Because of construction, there goes my neighborhood

This villa, a block from my apartment, exemplifies what is being lost in my neighborhood.

Demolition, renovation and new construction in my neighborhood of Boeung Keng Kang 1 (BKK1) is transforming an area that many expats favor into one that is becoming hard to recognize.

This former villa, which had become a restaurant, is across the street from the house in the top photo.  (Warning: Numerous images below.)

What is happening here at a dizzying pace merely reflects a situation in which property development in Phnom Penh has soared and, along with it, prices.

Investors in residential buildings in prime neighborhoods such as mine drove land prices up in the last half of 2014 alone by

Weekly Roundup: Some predictions now more hopeful

Here’s your chance to catch up with news included to inform, enlighten and perhaps even entertain you. To read about The Big Apple, check out the other of today’s posts and look for Out and About early next week.

SHE AND MUSICIAN HUSBAND BUY $9.6 MILLION APARTMENT IN LE GARAGE BLEU

MARKET FOR VACATION HOMES IS ON THE RISE

PRICES DIP 1.6 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER

APPETITE FOR RENTALS SEEMS TO BE GROWING

FED SAYS HIGH LEVELS OF EXISTING-HOME SUPPLY CONTINUE TO DAMPEN NEW-HOME CONSTRUCTION

RATES SLIP FOR

Do you really need to live in such a big place?

(Flickr photo by hoyasmeg)

When I was a real estate broker in the D.C. area, I would check out the open houses of what came to be known as McMansions.

Wandering from room to room, many filled with couches and comfortable chairs, I would wonder how the residents decided where they would sit, what they would do differently in one lushly decorated chamber or another and why they needed such a big house.   In Manhattan, too, I often have the same thoughts as I visit  townhouses and sprawling apartments.

My former business partner in D.C. invariably chuckled at my vocalized comments, which were tinged with indignation, even contempt, in a world of rampant poverty–not that I haven’t been a practitioner of conspicuous consumption myself as well.

What has brought such experiences to mind was an article by Susan Rosenbloom in the New York Times, who explores whether living large makes folks happy.

As unlikely as you may think a real estate broker would take such a position, I firmly believe that buyers should think twice about how big a residence they really need.