Overseas Filipinos more likely to invest during holiday period

Overseas citizens are the main contributors to property purchases in the Philippines over the festive period

According to property experts, overseas Filipinos who are home for the holidays are more likely to consider purchasing condominiums in their home country. Indeed, according to Inquirer Business, overseas Filipinos are the main contributors to home buying purchases during the festive period.

Programme director for real estate at Ateneo, Enrique M. Soriano III, said overseas Filipinos interested in purchasing property would focus chiefly on condominiums in key cities, stating, "Cities will always be the preferred choice for overseas Filipinos and first time homebuyers". He added that approximately 80 percent of condominium property developments are concentrated in the nation's capital city, Manila.

Soriano pointed out multiple benefits for overseas citizens who chose to invest their capital in Philippines property, including the advantage of a condominium as a halfway house in the city, a good place for investment and a stable source of recurring income in the form of rent.

Head of consultancy and research at Colliers International, Julius Guevara, said house and lot properties remain the main type of housing available in the Philippines' provinces due to the availability of affordable land.

Geuvara commented, "While there are more condos being developed in major cities such as Bacalod and Cagayan de Oro, a majority of the demand still focused on the house and lot type. This being said, Cebu has been a very successful market for residential condominiums and has seen development of premium product over the years, and this is mainly because Cebu is already highly urbanised. Davao also has a strong condo market."

However, Karlo Pobre, research analyst at Colliers International, stated that "the condominium market comprises a smaller share of the housing industry, most of which is concentrated in Metro Manila."

Pobre added that, "All throughout the country, landed properties are still the most preferred product type, both in the provinces and even in major urban centres."

Despite this, Soriano stated that in the mid to high-end sector, condominium sales had outshone house-and-lot sales, adding that, "As a matter of fact, we are seeing a pattern of product substitution by horizontal developers shifting to condominium development". Soriano also stressed that there has been a considerable rise in the number of new condominium projects in progressive Filipino cities like Cebu, Davao, Cagayan De Oro and Iloilo and that the premier developers in the Philippines were on their way to exceeding their 2012 quota.

Guevara stated that this year, property developers SM Development Corporation, Ayala Land, Megaworld and Vista Land have continued to lead the industry.

 

Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/31/overseas-filipinos-more-likely-to-invest-during-holiday-period/