Getting the most out of your purchase

Two things you need to remember if you are planning to get a condo unit as an investment:  first, get your unit from the country’s top property developers and, second, it should be in a prime location.  These two factors will ensure you good resale value years from now.

This is according to global real estate brokerage RE/MAX Philippines during their business roundtable held recently.

“We have some of the most expensive real estate in the world,” said RE/MAX country manager Kenneth Stern.  “We’ve seen a huge growth in Makati and Taguig, BGC.  The two most popular condo markets for foreign buyers, actually.  About 30 percent of our condos in RE/MAX have been sold to foreigners.”

RE/MAX is the world’s leading franchisor of real estate brokerage services.  It was founded in 1973 by Dave Liniger.  The name stands for “real estate maximus—maximum commission for the agent, maximum credibility for the franchise owner and maximum service for the company’s clients.”  RE/MAX was established in the country in 2012 and has offices in Metro Manila, Laguna, Rizal, Clark, Iloilo, Palawan and Siargao.

According to Stern, while there are so many developers out there which all seem to be credible investments and seem very similiar in quality, investors have to base a condo unit’s investment value on the resale market. Ayala Land Premier’s Park Terraces, The Residences at Greenbelt and One Serendra and those by Rockwell Land have performed very well in the secondary market based on how much the properties’ value increased since their launch.

RE/MAX has seen the most growth in Arthaland’s Arya Residences in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.  The first residential high-rise in the country that is both LEED- and BERDE-certified, capital values of condo apartments in Arya surged to more than 150 percent since the project was launched in 2009.

“We’ve seen growth from P83,000 back in 2009 all the way to P215,000 in 2017.  That’s a 160 percent increase in the last eight years,” Stern said.

Ayala Land Premier’s West Tower at One Serendra in BGC is another project that boasts of a high resale value, according to RE/MAX.  From P108,000 per sqm in 2008, prices at West Tower are now at P230,000 per sqm, a 113 percent increase in value over a nine-year period.

Capital values of condo units at The Residences in Greenbelt and Park Terraces, also Ayala Land Premier projects but in San Lorenzo, Makati, have gone up by 112 percent and 50 percent respectively since their launch dates.

Units at Rockwell Land’s Edades Tower sold for P130,000 per sqm when it launched in 2009.  Now they’re selling for P250,000 per sqm, a 92 percent increase in the last eight years, according to RE/MAX.

“We are seeing a lack of supply in villages and the thing is you can’t build more.  There is limited supply in the number of house and lots in the Philippines that is causing an increase in pricing.  So if you want to buy a home in Forbes Park, you’ll need about P500 million to afford one, on average,” Stern said.

“Some of the most expensive homes ever sold in the Philippines have been sold in the last two months and prices are still at an all time high,” said RE/MAX region manager Eddie Santos on the performance of the country’s residential market in 2017.

“You can see that the economy is booming because the middle class sector expanded.  Of course, the remittance factor is also a big factor. The hard earned money being made from abroad are brought back to the Philippines.  So you see a 15 to 20 percent increase in property sales in the last twelve months,” he explained.

“The market is going very strong,” said broker and RE/MAX franchise owner Marissa Garcia.  “We still don’t see any indication of slowing down, at least for the Makati central business district.  Some people are cautious because the stock market has slowed down in the past few months and in general, real estate normally follows within  six months.  We are just watching that closely and seeing how it will affect our industry but the forecast I have for our country is very positive.”

“We’re showing what the Philippines has to offer to the world market.  Our properties here are getting to the level where we are already competing with international properties in first world countries in terms of price points.  When you’re looking at values of premium condominiums, especially in the luxury market, it’s very competitive with other countries, first world developed countries.  We’re hoping this continues forward,” Garcia concluded.