Factors Shaping Homebuyer Perceptions in Phnom Penh’s Real Estate Market, Cambodia: A Quantitative Survey Analysis

Phnom Penh is experiencing rapid urbanization, which has led to a proliferation of real estate development projects. However, at the same time, problems facing this market include both overproduction and desperate marketing attempts, as well as the continued mismatch between supply and demand in housing for local residents. Empirical evidence for Cambodia’s capital is scarce, although the influences of property features, marketing strategies, and economic conditions on buyer behavior have been addressed in earlier studies published from Southeast Asia. Drawing on responses from 410 Phnom Penh residents with stable monthly incomes who were diverse in terms of age, gender, education, occupation, and marital status. Both English and Khmer versions of a structured questionnaire were used to collect responses, followed by descriptive statistical analysis of the data to identify the factors that play a dominant role in influencing home purchase intentions and decisions among Phnom Penh residents from different backgrounds. Results indicate that property characteristics (M = 4.03, SD = 0.76) and financial and access factors (M = 3.95, SD = 0.74) were rated highest, while buyer perception and marketing influence (M = 3.72, SD = 0.79) also played a significant role. Among these domains, importance was placed on legal ownership paperwork (M = 4.38, SD = 0.74), safety and security (M = 4.30, SD = 0.71), and affordability and financing options (M = 3.87–4.06), which were revealed to be the key decision-making elements. The research aims to provide contextually relevant recommendations for developers, marketers, financial institutions, and policymakers in Cambodia. Its originality lies in being one of the first Phnom Penh–specific, factor-based empirical studies on homebuyer attitudes, and in contributing to the regional literature on urban housing processes in Southeast Asia, while confirming the main hypothesis that microeconomic and perceptual factors play a significant role in shaping real estate behavior among Generation Z homebuyers.