it's not uncommon people have been using state land for a while, and they were never abandoned until now. If they put the land up for sale you can buy it but you will never become the legal owner. The village chief will happily hand over a soft title in return for a decent fee from the seller, but that's hardly providing you with any protection.

The status of the land is local knowledge available too. Ask around.