More foreign buyers are eyeing luxury condominiums in Manila, according to recent media reports. Buyers from Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia make up most of the foreigners in the past 18 months.
To meet strong foreign interest, Philippine developers are presenting several attractive options, according to Imogen Ridley, Marketing Director at Claire Brown Realty.
“Some developers are offering very relaxed payment plans over the build cycle of their project for off-plan projects. This is advantageous for foreign buyers who don’t want to borrow to pay for their purchase,” she said speaking to PropertyGuru.
Others are turning to vendor finance. This is non-status finance provided by the developer and is usually offered to all investors purchasing units in their project regardless of where they live. This saves foreign buyers the hassle of getting a mortgage from a bank.
The finance repayments would generally start when the project is completed and so if the unit is rented out, rental income can be used to offset the repayments.
To create highly-desirable and instantly-recognisable projects for foreign buyers, developers are also teaming up with famous architects, interior designers and brands.
For instance, Century Spire (pictured), a new development in Makati, was designed by award-winning architect Daniel Libeskind with interior design by Armani.
There are different reasons why Manila property is popular with this segment of Asian buyers. Ridley shared, “Buyers living in cities such as Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong where house prices are extremely high will be all too aware of the rewards of investing in real estate in cities that are on the move and some will be looking to harness the capital growth potential in other cities.”
After making huge gains in their home cities, these buyers can use it to finance purchases elsewhere.
Alternatively, they may have missed the chance to buy property in their country and are looking for other markets to achieve similar returns, she added.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
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