Cambodia's real estate agents are considering staff layoffs as land and property sales continue to fall

Agents facing axe as slump continues
Written by Soeun Say
Wednesday, 10 December 2008

CAMBODIA'S real estate agents are considering staff layoffs as land
and property sales continue to fall.
Lon Sinnara, deputy director of Cambodia Estate Agents, said buying
and selling activity had declined to zero and the company was now
supported solely by its rental business.

"I have been laying off staff who are not necessary because our
company cannot earn much income like before," he said.

The president of Bonna Realty Group, Sung Bonna, said his business had
declined 50 percent since June 2008 but he was trying to ride out the
slump without laying off staff.

Sear Chailin, director of Visal Real Estate, said he was relying on
income from property management services to survive the slump, which
he expected to last at least one year.

"We are planning to reduce salary for staff or cut some staff," he
said. "We are still discussing it and have not yet decided."

Ready to pounce
Seng Sopheak, a valuation manager at Cambodia Properties Ltd, said the
company was taking the opposite approach to other companies to ensure
they were ready to capitalise when confidence returned to the market.

We are recruiting more staff to work at CPL," he said, adding the
company was also boosting staff training.
.