News roundup: Cambodia’s real estate and construction sector gets tax relief aid, and other headlines

For PropertyGuru’s real estate news roundup, tax relief aids Cambodia’s real estate and construction sector. In other headlines, office leasing in Pune, India is projected to hit a record high, while rising seller confidence spells good news for Australian property buyers.

Tax relief aids real estate, construction

Real estate experts believe the government’s decision to extend certain tax exemptions for the real estate and construction sector until the end of 2024 is a strategy intended to stabilise the market and create a conducive transactional environment, as well as draw more investors to Cambodia.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance issued a notification on 4th January regarding the “Continuation of tax exemption principles, additional tax preferences and extensions and suspension of tax practices for the real estate sector”, reflecting the government’s ongoing strategy.

According to The Phnom Penh Post, the ministry said the decision aligns with the resolutions of the 19th Government-Private Sector Forum in November 2023.

Office leasing in Pune expected to hit a record-high of 7 msf in 2024

As per CBRE India, Pune’s office segment leasing is projected to hit 7 million square foot (msf) in 2024, the highest ever in the last six years. With this, the city currently stands as the sixth-largest office market in India. The availability of land banks has been identified as a significant factor driving this growth, enabling the development of expansive office campuses and providing a diverse selection of high-quality assets at competitive rates. This combination is proving highly attractive to businesses seeking expansion or relocation opportunities.

In a Housing.com report, office leasing in Pune touched 6.3 msf in 2023, a 13 percent increase from 2022. This growth stemmed from high-quality developments, a strong talent pool and competitive pricing. The demand was spread across prime areas, including Aundh, Baner and Viman Nagar, among others, with each zone absorbing nearly 1.5 msf. New players, such as Prestige and Salarpuria, and institutional investors such as Mapletree, entered the market, further fueling activity.

Why rising seller confidence is good news for buyers

More home sellers believe it’s a good time to put their property on the market, which has led to an influx of new home listings across Australia.

Nationally, there was a 16.6 percent year-on-year increase in new listings on realestate.com.au in February, while total listings rose 7.2 percent. The surge in activity is particularly notable in capital cities, where new listings reached their highest levels since 2012.

PropTrack reported that recent data from realestate.com.au’s Residential Audience Pulse Survey underscored the trend, revealing that one in ten Australian consumers were contemplating selling their property.

Seller confidence has significantly improved in the past 12 months, with 43 percent of survey respondents now considering it a favorable time to sell, a notable increase from 34 percent in January last year.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].