What a Cambodian Condo Costs You to Complete, 2026

Quick answer: A Cambodian condo costs between about 11% and 16% more than its headline price to complete and furnish, and the percentage is worst on the cheapest stock. Three worked totals below carry an entry unit, a mid-market one-bedroom and a family two-bedroom from asking price to the first anniversary.

Every fee table on the Cambodian internet lists the ingredients. This page adds them up at three named ticket sizes, then holds the unit for twelve months. For the rates themselves, see Cambodia property taxes and fees.

Two assumptions run through all three worked totals and both are conservative rather than optimistic. Transfer tax is modelled at the full 4% of assessed value even though an incentive runs to 31 December 2026, because the assessed figure is set by the authority rather than by your contract and a buyer who budgets for the relief and does not receive it has a funding gap on completion day. Furnishing is modelled at a letting standard rather than a minimum, because a unit furnished to the minimum does not compete in the band it was bought into. Where your own purchase differs: an assessed value below the price, a unit you will occupy rather than let, a developer package that includes furniture, adjust the line and keep the structure.

What does a Cambodian condo actually cost you to complete?

Completion cost in Cambodia typically adds 11% to 16% to the headline price for foreign buyers, and the range depends far more on unit size than on district. Transfer tax is 4% of assessed value. Everything else, legal review, registration, furnishing, the first service charge, is either fixed or driven by square metres.

Line	Basis	Indicative 2026
Transfer tax	4% of assessed value	Incentive to 31 December 2026
Legal review	Fixed by complexity	$800 to $3,500
Registration and disbursements	Fixed	$200 to $600
Furnishing to letting standard	Driven by size	$3,500 to $28,000
First-year service charge	About $1.50 per sqm per month	$900 to $2,000
Annual property tax	0.1% above about $24,570	$40 to $475

What we could verify are the rates; what we could not confirm for any individual purchase is the assessed value, because Cambodian transfer tax is charged on an official assessment rather than automatically on the contract price. That single fact makes every published total an estimate, and it is the reason our underwriting checklist asks a lawyer for an expected assessment before the offer rather than after. The other structural point in this table is that four of the six lines do not scale with price at all. A buyer at $40,000 pays broadly the same legal fee, the same registration cost and a similar minimum furnishing package as a buyer at $120,000, which is why the percentage overhead falls as the ticket rises.

• Ask your lawyer for the expected assessed value before you agree a price.
• Treat furnishing as part of the purchase if you intend to let the unit.
• Confirm the service charge per sqm in writing, not as a monthly estimate.
• Read the taxes and fees guide for the rates in detail.
• Check the stamp duty timing on the incentive page.

What does an entry unit at $45,000 really cost?

An entry Phnom Penh studio priced at $45,000 completes near $51,800, which is 15.1% over the headline. That overhead is the highest of the three examples on this page, because the fixed lines that foreign buyers pay do not shrink to match a small ticket.

Line	Amount
Purchase price	$45,000
Transfer tax at 4%	$1,800
Legal review	$1,200
Registration and disbursements	$300
Furnishing, 35 sqm entry standard	$3,500
Completion total	$51,800, some 15.1% over the price

Our analysis of the entry tier is that the furnishing line is where buyers try to save and where the saving costs most. A 35 sqm studio at $45,000 competing for a tenant at $250 to $400 a month is competing against hundreds of near-identical units, and the only variables a landlord controls are the finish, the floor and the response time. Holding the unit for a year then adds about $630 of service charge at $1.50 per sqm per month, a sinking-fund contribution, and, if it is let at $325 a month, 14% of $3,900 in non-resident rental tax plus 8% to 12% management. The first-year all-in on this buyer scenario is close to $52,700, against a headline that said $45,000.

• Budget the furnishing before you commit, not after completion.
• Model the let at 2 months of vacancy, not 1, on commodity stock.
• Read the under-$50,000 tier for the product detail.
• Check what the same money buys elsewhere in how much a condo costs.
• Confirm the rental tax position in rental income tax for foreign owners.

What does a mid-market one-bedroom at $110,000 cost?

A mid-market one-bedroom priced at $110,000 completes near $124,300, an overhead of about 13%. The unit is larger at 55 sqm, so furnishing and service charge rise, but the fixed lines foreign buyers pay are now a much smaller share of the total.

Line	Amount
Purchase price	$110,000
Transfer tax at 4%	$4,400
Legal review	$1,500
Registration and disbursements	$400
Furnishing, 55 sqm letting standard	$8,000
Completion total	$124,300, some 13% over the price

Our underwriting checklist treats this tier as the one where the first-year holding cost starts to matter as much as the completion cost. Service charge at $1.50 per sqm on 55 sqm is about $990 a year. Annual property tax at 0.1% of value above roughly $24,570 adds close to $85. If the unit lets at $700 a month, gross rent of $8,400 attracts 14% in non-resident rental tax, some $1,176, before 8% to 12% management and one to two months of vacancy. Add those and the true first-year cash requirement is nearer $127,000 against a $110,000 asking price, which is the number to take to a mortgage conversation rather than the headline.

• Take the completion total, not the asking price, to any financing discussion.
• Confirm the sinking-fund balance and any planned levy before you complete.
• Model the rent against the Phnom Penh rental yield guide.
• Compare the tier in the $100,000 one-bedroom guide.
• Check the furnishing assumptions in the furnishing and rental-standard guide.

What does a family two-bedroom at $300,000 cost?

A family two-bedroom priced at $300,000 completes near $335,100, an overhead of about 11.7%, the lowest of the three. The furnishing budget rises to $20,000 because the tenant foreign buyers target at this level compares the unit against serviced apartments at $600 to $1,200.

Line	Amount
Purchase price	$300,000
Transfer tax at 4%	$12,000
Legal review	$2,500
Registration and disbursements	$600
Furnishing, 100 sqm expat standard	$20,000
Completion total	$335,100, some 11.7% over the price

Our read of the premium tier is that the completion percentage flatters it and the holding cost does not. Service charge on 100 sqm at $1.50 per sqm runs about $1,800 a year, more than double the entry unit. Annual property tax at 0.1% of the value above about $24,570 is roughly $275. A family two-bedroom letting at $1,800 a month produces $21,600 gross, which attracts $3,024 in non-resident rental tax at 14% with no expense deduction, plus management at 8% to 12%. The buyer scenario worth modelling is a single void: two months empty at this level costs $3,600, more than the entire annual service charge, which is why tenant covenant matters more here than yield percentage.

• Weigh the finish budget as a letting decision, not a decoration decision.
• Model a 2-month void explicitly at this tier, because it costs more in absolute terms.
• Read the $300,000 tier for the district choice.
• Compare against the $500,000 tier before stretching.
• Confirm the tenant assumptions in the rental yield guide.

Why is the percentage worse on cheaper stock?

Completion cost in Cambodia is regressive, which means the cheapest stock carries the heaviest proportional load. A $1,200 legal review costs 2.7% of a $45,000 studio and 0.4% of a $300,000 two-bedroom, and the same asymmetry runs through registration, the minimum furnishing package and the fixed elements of any purchase.

Ticket	Fixed lines as a share	Total overhead
$45,000 entry studio	About 3.3%	About 15.1%
$110,000 one-bedroom	About 1.7%	About 13%
$300,000 two-bedroom	About 1%	About 11.7%
Legal review at $1,200	2.7% at $45,000	0.4% at $300,000
Registration at $300	0.7% at $45,000	0.1% at $300,000
Transfer tax at 4%	Flat across all tickets	Flat

Our read is that this changes what “affordable” means in Cambodian marketing. Entry-tier stock is sold on the smallest possible headline number, and the fixed costs behind it are the same ones a premium buyer pays, so the real gap between a $45,000 studio and a $110,000 one-bedroom is narrower in percentage terms than the tickets suggest. The red flag to watch for is a sales pitch that quotes the price and the payment plan but never the completion total, because the completion total is where the entry tier looks least attractive. Ask any agent quoting an entry unit to produce the same table this page produces, and note how they respond.

• Ask every agent for a completion total, not a price and a plan.
• Compare tiers on the completed number, not the headline.
• Do not skip legal review to protect a thin margin on cheap stock.
• Read the deposit protection guide before you pay anything.
• Check the entry-tier reality in the under-$50,000 guide.

What changes on 1 January 2027?

Two dates frame every Cambodian purchase completing in the next 18 months and they pull against each other. The transfer-tax incentive runs to 31 December 2026, rewarding early registration, while capital gains tax of 20% of the gain applies to non-residents disposing of Cambodian assets from 1 January 2027.

Date	What happens	Who it affects
Through 31 December 2026	Transfer duty incentive in force	Buyers registering inside 2026
From 1 January 2027	20% capital gains tax on the gain	Non-resident sellers
Through late 2026	Sellers deciding which side to land on	Both
Any date	4% transfer tax on assessed value	Buyers
Any date	14% rental tax on gross for non-residents	Landlords
Any date	0.1% annual property tax above $24,570	Owners

Our read is that the buyer-side effect of the 2027 change is mostly indirect and mostly favourable through late 2026. A seller wanting to crystallise a gain before the charge applies has an incentive to complete inside 2026, which creates negotiating room for a buyer whose funds and diligence are already in order. The trap is letting that deadline compress your own verification: a rushed quota check or an unread agreement costs far more than the duty saved. Our underwriting checklist puts the diligence sequence first and the calendar second, every time. Work the numbers with the taxes guide and the stamp duty page.

• Do not let a tax deadline set your verification schedule.
• Ask whether a motivated seller is racing the 2026 boundary, and price accordingly.
• Model the exit charge at the same time as the entry cost.
• Read the stamp duty incentive detail.
• Confirm your own position with an adviser in your home jurisdiction.

What does it cost to hold the unit each year?

Holding cost in Cambodia is driven by floor area and by tax status rather than by purchase price, which is why two units bought for the same money can cost very different amounts to keep. Service charge runs about $1.50 per sqm per month, and a non-resident landlord pays 14% of gross rent with no expense deduction.

Line	Basis	55 sqm one-bedroom	100 sqm two-bedroom
Service charge	About $1.50 per sqm per month	About $990	About $1,800
Annual property tax	0.1% above about $24,570	About $85	About $275
Rental income tax	14% of gross, non-resident	$1,176 on $8,400	$3,024 on $21,600
Management	8% to 12% of rent	$672 to $1,008	$1,728 to $2,592
Vacancy	1 to 2 months a year	$700 to $1,400	$1,800 to $3,600
Sinking fund	Building-specific	Request 12 months of statements	Same

Our underwriting checklist treats the sinking fund as the line most likely to surprise a new owner, because it is the only one a buyer cannot calculate from public rates. A building that has under-collected for 5 years funds its lift refurbishment through a special levy, and that levy lands on whoever owns the unit when the vote passes rather than on whoever owned it while the shortfall accumulated. Ask for 12 months of statements and the current balance before you complete, and ask whether any major works are scheduled. A $2,000 levy is 4.4% of an entry unit’s purchase price and a rounding error on a premium one, so this is another line where the cheaper ticket carries the heavier proportional risk.

• Request 12 months of sinking-fund statements and the current balance.
• Ask whether any major works or special levies are scheduled or under discussion.
• Model 2 months of vacancy rather than 1 on commodity stock.
• Confirm your tax residence position before assuming the 14% rate applies.
• Check the district rent assumptions in the rental yield guide.

What is not in these totals?

Three costs sit outside the tables above because they depend on choices rather than on rates, and foreign buyers routinely discover them after completion. Financing charges, currency conversion and the cost of the ownership structure can each add more than the transfer tax.

Line	When it applies	Indicative
Developer instalment interest	Any long payment plan	Up to 9% a year on advertised borey plans
Bank mortgage interest and fees	Where financing is available	Rate plus arrangement fee
Currency conversion	Any purchase funded outside USD	Spread plus transfer charge, per tranche
Lease, company or trust setup	Landed property only	Setup plus annual maintenance
Snagging and rectification	Off-plan handover	Budget a contingency
Second-year special levy	Buildings with a weak sinking fund	Building-specific

Our underwriting checklist treats currency as the quiet one. A buyer funding a 40-month instalment plan from a non-USD account converts money 40 times, and a spread that looks trivial on one transfer is not trivial across forty. Ask your bank for the all-in cost per transfer, including the receiving fee in Cambodia, and multiply it by the number of instalments before you accept a plan. On landed property, add the structure: a lease, company or trust is not a one-off legal fee but an ongoing cost that runs as long as you hold the asset, which is the point the structures comparison makes in full.

Closing verification checklist

Before you agree a price: ask your lawyer for the expected assessed value rather than assuming the contract price, obtain the service charge per square metre in writing, request the sinking-fund balance and any planned levy, price the furnishing package as part of the purchase, confirm which side of 31 December 2026 the registration will fall on, and produce the completion total for every unit on your shortlist so that you are comparing completed numbers rather than headlines.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I budget on top of the purchase price in Cambodia? +

Between about 11% and 16% of the ticket to complete and furnish, depending on the size of the unit. The percentage is worst on the cheapest stock, because the fixed lines, legal review, registration, a minimum furnishing package, do not shrink with the price. A $45,000 studio carries about 15.1% while a $300,000 two-bedroom carries about 11.7%.

What is the transfer tax in Cambodia? +

4% of assessed value, and the assessed value is not always the price you paid. An incentive runs to 31 December 2026, so timing matters: a transfer registered inside 2026 and one registered in 2027 are taxed differently. Model the duty on the assessed figure your lawyer expects, not on the contract price.

What does a lawyer cost for a Cambodian purchase? +

About $800 to $3,500 depending on complexity, which is roughly 0.7% to 1.5% of a mid-market ticket. It is the single most regressive line in the budget: the same $1,200 review is 3% of a $40,000 studio and 0.4% of a $300,000 unit, and skipping it on cheap stock is exactly where buyers lose deposits.

What does furnishing a Phnom Penh rental cost? +

About $3,500 to $12,000 for entry and mid-market units, and $15,000 to $28,000 for a family two-bedroom finished to expat standard. It is not optional if you intend to let: the tenant compares your unit against serviced apartments at $600 to $1,200 all-inclusive, and an under-furnished unit drops out of its price band.

What does it cost to hold a Cambodian condo for a year? +

Service charge at about $1.50 per sqm per month, so $75 to $165 depending on size; annual property tax at 0.1% of value above about $24,570; the sinking-fund contribution; plus 14% of gross rent for a non-resident landlord with no expense deduction and 8% to 12% management if you let it.

What changes on 1 January 2027? +

Capital gains tax of 20% of the gain applies to non-residents disposing of Cambodian assets. It does not affect the cost of buying, but it changes what a sale nets, and it changes how sellers behave through the second half of 2026 while the transfer-duty incentive is still running.