One may notice that not only are there a lot of residential condominiums being constructed all over the country with a seeming concentration in Metro Manila, but that some of these structures are luxury residences. Unlike before when property developers are dependent on the very limited local upscale market, a lot of foreign buyers have actually been actively investing in these high-end developments.
This is very visible especially in Metro Manila’s central business districts. One major factor is that the general environment has significantly improved in the past 5 years. With the country’s booming economy, influx of expats, and increased tourist arrivals, more and more foreigners are appreciating the “live like a king lifestyle” here.
Why Foreigners Invest in the Philippines
What sets Manila’s luxury projects apart from similar properties in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore is our very competitive prices. Even our most expensive projects are only around 40 percent of the prices of similar projects in the above-mentioned countries, most especially in Singapore and Hong Kong. Furthermore, we now have internationally recognized and respected brands that offer the same or even higher standards compared to their foreign counterparts. If you buy branded projects like the Trump, Versace, Missoni Home, and Philippe Starck in the other countries, where these properties are present, you must be prepared to pay at least three times more than the usual price.
One must just be very careful in offering Philippine properties to foreign buyers, especially if these same buyers are first-time investors. It is quite more challenging but not really impossible to convince a foreigner who has not been to the Philippines and do not have close relations or affiliations with any Filipino to consider property investment in the country. However, you have better chances of enticing prospective investors if they’ve been here even for a short vacation at least within the past 3 years or have personal or professional relations with Filipinos.
Apart from their concern on the potential return on their investment, they usually ask a lot of questions concerning their rights, protection, and incentives as foreign investors. An agent should also be prepared to answer issues about taxes and other expenses; when they purchase the unit, while the own the unit, when they lease out the unit, and when they resell the unit. I have also noticed that foreign investors are very particular with the contracts. Unlike them, most Filipinos because of too much trust just sign on the lines even without reading these documents.
Most of the major developers in the country have been marketing their projects abroad. They already have networks of sellers, they advertise, they sponsor events, they join exhibits, they set up booths, they conduct roadshows, they do pocket presentations, and in an “extremely discreet” manner, do saturation since this is not really allowed in most countries. The important thing is to build trust since the buyers really do not know the agents and these agents will just be there for a very short time. Thus, for new players who are planning to tap into the international market, they must be prepared to invest in establishing their presence and building their name unless they are able to partner with a very credible and well-established endorser in a particular area. Persistence, therefore, is the key.
