Condo Living
Approximately P240 billion, or 30 percent of the $20 billion in OFW remittences
The Concept of condo living or vertical residential is becoming a fast trend in the Philippines, were more people are living in the cityies than in the countryside.
Approximately P240 billion, or 30 percent of the $20 billion in OFW remittences, are invested in real estate every year, the bulk of which goes to condominium units in key cities of Metro Manila.
Such amount was not significant during the mid 1990’s boom of the real estate sector, and payment terms for condos are more affordable now for the middle class, partly due to the very low interest rates offered by the banks here in the Philippines.
Living in the Philippines in Condos
Land in the region and key cities is getting scarcer and more expensive, explaining why condo projects are getting more and more popular among developers also due to there more efficient, environment friendly and more affordable to buyers.
Buyers have also developed preference for buying a condo units within Metro Manila over house and lot units in the suburbs due to traffic, high fuel costs and lack of mass transport, even if the amortisation of house and lot units in the suburbs is lesser than half of the condos, adding the fuel costs and road tolls makes it more expensive.
Targeting OFWs
Real state developers are targeting the OFW’s, people working or studying in or near the project areas, they also aim to tap newly married and retired couples of families who also need housing requirements here in the Philippines.
These days they are encouraged to buy a condo if its monthly amortisation cost is almost the same as the monthly rental cost of there apartment.
The real challenge for the government is how to eliminate the squatter colonies in Metro Manila and provide decent housing to all it’s citizens, something that they need to prioritise as land is fast becoming consumed by the housing bubble that’s going on, it might not survive and all it takes is a flaw and the market could crash like it is here in Australia slowing down now after years of fears competition.
How to live in Philippines
For now Condo living is a wave of the future, as demand for dwelling units in metropolis rises, it needs to go vertical to accommodate all this demand because land is a finite resource in metropolis Manila. Some filipinos nowadays especially the one in high end societies embraces the vertical living .
