Philippines’ affordable real estate market attracts Japanese investors

Sending them into a buying frenzy

Encouraged by the affordability of the local real estate market, a property management firm told the Manila Bulletin that Japanese conglomerates and private investors have been aggressively purchasing office and residential properties in the Philippines’ major cities in bulk.

Sheila Baylon, the co-founder of Japanese-Filipino real estate joint venture Property Access, said that their company generated USD80 million in sales from Japanese investors in the third quarter of 2018 until the end of 2019.

Property Access also revealed their plans on expanding to other countries, but for now, they will focus on the Philippine market and on Japanese investors because of the strong demand.

More: Overseas demand continues to propel the Philippines’ office sector

“Japanese businessmen prefer to invest in the Philippines because we are the most affordable compared to other countries in the region, plus we are only four hours away by plane,” explained Baylon.

According to her, major Japanese property developers have already partnered with local developers. However, more will be coming to invest in office spaces in Manila and Cebu throughout the pre-selling phase of the projects, mostly in the luxury spectrum, ranging from USD8 million and above.

She also added that Japanese professionals have been bulk buying condominium units.

“We buy mostly office spaces and we buy in bulk of 10 to 12 units because [the Philippines is] very affordable compared to other countries,” she concluded.