MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine real estate market could be a safe haven and even a source of profit in the world financial crisis, a global property consultant said Wednesday.

After many financial instruments proved unstable this year, investors will shift in 2009 to more traditional investments such as real estate, CB Richard Ellis said in a statement.

"Previously, the diversity of portfolio investments lured most equity funds to invest in high-risk, high-yielding liquid assets and financial instruments. Now real estate remains a safe bet for investment," the statement said.

Investors could look to opportunities in "companies which have a physical presence that offers face-to-face customer experiences," Rick Santos, CB Richard Ellis chairman for the Philippines, was quoted as saying.

The Philippines also has a large population and is not overly dependent on export revenues, allowing the country to rely on its human resources and large domestic market to tide it over in the face of falling export demand.

The global crisis has caused values of properties to fall to "more realistic levels," while both the local real estate and banking industries were capable of financing and developing projects, the consultant said.

Tourism, the outsourcing industry and the millions of Filipinos working overseas will be the main sources of growth for the real estate sector, CB Richard Ellis said.

"Investments into these real estate segments will see the Philippine real estate sector through this global financial crisis."