Over 150 Units Sold In Two Days At PropertyGuru’s Second Philippines Property Show

SINGAPORE, 23 & 24 FEBRUARY 2013 – The second PropertyGuru Philippines Property Show held over last weekend at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre saw double the number of attendees and sales transacted, with over 150 units of prime Philippines real estate worth more than SGD$15 million sold.  

The event was officially opened and graced by HE Minda Calaguian-Cruz, the Philippines ambassador to Singapore, and also featured a panel of distinguished seminar speakers who highlighted the recent growth and new opportunities which Philippines real estate brings.

Launched in 2012, the Philippines Property Show is part of a series of regional property shows organised by PropertyGuru Group. These shows are a natural extension from the popularity of PropertyGuru portals and brings online property search to reality with actual on-ground investment opportunities, by allowing local investors to gain in-depth insights and interacting directly with reputable overseas property developers.

This comes at a time where overseas property is experiencing a surge in demand, owing to the strong Singapore dollar and the introduction of the latest property cooling measures. The Philippines Property Show itself attracted more than 1,100 Singaporean and local-based foreign property investors who are keen to invest abroad, with roughly every eighth person purchasing a unit.

With projected GDP slated to experience high growth forecast of between 6 – 7% this year, and 6.5 - 7.5% in 2014, The Philippines is the second fastest growing economy in Asia last year (after China) and is fast becoming one of the most lucrative markets to venture into for overseas property investment.

Steve Melhuish, Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of PropertyGuru, who was the keynote speaker for the event, presented his views on the real estate investment climate in the Philippines:

- With Singapore property sales prices peaking, investment sentiments might drive a bearish market to shift investors’ focus overseas to tap into new real estate opportunities. This is particularly true with the current situation where investor sentiments in the Singapore property market is increasingly negative amongst first-time home buyers and for current HDB owners seeking to upgrade to private property.

- An open, liberalised and business-friendly economy coupled with the development of key infrastructure to enhance connectivity to major Asian cities have made Philippines a choice destination for overseas investors

- Most critical of all, investment in Philippine real estate is spurred by property quantum prices being far cheaper than Singapore and key Asian cities, and the prospect of greater returns to investment brought about by comparatively high rental yields:

He said, “Property investment in metropolitan cities within The Philippines has risen in recent years, and the immense support and transactions we have seen from overseas property seekers at the PropertyGuru Philippines Prorperty Show is indicative of this strong demand.”

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About PropertyGuru Group
PropertyGuru Group is Asia’s leading online property portal group used by almost 11 million property buyers, viewing over 86 million property pages and generating over 300,000 enquiries for real estate developer and agent advertisers – every month.

Headquartered in Singapore, PropertyGuru was founded in 2006 by 2 entrepreneurs with a vision to simplify the property search process and help buyers, sellers and investors make better property decisions faster. Taking advantage of Asia’s growing affluence, property demand and online explosion, it received its first VC investment funding in 2008 and most recently secured approximately $60m investment in 2012 from Deutsche Telekom, South East Asia’s largest digital investment to date. Since its launch, PropertyGuru has reported rapid growth and most recently announced a record 96% increase in revenue, 60% increase in internet users and 50% increase in paying agent advertisers to 24,000 – in 2012.   

The award winning company focuses heavily on innovation. Over the last 18 months, the Company has developed and launched 12 mobile applications in 4 countries and 3 languages which have received over half a million downloads – almost 50 per cent of its users in Singapore now originate from a mobile device. PropertyGuru was also the first to integrate website with social media, first to launch Singapore’s only dedicated property newspaper with over 100,000 copies circulated island-wide every month and developing a property events platform with approximately 30 shows held annually across 4 countries addressing 30,000 potential property buyers on the ground.

 For more queries or to arrange for an interview, contact:
Katrina Karim
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Email katrina@thepublicrelationscompany.com