Millennials A growing property market

Millennials have risen as a key demographic force in the country’s property sector, although these young adults are more inclined to rent rather than buy property assets, a research by international property portal Lamudi said.

“Over the past decade, the living and purchasing habits of citizens in the Philippines have been changing. In contrast to trends in most other countries, the Philippines’ younger generation now has greater purchasing power than ever before,” Lamudi said in its Real Estate Market Report 2017 released last Friday.

But while previous generations were interested in settling down quickly and likely to remain employed in the same company for decades, the younger generation is generally seen as more dynamic.

They are seen unlikely to spend their entire career within one firm and for many, their careers will involve traveling and working in different cities, even abroad.

As such, Lamudi’s research said it was “unsurprising” that modern day upper middle-class property hunters in the Philippines were initially more inclined to rent, opting to purchase later in life.

Bhavna Suresh, founder and managing director of Lamudi in the Philippines, said: “For the younger generation, in particular, renting allows flexibility, less commitment, and less investment than making the big decision of buying a property”.

Many young residents are seen put off by the additional costs and responsibilities which are associated with owning property. Consequently, Lamudi’s research showed that over two-thirds of its 600,000 users on the archipelago were more interested in renting than buying.

Citing data gathered over the past three years, only 31 percent of Lamudi users in the Philippines are looking to buy.

“This figure is lower than one would expect from a country in Southeast Asia. However, when you take into consideration the fact that the majority of Lamudi users (40 percent) are between the ages of 25 and 34, this figure seems less surprising,” the research said.

Lamudi Philippines head of content and research Rodel Ambas said in a press briefing on Friday that the property-hunting millennials were those looking for halfway homes or more convenient living to avoid long commute amid the gridlock in Metro Manila or the ones getting married.