Understanding Financial and Access Factors in Housing Decisions: An Economic Education Perspective from Phnom Penh
Abstract
Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Financial and Access Factors such as price, financing, personal economic conditions, public services and social stability and consumer purchase intention in Phnom Penh’s residential real estate market.
Methodology: In this study, a quantitative survey method was conducted employing structured questionnaires via Google Forms. The date was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 27, using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and reliability testing (Cronbach’s Alpha). Content validity was assessed via the Content Validity Index after expert review.
Main Findings: The study found a significant positive relationship between Financial and Access Factors and purchase intention. Personal economic conditions (M = 4.06) and social stability (M = 4.04) scored highest, while price (r = .39), finance (r = .37), public services (r = .41), and social stability (r = .34) showed moderate correlations. The over-all correlation between financial and access factors and purchase intention was r=.42 (p <.001).
Novelty/Originality of this study: This study is the only research that integrates multiple Financial and Access Factors in terms of price, finance, personal economic conditions, public services, and social stability into one model of purchase intention in Phnom Penh real estate market. By focusing on the context of an emerging economy, it contributes to current understanding and provides fresh insights to the relevant stakeholders including policy makers, developers, and consumer behaviour and housing affordability scholars. It also contributes to economic education by illustrating how financial literacy and access awareness shape consumer decision-making and can guide educational and policy initiatives for sustainable social development.
References
J. L. Baker, E. C. Johnson, N. Kikutake, S. X. Lin, N. Ou, and S. Yin, “Urban development in Phnom Penh (English),” Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group., 2017.
G. Fauveaud, “The New Frontiers of Housing Financialization in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: The Condominium Boom and the Foreignization of Housing Markets in the Global South,” Hous Policy Debate, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 661–679, Jul. 2020, doi: 10.1080/10511482.2020.1714692.
World Bank Group, “Cambodia: Achieving the Potential of Urbanization,” © World Bank, 2018.
Knight Frank Cambodia, “Cambodia Real Estate Highlights H1 2023,” Knight Frank, 2023.
Knight Frank Cambodia, “Cambodia Real Estate Highlights H2 2023,” Knight Frank, 2023.
CBRE Cambodia, “Real Estate Mid Year Review 2024,” B2B Cambodia, 2024.
Global Green Growth Institute, “Phnom Penh Sustainable City Plan 2018-2030,” 2019.
ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, “ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook 2023,” 2023
World Bank Group, “Cambodia Economic Update, November 2019: Upgrading Cambodia in Global Value Chains,” 2019.
A. Baetzner, V. K. Phun, Y. Yen, and N. NGO, “Transforming Urban Mobility in Phnom Penh,” UNDP, 2021.
National Institute of Statistics, “General Population Census of Cambodia 2019,” Jun. 2019.
A. Development Bank, “Asian Development Outlook April 2024,” 2024.
ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, “AMRO Annual Consultation Report on Cambodia 2023,” 2023.
Knight Frank Cambodia, “Cambodia Real Estate Highlights H2 2024,” 2024.
Trung Thanh Vu, “Cambodia, Stringent Regulatory Oversight Needed to Tackle Real Estate Downturn and Rise of Shadow Banks,” AMRO, 2024.
ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, “AMRO Annual Consultation Report on Cambodia 2024,” 2024.
KIRIPOST MEDIA, “Increase In Stalled Borey Projects,” Kiripost, 2024.
Global Green Growth Institute, “Affordable housing & financial inclusion,” 2022.
S. Menghoung and M. Noer, “A Study On Housing Affordability Problems Among Working Households In Phnom Penh, Cambodia,” Syntax Literate, vol. 10, no. 4, 2025.
S. Kul, T. Mach, and O. Declan, “Overview of Urban Housing for Low-Income Households in Cambodia,” 2024.
Planète EED, “Affordable housing in Phnom Penh-Ensuring decent housing opportunities for all,” 2020.
Habitat for Humanity Cambodia, “Supporting the implementation of the Cambodia government’s housing policy,” 2023.
F. Gerth and K. S. Sikora, “The role of economic development in improvements of Cambodian housing conditions,” Journal of Regional Economics, vol. 2, no. 1, May 2023, doi: 10.58567/jre02010001.
M. Moeng, E. Kim, and S. H. Lee, “Affordable Housing Strategy of Low and Middle-Income Class to Enhance Living Condition at the Outskirts of Phnom Penh City, Cambodia,” Journal of the Korean Housing Association, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 61–70, Jun. 2020, doi: 10.6107/jkha.2020.31.3.061.
Cambodia Realty Group, “Cambodia’s growing Home Loan problem,” 2020.
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept, “Cambodia: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Cambodia,” 2025.
PwC & Urban Land Institute (ULI), “Emerging Trends in Real Estate ® Asia Pacific 2024,” 2024.
Knight Frank Thailand Research, “Bangkok Luxury House Market H2 2023,” 2023.
Savills Malaysia, “Kuala Lumpur Residential Asian Cities-1H 2023,” 2023.
P. Pongprasert, “Determinants of Luxurious Condominium Prices in Bangkok CBD: A Case study of Encouraging Housing Affordability in Bangkok, Thailand,” International Review for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 167–182, 2022, doi: 10.14246/IRSPSD.10.1_167.
VnEconomy, “HCMC residential market in 2024,” Jan. 2025, Accessed: Aug. 22, 2025.
KL Property Talk, “Oversupply high debt weigh heavily on Malaysia’s property sector,” Oct. 2024, Accessed: Aug. 22, 2025.
Equitable Cambodia, “Affordable Housing Policy in Cambodia and Southeast Asia,” May 2022.
R. M. Yusof, S. Jan, M. Khan, F. M. Yusuf, N. Huda, and A. Majid, “Bridging The Supply And Demand Gap For Affordable Home Ownership In Malaysia: The Roles Of Government And Financial Institutions,” Planning Malaysia, vol. 17, pp. 160–175, 2019.
Kotler & Keller, Marketing management: (15th ed.). Pearson Education Limited, 2016.
S. Ky and A. Ratasuk, “Psychological Factors Influencing Millennial’s Purchase Intentions of Landed Residential Property In Phnom Penh, Cambodia,” Sep. 2024.
P. V. Le-Hoang, V. T. Ho, N. T. Phan, and T. T. T. Le, “Factors affecting the intention to purchase townhouse,” Independent Journal of Management & Production, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 1899–1914, Oct. 2020, doi: 10.14807/ijmp.v11i6.1099.
C. Li Cheam, Z. binti Ismail, P. Nor Rhubiatul Adawiyah Binti Mohd Zulkifli, N. Aliza Binti Baharuddin, and N. Aidil Abdul Aziz, “The Determinants Of House Buyers’ Purchase Decisions In Kota Bharu, Kelantan,” 2023. doi:10.21837/pm.v21i25.1253
P. Deb et al., Housing Market Stability And Affordability In Asia Pacific. Intl Monetary Fund, 2023.
,” 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362760297
F. Manahan and P. S. Siallagan, “Social Media And Text Network Analysis Of Consumer Interest In Business Risk And Strategy (Case : Indonesia Residential Property),” South East Asia Journal of Contemporary Business, Economics and Law, vol. 26, no. 2, 2022.
A. Lusardi and O. S. Mitchell, “The economic importance of financial literacy: Theory and evidence,” J Econ Lit, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 5–44, 2014, doi: 10.1257/jel.52.1.5.
Oecd, Oecd/Infe 2020 International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy. OECD Publishing, 2020. doi: 10.1787/145f5607-en.
L. Mandell, “The Impact of Financial Education in High School and College On Financial Literacy and Subsequent Financial Decision Making,” 2009.
B. Świecka, “A theoretical framework for financial literacy and financial education,” in Financial Literacy and Financial Education: Theory and Survey, De Gruyter, 2019, pp. 1–12. doi: 10.1515/9783110636956-001.
I. Ajzen, “The theory of planned behavior,” Organ Behav Hum Decis Process, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 179–211, Dec. 1991, doi: 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T.
I. Ajzen, “Perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior,” J Appl Soc Psychol, vol. 32, no. 4, 2002, doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb00236.x.
Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell, Consumer behavior. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York, 1968.
J. W. Creswell and J. D. Creswell, “Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 5th ed. SAGE Publications,” 2018.
Paul. Hackett, Quantitative research methods in consumer psychology : contemporary and data driven approaches. Routledge, 2019.
R. Neumann and P. Graeff, “Quantitative approaches to comparative analyses: Data properties and their implications for theory, measurement and modelling,” European Political Science, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 385–393, Dec. 2015, doi: 10.1057/eps.2015.59.
J. Romaniuk and B. Sharp, “Measuring brand perceptions: Testing quantity and quality,” Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 218–229, Jan. 2003, doi: 10.1057/palgrave.jt.5740079.
E. Babbie, The Practice of Social Research, 15th ed. Cengage Learning, 2020.
E. Babbie, The Practice of Social Research, 13th ed. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013.
Polit DF, Beck CT, and Owen SV, “‘Is the CVI an acceptable indicator of content validity? Appraisal and recommendations,’ Res. Nurs. Health, vol. 30, no. 4,” pp. 459–467, 2007, doi: 10.1002/nur.20199.
A. Masuwai, H. Zulkifli, and M. I. Hamzah, “Evaluation of content validity and face validity of secondary school Islamic education teacher self-assessment instrument,” Cogent Education, vol. 11, no. 1, 2024, doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2024.2308410.
F. Cheng, H. Fu, and W. Yang, “Preparation and Reliability and Validity Test of the Questionnaire on the Maintenance of Intravenous Catheter in ICU Nurses’ Center,” Nurs Open, vol. 12, no. 2, Feb. 2025, doi: 10.1002/nop2.70145.
A. Ibiyemi, Y. Mohd Adnan, M. N. Daud, S. Olanrele, and A. Jogunola, “A content validity study of the test of valuers’ support for capturing sustainability in the valuation process in Nigeria,” Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 177–193, Sep. 2019, doi: 10.1080/14445921.2019.1703700.
M. A. Bujang, E. D. Omar, D. H. P. Foo, and Y. K. Hon, “Sample size determination for conducting a pilot study to assess reliability of a questionnaire,” Feb. 01, 2024, Korean Academy of Conservative Dentistry. doi: 10.5395/rde.2024.49.e3.
Y. Haji-Othman, M. S. S. Yusuff, and M. N. Ahmad, “Pilot Testing of Internal Consistency and Reliability of Questionnaire Items in the Compliance Behavior of Income Zakat Study,” International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 11, no. 9, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.6007/ijarbss/v11-i9/11201.
W. G. Cochran, Sampling Techniques, 3rd ed. Wiley, 1977.
R. A. Sugden, T. M. F. Smith, and R. P. Jones, “Cochran’s rule for simple random sampling,” J R Stat Soc Series B Stat Methodol, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 787–793, 2000, doi: 10.1111/1467-9868.00264.
Z. Islam, M. Fuad, A. Fidah, and S. Sumaiya Efa, “Sample Size,” 2023, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.13769892.
J. Beard, “Simple sample size calculations for cross-Simple sample size calculations for cross-sectional studies sectional studies,” South Sudan Medical Journal, South Sudan Medical studies, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 213–216, 2024, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ssmj.v17i4.12.
I. Z. Sadiq, A. Usman, A. Muhammad, and K. H. Ahmad, “Sample size calculation in biomedical, clinical and biological sciences research,” Mar. 01, 2025, Springer. doi: 10.1007/s43994-024-00153-x.
B. G. Tabachnick and L. S. Fidell, Using Multivariate Statistics, 16th ed. Pearson, 2013.
A. Field, Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics, vol. 58. 2013.
JCHS, “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2021,” 2021. [
P. V. Le-Hoang, Y. T. T. Ho, D. X. Luu, and T. T. T. Le, “Determinants of customer’s apartment purchase intention: is the location dominant?,” Independent Journal of Management & Production, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 1303–1322, Aug. 2020, doi: 10.14807/ijmp.v11i4.1100.
Pragyan Deb et al., “Housing Market Stability and Affordability in Asia-Pacific,” 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400203916.087.
S. Menghoung and M. Noer, “A Study On Housing Affordability Problems Among Working Households In Phnom Penh, Cambodia,” Syntax Literate, vol. 10, no. 4, 2025.
K. J. Kam, T. S. Lim, D. Li, P. Yoong, L. Ang, and B. T. Leong, “Purchasing Decision Of Property Buyers: The Housing Quality, Financial Capabilities, And Government Policies Studies,” 2021. doi: 10.21837/pm.v19i17.986.
IMF, Regional economic outlook update. Asia and Pacific: Navigating the Pandemic: A Multispeed Recovery in Asia. International Monetary Fund, 2020.
J. Y. Chen and M. H. Wang, “A Study on Real Estate Purchase Decisions,” Sustainability (Switzerland), vol. 15, no. 6, Mar. 2023, doi: 10.3390/su15065216.
D. Han, T. Hai, T. Son, M. Trang, and N. Diep, “Purchase Intention of Apartments in a Metropolitan Area in Vietnam: The Mediating Role of Attitude Toward Behavior,” 2023.
Y. Han, “The Impact of Real Estate Policies on House Purchase Intentions Based on the Chinese Context,” 2024. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.61173/r9qx8k67
P. Chan and M. H. Lee, “Prioritizing Sustainable City Indicators for Cambodia,” Urban Science, vol. 3, no. 4, Dec. 2019, doi: 10.3390/urbansci3040104.
N. Wattanasiri and T. Shinasharkey, “Marketing Mix and Real Estate Purchase Intention through Social Media Channel,” 2024. [Online]. Available: https://assumptionjournal.au.edu/index.php/eJIR/article/view/8194?
N. Biljanovska, C. Fu, and D. Igan, “Housing Affordability: A New Dataset,” 2023.
Y. Zhao, R. Ravi, S. Shi, Z. Wang, E. Y. Lam, and J. Zhao, “PATE: Property, Amenities, Traffic and Emotions Coming Together for Real Estate Price Prediction,” Oct. 2022, [Online]. Available: http://arxiv.org/abs/2209.05471
Z. Xing Quan, “Housing for All: The Challenges of Affordability, Accessibility and Sustainability,” 2008.
K. Zhang and D. Yan, “Enhancing the Community Environment in Populous Residential Districts: Neighborhood Amenities and Residents’ Daily Needs,” Sustainability (Switzerland), vol. 15, no. 17, Sep. 2023, doi: 10.3390/su151713255.
Y. Li, Y. Lin, J. Wang, S. Geertman, and P. Hooimeijer, “The effects of jobs, amenities, and locations on housing submarkets in Xiamen City, China,” Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 1221–1239, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1007/s10901-022-09984-8.
A. Aziz, M. M. Anwar, H. G. Abdo, H. Almohamad, A. A. Al Dughairi, and M. Al-Mutiry, “Proximity to Neighborhood Services and Property Values in Urban Area: An Evaluation through the Hedonic Pricing Model,” Land (Basel), vol. 12, no. 4, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.3390/land12040859.
International Finance Corporation, “Housing Finance,” 2024. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/10986/42176
Copyright (c) 2025 Berna Ou, Por Narith, Sario T Pio
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and acknowledge that the Journal of social knowledge education (JSKE) is the first publisher licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and greater citation of published work.
.png)
.png)
