A property data showed that Filipinos, including the younger ones, are now keener on buying property than renting, a trend similar to what has been happening in other global regions like Europe and United States.

Global property website Lamudi Philippines looked into its third quarter 2015 search data and found out that among 18 to 24 years old, there is an equal proportion of property hunters looking for for-rent and for-sale properties.

Moreover, the data showed that there is a tendency for property hunters to check out for-sale properties online as they get older.

Lamudi said that among 25 to 34 year old users, 57.3 percent are checking out for-sale properties in the website, compared to 42.7 percent of users who look for for-rent properties.

The preference to buy is even higher in the older age groups of 35 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 to 64.

Lamudi Philippines managing director Jacqueline van den Ende said these findings are consistent with observations made in Europe and the United States, where people have the tendency to buy as they get older.

“This seems to be the case among Filipinos. Younger people – those aged 18 to 24 – probably prefer mobility and flexibility, which explains a higher search volume for for-rent properties in the Lamudi website,” Van den Ende said.
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“However, this does not mean that they are not planning to buy eventually. Almost half of searches in this age group are dedicated to for-sale properties, then this tendency significantly increases in the 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 age groups. [This is the] stage when young people start to have stable jobs, consider getting married, and start families,” she added.


by Madelaine B. Miraflor/http://www.mb.com.ph

Lawmakers are pushing for the extension of the rental regulation and the adjustment of the coverage and rates of increases on rent, as provided under the Rental Control Act of 2009, to protect housing tenants in the lower income brackets and other beneficiaries from unreasonable increases.

Abang Lingkod Party-list Representative Joseph Stephen Paduano, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez, III, and Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo gave in to the recommendation of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to extend the rental regulation for two years, beginning January 1, 2016.

They explained that Republic Act 9653, the Rental Control Act, which was enacted in July, 2009 encourages affordable housing, in particular rental housing.

Agreeing with the HUDCC’s recommendations, they said the rental regulation for the period shall use the inflation rate for 2014 of 4.1 percent as the basis for any adjustment.

RA 9653 mandates the use of the inflation rate on rentals of the immediately preceding year in determining the new rental ceiling and that the average inflation rate on rentals for 2014 was pegged at 4.1 percent.

“The rent for any residential unit for as long as occupied by the same lessee, shall not be increased by more than 4 percent for those with a monthly rental of P1,000 to P3,999 and not more than 7 percent for those with a monthly rental of P4,000 to P10,000,” the lawmakers said.

Before leading the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), former Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento also pushed for the extension of rental regulation.

As provided under the law, the HUDCC is mandated to submit to Congress its recommendation on whether a continuing regulation is necessary or deregulation is already warranted.

“The HUDCC and its attached agencies, in the case of deregulation, to formulate and implement a two-year transition program which will provide safeguards that will cushion the impact of a regulation-free rental housing market,” the lawmakers said in filing House Resolution 2359.

They noted that the complete study submitted by the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute (PSRTI) to the HUDCC revealed that based on the Family Income and Expenditure Survey Conducted by the National Statistics Office for 2012, 1.54 million families or 7.2 percent of the 21.48 million households in the country were renting.

“A total of 1,274,788 families or 82.5 percent of the 1.54 million renting families paid a monthly rent of less than P4,000, and of those renting less than P4,000 per month, 124,742 families or 8 percent of the total renters belonged to the first and third income deciles,” they pointed out.

RA 9653 declared a moratorium in any rental increase from time of its enactment through December 31,2009 and limited to not more than seven percent the allowable rental increase from January 1,2010 to December 31,2013 for all residential units in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other highly urbanized areas with a rental rangng from P1,000 to P10,000 and residential units in all other areas with a rental ranging from P1,000 to P5,000.

The HUDCC adopted a resolution extending rental regulation until December 31, 2015 on status quo rates.


by Charissa Luci/http://www.mb.com.ph

EXTERNAL events, like the slowing Chinese economy, should not dampen the high spirits and bullish outlook of the real-estate industry in the Philippines as it plans to expand even more in the coming years given strong and continued market demand, a top property management executive said on Thursday.

According to Luis Enrique T. Mangosing, Metro Development Managers Inc. CEO, the local property sector has remained bullish for more than a decade now and its growth momentum should still be sustained over many years to come.  “In fact, I think this year commercial developments will turn over more than half-a-million square meters of space, enough to meet local demand,” he told reporters at the Philippines Property Awards 2016 ceremonies in Makati City.  

“If you compare it to Singapore, you’ll be lucky with a 10,000 sq m [set for] completion in the same year. So that’s how big the Philippine [real-estate] market is nowadays. And the developments are not concentrated [only] in Metro Manila anymore, [as] we do have satellite developments in Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao. That’s the beauty about the Philippine real- estate industry, it's growing everywhere,” he added.  

Mangosing also cited the strong activity in other property subsectors, like the office segment that is much in demand among business-process outsourcing (BPO) locators.  “I’d like to think that more than 50 percent of the [office-space] demand is being driven by BPOs and call centers,” the top executive said.  

As per the recent report of property consultant Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services Inc., the local office market has remained robust in the third quarter of this year on the back of strong demand, low vacancy and increasing rent rates.

Based on the company’s Market Insight Report for September 2015, office-space take-up in Metro Manila has continued to expand, with some 40,000  sq m already filled up by BPO companies the past three months.

Over a thousand firms now comprise the country’s BPO industry, employing over 1 million people as of end-2014.

Given the quick and massive absorption of office space, the overall vacancy rate at the central business districts (CBDs) in the metropolis is below 3 percent no matter the accelerated pace of supply.

The huge uptake on office space is because, compared to other markets in the region like India, Hong Kong and Indonesia, among others, the Philippines still offers the lowest office rental rates, it was said.

The Pinnacle research also revealed that rental rates in Makati  City grew by approximately 1  percent quarter-on-quarter, with monthly charges ranging from P675 per sq m to  P1,280 per sq m.

In other CBDs, both Ortigas and Alabang have average monthly rental fees of P650 a sq  m, P870 a sq m in Bonifacio Global City, but a bit cheaper in Quezon City at only P625 per sq  m.

Expected to expand with 1.3 million jobs and projected annual growth of 17 percent by 2016, the BPO industry demand for office space should continued to rise as more and more outsourcing companies increasingly look to set up shop not only in the metropolis but also in the so-called next-wave cities around the country.

As for the residential sector, Mangosing said there already are indications of surpluses in certain locations and categories, but that a substantial backlog exists in the low-cost housing portion of the industry.  Pinnacle previously said the National Economic and Development Authority estimated the housing demand at more than 800,000 units a year, of which close to 400,000 is met. The remaining households represent demand from informal-settler families who cannot afford one.

Private real-estate developers typically target to carve a market share from the 400,000 annual demand for housing in the Philippines.

“The problem with low-cost housing is that it’s very dependent on long-term mortgages, which are provided by the government. So depending on how efficient the take-out system of the government, that drives the volume of production and sales,” he said.

Since the private sector cannot fund the low-income portion because the interest rates are socialized, ranging from 5 percent to 7 percent, the developers themselves do not participate.

Given this, Mangosing urged the government, through its housing agencies, to become efficient in terms of raising funds for socialized low-cost housing.

“The potential demand is there, but it’s the funding that is lacking,” he said.

It was noted the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council approved in June the adjustment of the so-called economic-housing loan ceiling to P1.7 million from P1.25 million.

This will give average-income earners living in highly urbanized cities a chance to avail of a higher value loan for housing.

Looking forward, Mangosing expects the growth areas of the local property market to come from the hospitality, retail and commercial-development sectors.

On the various developments now taking place overseas, Ensign Media CEO and Property Report Magazine Publisher Terry Blackburn said the Philippines is resilient enough as to be sufficiently shielded from China’s economic slowdown.
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“In fact, during our Property Report Congress last week, we asked all of the speakers about this, and 90 percent said what’s happening in China now will have no impact on the property market here and in the region,” he said.  “Unless there’s a major hiccup from outside of the country, I expect the industry to move forward,” Mangosing quickly added.


by Roderick Abad / http://www.businessmirror.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is following trends in Europe and the United States where people become more serious in buying properties as they get older.

The report showed there is an increasing preference among Filipinos to buy a property as they hit 35 years and their purchasing tendency further escalates as they grow older.

There is an equal proportion of property hunters looking for for-rent and for-sale properties among 18- to 24-years old.
For this age group, 50.2 percent look for for-rent properties while 49.8 percent search for for-sale properties.

Among the 25- to 34-year-old age group, 57.3 percent check out for-sale properties while 42.7 percent look for for-rent properties.

The preference to buy is even higher in the 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 age groups as 70.8 percent and 72.6 percent, respectively, search for for-sale properties.

The 55 to 64 age group also posts strong eagerness in buying a property at 71.1 percent while only 28.9 percent look for for-rent properties.

Lamudi Philippines managing director Jacqueline van den Ende said the findings in the Philippines are consistent with observations made in Europe and the United States, where people have the tendency to buy as they get older.

“This seems to be the case among Filipinos. Younger people, those aged 18 to 24, probably prefer mobility and flexibility, which explains a higher search volume for for-rent properties in the Lamudi website,” Van den Ende said.

Van den Ende, however, said this does not mean the young generation are not planning to buy eventually.

“Almost half of searches in this age group are dedicated to for-sale properties, then this tendency significantly increases in the 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 age groups: stage when young people start to have stable jobs, consider getting married, and start families,” she said.

In terms of areas, Quezon City remains the Philippines’ most popular place to search a property, whether to rent or to buy.  Twenty seven percent of property hunters looking for for-sale properties are checking Quezon City, followed by Makati, Parañaque, Tagaytay, and Las Piñas.


By Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)