NovHow to read a Cambodia property brochure and price list
A brochure is useful because it shows what the developer wants to sell. It is risky when the buyer treats it as the deal. Before payment, every important promise should be traced from brochure to price list, reservation form, SPA, invoice and handover documents.
Save a dated snapshot of the identified offer
Before comparing, record the legal seller, project and building, unit code, floor, orientation, layout, stated area and basis, currency, price, specification, schedule, issue date, expiry and price-list version. Where the seller does not version the document, preserve the original file and receipt date without overwriting it.
Record who prepared the document and whether that person can bind the seller to the price or is only distributing marketing material. A new project-page date does not refresh an older offer, and a quotation for a similar unit does not carry over to the selected apartment.
Read the footnotes first and classify the claim
Mark each line as a current fact, future target, illustration, estimate, conditional offer, third-party undertaking or included feature. “From”, “limited units”, “subject to availability”, “artist's impression”, “not to scale” and “terms may change” can materially alter a large headline.
A footnote does not automatically erase everything on the page, but it identifies what must be carried into the signed set. Record the condition, period, affected units and document required to confirm the statement. A completion target, planned facility or proposed operator should not look like an existing fact.
Price per square metre needs one unit and one area basis
Do not divide the project's lowest price by its smallest area where those figures describe different apartments. Use one identified available unit, its full comparable price and an area defined consistently in the price list, plan and SPA.
RICS says the measurement basis should be appropriate to the instruction and documented; until the final seventh edition is published, the current sixth edition and/or IPMS: All Buildings apply. These are not Cambodian law, but they provide a useful transparency rule: gross or net is incomplete without inclusions, exclusions, measurement boundary and responsibility for final measurement.
Read each line by evidence type
| Brochure item | What it usually is | What to request |
|---|---|---|
| Render | Marketing illustration | SPA specification and finish schedule |
| Price list | Asking/list price | Signed unit price and full cost breakdown |
| Payment plan | Sales structure | SPA schedule with dates, bank account and default rules |
| GRR/buyback | Contract claim to verify | Signed clause naming payer, formula and remedies |
Price list is not achieved price
A price list shows what the seller is asking or offering for a specific batch. It is not proof of completed transaction prices and not proof that the unit will resell at that level. We could not confirm a public Cambodia-wide achieved condo sale price database.
A price-list line does not confirm unit availability
Obtain a dated inventory status for the exact unit code: available, temporarily held, reserved, sold, withdrawn or substituted. Confirm the hold period, reservation document, price-preservation conditions and person authorised to state availability.
Do not send funds against a price-list screenshot alone. The reservation agreement and receipt should identify the same project, building, floor and unit, while substitution should follow a pre-agreed procedure. A replacement unit needs its own area, price, view, specification and payment analysis.
The price list also does not show the full capital requirement. Legal review, registration/taxes, bank charges, furniture, appliances, service charges, sinking fund and owner reserve may sit outside the headline price.
Gross, net and usable area
The SPA should explain which area is used to calculate the price, who performs final measurement, what tolerance is permitted, whether price adjusts up and down, and whether the buyer may terminate if the difference is material.
| Area term | Buyer question | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Gross area | Does it include walls, balcony or common share? | Headline $/sqm looks lower |
| Net area | Is it internal usable space? | May differ from brochure area |
| Final measured area | Who measures and when? | No price adjustment after change |
Renders and show units
A rendering or show unit is not a contractual specification unless it is incorporated into the SPA. If finishes matter, the contract or appendix should identify flooring, windows, doors, sanitary fittings, kitchen units, air-conditioning, built-in furniture, appliances, quantities and permitted alternatives.
The phrase "or equivalent" should mean comparable quality, not simply a cheaper replacement. If a feature appears only in a picture, ask where it appears in the signed documents.
Payment plan and discounts
"0% installments" means only that the developer does not separately charge interest on the outstanding balance. It does not prove that the installment buyer pays the same economic price as a cash buyer, and it says nothing about late-payment penalties, assignment rights or refunds if completion is delayed.
- Total contract price and currency.
- Cash-payment discount or installment premium.
- Deposit and each installment date.
- Handover balance and trigger.
- Late-payment penalty, grace period and cure period.
- Assignment fee and developer consent.
- Excluded taxes, title fees, furniture and service charges.
Separate a discount, an incentive and a future payment
Classify every benefit in the price list by where it is performed: reduction of the unit price, a separate seller-paid cost, goods or services delivered, or a future contingent payment. Then locate the same item in the reservation, SPA, invoice or signed schedule. Where the document changes the amount, timing or conditions, recalculate from the document rather than the headline figure.
For every item, record the amount or valuation method, payer, recipient, timing, forfeiture conditions and proof of performance. HM Land Registry discipline separating a purchase-price deduction from separate incentives is useful here as a way to read the price list, not as a Cambodian registration rule.
Normalise every payment as a separate obligation
For each instalment, retain the amount, currency, percentage, exact date or objective construction milestone, legal payee, bank details, trigger evidence and the point at which payment is treated as performed. Calendar dates, milestones and “monthly” are different obligation types and should not be merged.
Show the booking fee and whether it is credited to the price, every regular instalment, the handover balloon, costs outside price and the buyer's funding source. A brochure schedule remains a sales scenario until the same sequence, triggers, default rules and remedies are agreed in the SPA.
GRR and buyback in brochures
GRR and buyback are not market facts. They are contractual obligations of a specific legal entity, if the signed documents create them. Check the payer, calculation base, meaning of "net", start date, payment calendar, suspension rights, taxes, buyback notice window, transfer costs and default remedies.
Total cash received is not the same as net profit. If the model returns the original capital plus income, the original capital should not be counted as profit.
Brochure-to-SPA cross-check
- Mark every promise in the brochure that affects price or decision.
- Find the same promise in the price list or reservation form.
- Find the same promise in the SPA or signed schedule.
- Check the invoice and payment account against the signed seller.
- Keep the final signed version and all appendices together.
Keep a claim and discrepancy log
For every material promise, preserve the original quotation or image, page and document version, claim type, date, review owner, corresponding reservation or SPA clause and final state: incorporated, changed, excluded, conflicting or unknown.
Article 348 of Cambodia's Civil Code addresses a false assertion of fact made during contract formation and, in defined circumstances, rescission and damages. This does not make every image a contractual promise. The safer practice is not to depend on a future dispute, but to move material characteristics into the same executed document set and preserve the change history.
What sources did not confirm
We could not confirm a public Cambodia-wide achieved-sale-price database, a universal definition of "all-inclusive" or a standard brochure disclaimer. Treat brochure language as a claim to be moved into contract wording, not as proof by itself.
The brochure does not replace project and title documents
A developer name, construction stage, future title and completed-building image in the sales pack do not establish the legal seller, land basis, permits, compliance with approved design, certificate of occupancy or registration of the selected private unit. Those matters require separate due diligence against official and contractual records.
Cambodia's Law on Construction connects permitted work to approved documents and requires a certificate of occupancy before use of the relevant building. The foreign-ownership law connects transfer of the private-unit right to registration. The brochure-to-SPA check is therefore only one review layer and must not change permit, title or occupancy states to confirmed.
Have a brochure or price list? Send it to us. We'll help separate facts, claims, renders, costs and the points that must be repeated in the SPA.
Contact usTelegramTake the quizFrequently asked questions
Is a brochure part of the contract?
Not automatically. A brochure or render matters only if the relevant promise is incorporated into the SPA, signed schedule or addendum.
Is a price list the same as achieved price?
No. A price list or asking price is an offer/marketing figure. We could not confirm a public Cambodia-wide database of achieved condo sale prices.
What should I check in a payment plan?
Check total price, cash discount, deposit, instalments, handover balance, excluded costs, late penalties, assignment rights and refund/default remedies.
Sources
- Existing NovAsia SPA research: brochure-to-SPA checks, area, renders, specifications and payment schedule.
- Existing NovAsia investment research: price list versus total cost and realistic rent/yield checks.
- Existing NovAsia GRR/buyback research: contractual GRR and buyback analysis.
- Existing NovAsia installment research: 0% payment-plan caveats.