Understanding Japanese, Korean markets

For the real estate industry in the Philippines, 2022 will be a year of project launches. A lot of major developers are launching new projects in key areas, and due to the relative lack of activity for the past two years, they’ll be aggressively selling these projects to domestic and international markets.

Fortunately, foreign buyers are also eager for the Philippine border restrictions to ease up so they can finally start investing in the country again.

My company, PropertyAccess, has received a great deal of interest from our Korean and Japanese clients about Philippine properties. Data from the search behavior in Naver (the no. 1 search engine in Korea) showed the Philippines as one of the most searched destinations for property investment in Southeast Asia.

So, for property developers or agencies looking into tapping Korean and/or Japanese buyers for their projects, it is important to know the factors that affect their decisions in order to create potentially successful international marketing strategies.

1. Numbers are important

Based on our experience selling Philippine properties in Japan, investors always look at the numbers first. Metrics such as return on investment, rent prices in the area and annual yields will always be scrutinized heavily before any other factors, such as public transport or surrounding facilities.

2. Lifestyle first

Conversely, Korean investors will generally consider the facilities and amenities of the project, activities in the area and other lifestyle-related factors before any other metrics. Golf courses and beaches definitely rank high on the list.

3. Square meters matter

There are also some differences when it comes to preferences with different property types and sizes. Japanese investors are more conservative and often select studio or one-bedroom apartments for investment, whereas Korean investors are open to different options.

From these factors alone, one can see how different each market can be when investing in overseas properties—thus, requiring a tailored approach. This is something we always consider when we create sales and marketing campaign strategies for our partner developers.

4. Location is still top priority

While they may initially look at properties differently, there are also some common trends. Like any other foreign buyers, Korean and Japanese investors tend to look for properties in major key areas such as Ortigas, Makati, Pasay and Bonifacio Global City in Metro Manila, Mactan and Cebu IT Park in Cebu province, and in Clark Global City in Pampanga. Accessibility to current and future transport facilities is also important. For example, our Japanese clients usually look for properties near the planned subway stations across the city.

This should be an exciting year for new property projects in the Philippines, after a couple of slower years due to COVID-19. Property developers will no doubt be keen to tap into foreign markets to accelerate sales and growth, and from what we can see, there will be no shortage of buyers so long as each local market is researched effectively and approached with a definite strategy in mind.