The Philippines’ top property seekers are young women

Accounting for 50 percent of all sales leads

In the Philippines, online property broker Lamudi named young Filipinas aged between 25 to 34 as the country’s top real estate seekers, accounting for 50 percent of sales leads, reported Bloomberg Quint. On top of that, women, in general, made up for 60 percent of all leads.

“Filipinos develop an interest in property ownership at a young age and continue to make inquiries as they become more financially stable in their mid-30s or progress to a new life stage,” Lamudi said in the report.

The latest data published by the central bank showed the prices for residential properties in the country grew by 9.5 percent quarter-on-quarter in three months to the end of September. The rental rates also increased by 7.3 percent in 2019 as more employees opted to live near their workplace.

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The report by Lamudi, in collaboration with Colliers International Group, also predicted that around 15,610 more residential apartments will pop up in 2020, beating the annual completion of 10,700 units from 2016 to 2018. However, the said supply will cause problems unless the infrastructure will be able to accommodate the growing population.

“Until train lines, expressways, and subways are completed within 2022 to 2025, the major business districts of Makati CBD, Ortigas Centre, Fort Bonifacio, and the Bay Area will experience heavy traffic, which has spurred the decision of developers to build co-living residential places near business hubs,” according to the report.

Another market segment that has prompted the interest of property developers are condominiums near universities. In Manila, the average tenant in a dorm pays for around PHP4,000 (USD79) to PHP6,000 per month.

“Their monthly cost of the commute is more than PHP4,500, which determines the amount they’re willing to pay for rent to be near enough to walk or to take one bus,” indicated the report.