Gross Area and Net Area in Cambodia: How to Compare Apartment Size Before Buying

Prepared by the NovAsia Editorial Team

> Important. This material is for general educational purposes and is not legal, technical or financial advice. Any calculations are illustrative examples; verify the area, the measurement method and the consequences of any deviation against the contract, floor plan and cadastral documents for the specific property.

When buying a condominium in Cambodia, do not compare projects by one large square-metre number from a brochure. Before reserving a unit, you should separately identify the internal space, balcony area, commercial saleable area, the area used to calculate the price, and the area expected to appear in the purchase contract and future title. Only then can you understand how much you are paying for the space you will actually use.

The words "gross area" and "net area" are often used as if they were universal, but they do not guarantee that every developer is measuring the same things. In one project, gross area may include external walls and a balcony. In another, it may also include a distributed share of corridors, lift lobbies or other common areas. The right question is not simply "how many square metres is this apartment?" It is: "What exactly is included in each figure, and which figure is used for the price, title and future fees?"

This article is general information for property buyers. It is not legal, surveying, valuation or financial advice. The area method and consequences of any difference must be checked in the actual sale and purchase agreement, floor plan, condominium documents and cadastral records for the specific unit.

The three area figures buyers should separate

A unit sold off-plan or newly completed may have several different area figures at the same time. The first is the commercial area used by the developer in the sales price. The second is the internal usable area: the space inside the apartment that can realistically hold a bed, desk, kitchen, sofa, wardrobes and circulation routes. The third is the legal or title-related area that describes the private unit in the condominium register.

These figures may be close. They may also differ by a meaningful percentage.

Commercial area is convenient for sales because it can include more than the floor space inside the unit. Internal usable area answers the buyer’s practical question: how much room will I actually live in or rent out? Title area is a legal figure that may matter for registration, the owner’s share in the building, foreign quota calculations and resale.

None of these figures should be silently substituted for another. If a brochure says 52 square metres, that does not necessarily mean there will be 52 square metres of internal floor space. But a smaller title area does not automatically prove deception either; the developer may have marketed a broader commercial area and later registered only the private unit area.

Before booking, ask the developer or agent to fill in a simple table for the exact unit:

If the sales team cannot explain this in writing, the unit is not yet ready for serious price comparison.

Where the difference between gross and net area comes from

The difference between gross and net area is not always just a corridor outside the unit. It may include internal partitions, external walls, columns, shafts, balconies, niches, structural projections or a share of common areas. Each element has a different economic value, and not all of it gives the buyer usable private space.

A thick external wall may be necessary for the building but cannot be furnished. A column may sit inside the unit boundary while reducing layout flexibility. A large balcony may be valuable to one buyer and almost irrelevant to another. A share of a lift lobby or corridor may be part of a saleable calculation but is not space the owner can exclusively use.

For this reason, the usable-area ratio should not be treated as an automatic quality ranking. A unit with an 80% ratio can still have a long inefficient corridor. A unit with a 72% ratio may have a well-shaped bedroom, useful storage and a generous balcony. The ratio is a filter, not a final verdict.

The balcony needs special attention. In one project, it may be included in net area. In another, it may be shown separately. In a third, it may be counted only in the commercial saleable area. If you compare those offers without normalising the method, the project with the broader area basis may appear cheaper than it really is.

Recalculate every offer on the same basis

For most buyers, the clearest practical comparison is the price per internal square metre. It is not the only metric and it is not a legal valuation, but it shows the cost of the private space you can actually use.

Consider a unit priced at USD 80,000:

• Commercial saleable area: 52 sq m
• Internal usable area: 39 sq m
• Balcony: shown separately
• Total price: USD 80,000

Price by commercial area:

USD 80,000 / 52 = about USD 1,538 per sq m

Price by internal area:

USD 80,000 / 39 = about USD 2,051 per sq m

The buyer is not paying extra beyond the contract price. What changes is the understanding of what the advertised square-metre price actually means. In this example, the internal-metre price is about one third higher than the brochure-style price.

When comparing several projects, choose one basis and apply it consistently. Do not divide one unit by internal area and another by gross area, then conclude that the first is overpriced. If one developer will not disclose the internal area, that project cannot be fairly compared with a transparent competitor yet.

A useful secondary figure is the usable-area ratio:

internal area / commercial saleable area x 100

For 39 sq m internal and 52 sq m commercial area, the ratio is 75%. That means three quarters of the commercial figure is internal space under that project’s method. The remaining 25% is not automatically "wasted"; you first need to understand what it includes.

Why market reports and sales lists may not match

Market reports, developer price lists and resale ads may use different area bases. A professional report may state its methodology in a footnote, but buyers often miss it. As a result, a project price and a market average can look comparable while the denominator is different.

If a market report quotes new-launch prices by net saleable area and a developer advertises by gross commercial area, you need to convert before comparing.

For example, a project advertises USD 1,600 per commercial square metre and its internal usable ratio is 75%. The approximate internal-metre price is:

USD 1,600 / 0.75 = about USD 2,133

Only after this conversion can you compare the project with market statistics, ready units and other developments. You still need to consider floor level, view, completion date, furniture, building quality and ownership structure. But at least the square-metre comparison is no longer distorted.

Also check the unit of measurement. Some international materials use square feet. The conversion to square metres must be precise, not rounded in whichever direction makes the offer look more attractive.

What should be fixed in the contract

Before signing the sale and purchase agreement, the buyer should see not only an area number but also the definition behind it. The phrase "approximately 52 sq m" is weak if it does not explain what is included or what happens after final measurement.

Look for answers to these questions in the agreement or its annexes:

1. Which area is used to calculate the price?
2. Is the balcony included?
3. Are walls, columns and shafts included?
4. Is any share of common area included?
5. Which area is expected to appear in the future title?
6. Who performs the final measurement?
7. What deviation is permitted?
8. Is the price adjusted if the area increases or decreases?
9. Which area is used for management fees?

The floor plan should be part of the contract package, not only a marketing image. Ideally it should show the exact unit number, floor, outline, balcony and main dimensions. If the contract refers to an annex, the annex version should match the plan that was shown to the buyer.

A particularly risky clause allows the developer to change the area or layout, requires the buyer to pay for any increase, but gives no refund or remedy for a decrease. That kind of clause should be reviewed before any non-refundable payment is made.

If the price is a fixed amount for the unit, the link between area and automatic price adjustment may be weaker. If the contract states a price per square metre, the adjustment formula may be clearer. In both cases, the consequences of any difference should be written before construction is completed, not negotiated verbally afterwards.

How area affects fees, rent and resale

The difference between gross and internal area affects more than the advertised price per metre. It can change annual holding costs and investment returns.

Management fees are often charged per square metre. But the basis may be commercial saleable area, title area or another figure set by the building rules. If the fee is USD 1 per sq m per month, a 40 sq m basis costs USD 480 per year. A 52 sq m basis costs USD 624 per year. That USD 144 difference may not decide the purchase by itself, but it belongs in the net-yield calculation.

Rentability depends mainly on layout, not the largest brochure number. Tenants care about bedroom size, workspace, a workable kitchen, storage and circulation. A unit with a large share of walls and common-area allocation may rent worse than a smaller advertised unit with a cleaner plan.

At resale, the next buyer will compare the actual apartment with ready alternatives. If the original price looked low only because it was calculated on a broad commercial area, that advantage may disappear once buyers see the physical layout, title and management-fee basis.

For investment analysis, keep four numbers together:

• total purchase price;
• internal usable area;
• area used for management fees;
• area expected in the title.

They may match. You should not assume they match until the documents prove it.

Layout can matter more than a high ratio

Two apartments with the same internal area can feel completely different. In one, space may be lost to a narrow entrance corridor and a column in the living room. In another, the rooms may be more compact but almost every metre can hold furniture. The usable-area ratio is useful for screening, but the final decision should be made on layout.

Before buying, place real furniture on the plan: the bed size you need, sofa, dining table, work desk, washing machine and wardrobes. Check passage widths and door swings. If the plan does not show linear dimensions, one area number will not tell you whether the unit works.

For a rental unit, the living scenario matters. A 32 sq m studio with an open, efficient plan can be more usable than a 38 sq m unit with a large entrance zone and an awkward kitchen corner. For a family, a small separate bedroom may be more valuable than a larger single open room.

Break the plan into functional zones:

• sleeping and storage;
• kitchen and dining;
• circulation and corridors;
• balcony;
• unusable corners, columns and shafts.

After this exercise, the internal-metre price becomes meaningful. You are no longer buying an abstract percentage; you are deciding how much functional private space you receive for the total price.

Documents to request before reserving

Area verification should happen before the booking payment. Once a buyer pays a non-refundable reservation fee, the timeline for signing the main agreement may become short and the buyer is under pressure.

For an off-plan or new-build unit, request:

• plan of the exact unit with dimensions;
• table of gross, net, balcony and title-related areas;
• explanation of what each figure includes;
• draft sale and purchase agreement;
• clause on final measurement;
• price-adjustment formula, if any;
• management-fee area basis;
• explanation of the future title area.

For a completed unit, also request the existing title and a physical measurement. For resale, compare the ad, title, plan and actual layout. A changed wall, enclosed balcony or unregistered alteration can create differences between documents and reality.

A buyer’s own laser measurement is useful for sense-checking the plan, but it does not replace the official measurement method. If a dispute can affect the price or handover, a surveyor or technical specialist should document the measurement points and included elements.

A written developer answer is more valuable than an agent’s explanation. "This is how Cambodia measures everything" is not a methodology.

Red flags in area comparison

Pause the transaction or ask for professional review if the seller:

• shows only one area figure and will not define it;
• uses different area bases in the brochure, booking form and contract;
• provides a plan without dimensions;
• states a different area in the contract from the selected unit;
• does not separate balcony or common-area allocation;
• cannot explain the future title area;
• allows unlimited area deviation;
• charges increases but does not compensate decreases;
• gives the seller full control over final measurement;
• compares projects using mixed methods;
• advertises an unusually low price per sq m with no clear explanation.

A low usable-area ratio does not automatically mean a bad purchase. But an unclear formula means the buyer cannot know what they are paying for.

Bottom line

Gross area, net area and title area serve different purposes. The commercial figure shows how the developer builds the price. Internal usable area helps you compare liveable space and layouts. Title area describes the legal private unit.

Before reserving, put every option on the same basis. Calculate the internal-metre price, check the usable-area ratio, and find out which figure will be used for future building fees. Then compare those numbers with the actual layout, because two units with the same area can function very differently.

If the built area later differs from what was agreed, that becomes a separate handover, measurement and contractual-adjustment issue. It cannot be solved by simply arguing "gross" versus "net"; the key question is which figure was promised and what happened to that exact unit.

Sources

1. Royal Government of Cambodia — Sub-Decree No. 126 on the Management and Use of Co-Owned Buildings, 12 August 2009. Definitions of private units and common areas. Reviewed 25 June 2026.
2. Royal Government of Cambodia — Law on Providing Foreigners with Ownership Rights in Private Units of Co-Owned Buildings, 24 May 2010. Provisions on private-unit area and building shares. Reviewed 25 June 2026.
3. Royal Government of Cambodia — Sub-Decree No. 82 on the Proportion of Private Units That May Be Owned by Foreigners, 29 July 2010. Reviewed 25 June 2026.
4. Knight Frank — Cambodia Real Estate Highlights H2 2025, February 2026. Used for methodology referring to price per square metre of net saleable area.
5. Urban Village Phnom Penh — Phase 2 apartment plans, June 2023 version. Used as examples of gross and net area in selected layouts.
6. BNG Legal — Foreign Ownership of Immovable Property, July 2024. Used for professional commentary on foreign-quota area calculations.

Frequently asked

Which apartment area should I use when comparing prices?

Bring every option to the same basis. For practical comparison, the internal usable area is often the clearest figure, while the contract area, title area and management-fee area must still be checked separately.

Should the balcony be included in net area?

There is no single commercial method used by every Cambodian developer. Ask the developer to show the balcony area separately and explain whether it is included in the internal area, saleable area, title area and management-fee calculation.

Does a low price per square metre always mean a better deal?

No. The advertised price per square metre may be calculated on a broader commercial area. After recalculating by internal usable area and checking the layout, the apparent discount may disappear.