Archive for March, 2009

Filipino Developers Bullish on Philippine Economy?

Monday, March 30th, 2009
According to a recent Saturday article by Philippine Inquirer, Filipino developers are bullish on the prospects of the Philippine Economy despite the Times. According to Bansan Choa, national president of the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA), Filipinos are not worried about the economy and continue to buy homes simply because they have to answer their basic need of providing shelter for their families.In addition, our financial position is much better now than it was in the 1997 Asian Crisis since the Pag-Ibig fund allocation has increased to p30 billion pesos and the Government-owned Home Guaranty Corporation has protected housing loans of the banks themselves. In fact, every million invested in Philippine real estate translates to p16.6 million worth of economic activity, according to SHDA Chairman Eduardo Alunan. Of course, this is very encouraging news for us Filipinos in the light of the current economic slowdown.

Another reason for their optimism is that they have cement prices locked at lower prices through deals with Cemex and Holcim. Of course, this would give Filipino Developers much more room to work with in terms of keeping costs at bay. As I have already mentioned in my previous blog posts about our resiliency…

(See the links below for more)
• http://www.realestatephilippinesblog.com/more-positive-real-estate-philippines-news/ ,
• http://www.realestatephilippinesblog.com/still-more-positive-philippine-real-estate-outlooks/
• http://www.realestatephilippinesblog.com/part-2-of-inquirer-article-on-real-estate-philippines/
… things are not as bad as they seem to be. As I said before, these developers know what they are doing, and of course they have done their homework to know that their businesses will indeed thrive and even prosper now.
Watch out for the 2nd half of the year, I believe this is where things will turn out well for Philippine Real Estate

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Feng Shui Tips for Real Estate

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
Feng Shui is one of the ancient Chinese methods that provide insight for sustainable living as well as harmonious relationship between people, time, space and the environment. They define in terms of energy which they called “chi”. This method gives precise information to design your living area in alignment with the opportunities and your needs.
There are generally two types of Feng Shui you will find out there: traditional and modern style. Each Feng Shui master has different interpretations of the principles to be followed. They may agree in some, and disagree on other points.
This guide doesn’t follow one school of Feng Shui exclusively. Instead, it gives an overview of different methods and provides practical steps that you can use to introduce Feng Shui into your own area.
PROPERTY
Like in real estate, location plays a key role in Feng Shui. The correct location of our home, where we spend more of our time, is the primary key to having good Feng Shui.
So, just what are the things that we should look out for?
Situate your home within the natural landscape, floral and fauna that represents life and more positive energy.
Mountains and hills: The hills and mountains should lie behind the house (south-facing), because they provide protection against harsh winds from the north.
Rivers and roads: Rivers and roads are considered favorable as long as they’re not too fast-moving and don’t point directly at the home’s entrance.
Pools and ponds: Pools and ponds are particularly valuable to the south and west of a house, where they’ll cool warm summer winds. Pools and ponds should never have straight edges.
A flat terrain is acceptable in Feng Shui but it is better if the land at the back of the house is higher that at the front. As a general rule it is ideal if the house sits on land that is higher or the same level as the road. Try to avoid a house that sits on land that is lower than the access road.
Lot Shape
Feng Shui favors lot shapes that are balanced, such as squares or rectangles. Feng Shui considers triangular, trapezoidal, and L-shaped lots less favorable since the irregular contours of the lot can trap chi or prohibit it from entering. The worst shape is a triangle.
Manmade Structures to Avoid:
a. Bridges, offramps, and tunnels – Highly trafficked areas generate a wild and overwhelming chi.
b. Churches and houses of worship – Though these sites don’t attract bad chi, they can attract such intense chi that it overwhelms the chi of your home.
c. Garbage dumps, sewers, and landfills – Bad chi is attracted to refuse and rot.
d. Hospitals, cemeteries, and funeral homes – Bad chi clings to places of death and sickness.
e. Military bases, police stations, and prisons – With their connotations of war and violence, they generate mostly bad chi.
f. Power stations – These stations generate massive amounts of electromagnetic energy and bad chi.
g. Railroads and airports – Large, loud, fast-moving machines discourage gentle, flowing chi.
h. Schools – Schools are loaded with energy that can overwhelm the chi within your home.
If you do live close to any of these locations, you can still protect the chi in your home by following these guidelines:
1. Face your front door away from the location.
2. Put curtains on the windows that face the location.
3. Get more secure windows or double windows.
Watch out for more Feng Shui Tips and guidelines to maximize the potential of your home in my next blog. Happy Property Hunting! :-)

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Posted in Investment Opportunities, TIPS for Buyers | 4 Comments »

RP banks get ‘negative’ credit outlook

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
Source: Philippine Star
Philippine Star reports that Moody’s Investors Service has declared its credit outlook for the Philippine banking system is “negative”, but the main property news here is its statement reflecting expectations on our Real Estate Philippines Sector:
”With the economy softening, Lung said the real estate market is not expected to be as robust as in recent years. This slowdown could in turn impact the rates of return the banks are expecting to achieve on joint-venture projects with property firms to redevelop their ROPA.”
Lung here refers to Richard Lung, a VP and senior analyst at Moody’s, which happens to be one the world’s top credit raters of the big companies worldwide. ROPA is the acronym for Real and Other Properties Acquired of banks – the foreclosed properties where their loaners couldn’t pay their housing loans anymore, so the bank seized the property being loaned for to cover the expense of their loan.
Because of the boom in Real Estate Philippines in the past 3 to 5 years, some banks engaged in joint-venture projects to develop their ROPA assets into marketable projects and gain more profits. An example of this is Eton Properties, which used it’s ROPA’s to develop some of its current projects like Eton Residences Greenbelt, One Archers De La Salle, Belton Place, Eton Emerald Lofts, and 68 Roces Townhomes.
But with this statement, Moody’s just clarifies their outlook towards Philippine banks with a concrete example: fearful, cautious, and pessimistic.
Still, all is not lost, they have also mentioned that we are in better shape to weather the storm due to our much stronger reserves compared to the 1997 Asian Crisis.
Only time will tell if the Philippine banks’ decisions to go into Philippine Properties using their own lands will prove to be a success or a failure. I mentioned before that our population growth is our main driver for property demand here. But do the Filipino people still have purchasing power to buy their dream home?
OFW remittances are slowing down, and so are exports and employment in many foreign companies. But, we are not as damaged as the Americans, so most of us are still living comfortably. Many have the money to buy property but are hesitant to invest in these times. The real answer now lies on how we Filipinos react to the current situation. Let us indeed be prudent on how we spend our money, and buy property not based on speculation but based on your real housing needs – providing shelter to your family and loved ones. In this way, we can spend wisely.

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How to Choose: PRE-SELLING vs FORECLOSED vs SECONDARY PROPERTIES

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
When one wants to invest in a Philippine Property, (or any property for that matter), the careful buyer will always find three types of properties to choose from by canvassing around: Pre-selling, Foreclosed, and Secondary Properties.

Given a budget to work with, whether it’s a million-peso figure and/or a monthly budget based on your income, how will you know which of the three suits you best?

Aside from the location of the property itself which of course is crucial to you depending on where you live and work, allow me to give you this chart below so you will know what to expect on each of the three: (All Caps means an ADVANTAGE)


Pre-Selling Foreclosed Secondary
Quality BRAND NEW Usually Plenty of repairs
to be done		 May have minimal or many
repairs
Availability of Use 1 to 5 years, depending on
type of property and developer reputation		 After Repairs (unless it
needs none which is very very rare)		 MOST READY due to minimal
repairs
Price per Sqm Lower than Units Ready for
Use		 LOWEST and CHEAPEST Brand New = Expensive. Older
= Cheaper
Payment Terms BEST – Very flexible
depending on buyer’s capabilities = Either High down and Low
Monthly, or Low Down High Monthly (sometimes even NO DOWN)		 Good = Usually 10 –
20 % down and the rest of the balance in bank loan for Monthly’s
= Low Down, High Monthly’s		 Mostly Cash or Bank Loan
of 50 to 70%, which means Down of 30 – 50% = High Down, Lower
Monthly’s
Best Traits BRAND NEW, BEST TERMS CHEAPEST, can do RENT-TO-OWN READINESS for USE
Worst Traits Have to Wait before using
it		 Tons of Repairs, time needed Sometimes Expensive, rigidness
of Payment Terms

I believe this chart speaks for itself and is very very helpful especially to the newcomers in the Real Estate Philippines Industry. Now you know what you getting into when it comes to real estate investing. Feel free to bookmark this link for your continued reference and give it out to your friends and relatives who are looking for a property, whether for their own use of for investment. Now, if a Philippine Pre-Selling property suits you the best, check my blog’s category of the same name at http://www.realestatephilippinesblog.com/category/pre-selling-condominiums/

If you are looking for a Foreclosed Philippine Property, you can check the banks for their listings by going there at their branches, looking at the newspapers, calling them up, or checking their websites. You can also go to http://foreclosedrealestate.blogspot.com since they specialize in Philippine Foreclosed Properties.

And lastly, if you are looking for a Secondary Property, you may look at the classified ads (especially the Manila Bulletin), check the internet, or ask your Philippine Real Estate Brokers and friends who may have such up for sale.

Happy Property Hunting to all!

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Posted in Investment Opportunities, TIPS for Buyers | 6 Comments »

How Philippine Real Estate Developers will Survive Today

Monday, March 16th, 2009

It is quite obvious that Philippine Real Estate Developers are not as robust now compared to the previous 3 years due to the global economic slowdown, and therefore need new fresh tactics to survive.The Inquirer Property section started a series of articles that stated “Asia is no longer insulated” from the financial crisis originating from the West (source: http://www.inquirer.net/propertyguide/aroundtown/view.php?db=1&article=20090314-194072).  Global Property Guide’s survey of publicly-available house-price time-series for 2008 showed that Philippine Property prices were declining steadily. Even until now, the slope is still going down as we brokers ourselves experience difficulty in selling. Most people we talked to our holding on to their money, or simply have hard times themselves in making it.According to the article, here is what Prince Christian Cruz, a Global Property Guide senior economist, suggests to Philippine Real Estate Developers to cope with the crisis:

• Provide cheaper properties by cutting back on certain amenities such as gyms, function halls and swimming pools. Location is more important to the working class Filipinos.

• Focus on accessibility to public transport as this is crucial to them

• Price properties according to the buying capacity of working and middle-class families. The international standard for affordable housing is three to five times the annual income. In other words, a Filipino worker who earns P10,000 a month can buy a Philippine Property between P360,000 and P600,000.

• Offer rent-to-own schemes for better affordability

In other words, Mr. Cruz is suggesting developers should shift their focus from Overseas Filipinos an enormous local demand from the locally employed middle-class and working-class sector.

The second part of the Inquirer article quotes Alejandro Mañalac, president of the National Real Estate Association, saying that the Economic Slowdown is a blessing in disguise since there will be a smaller glut or oversupply of Philippine condominiums due to developers slowing down in new projects.

Mañalac also said the Ifric 15 issue (see my previous blog entry about it on http://www.realestatephilippinesblog.com/breaking-news-new-rule-to-hamper-philippine-real-estate-developers/) also made developers rethink their plans to build high-rise buildings (which takes three to five years to complete) in favor of end-user projects which they could finish within a year, and thus recognize their income in their books. “It’s a good thing that the implementation of this new accounting reporting standard was deferred until 2012,” he said, or else all of them would look bad to investors of their stocks.

Mr. Manalac also agrees with Mr. Cruz in terms of adjusting the payment schemes of properties for sale so that end users and the Filipino workers can afford it more. He reiterates that even though most of the Philippine Pre-selling projects are 60% sold, which gives them enough money to complete construction, developers should adjust their investment terms accordingly and not necessarily bring down prices, so that the remaining inventories of pre-sellers can be taken.

If you ask me, this suggestion should also apply to secondary sellers of Philippine property. They should try selling rent-to-own style, where in they can earn from the interest they charge to their tenants as well. In that way, they can help more Filipinos in owning their dream home while doing business also – a Win-Win situation for both buyer and seller

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68 Roces Townhomes Community

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

68 roces68 Roces Townhomes is the latest High-End Quezon City townhouse project of Eton Properties by Lucio Tan. As stated in its name, 68 Roces is a 3.3 hectare Residential Enclave located along Roces Avenue, making it a very prime residential spot especially for young families and newly-wed couples who are used to the Sta Mesa Heights, New Manila, and Scout Areas.

See the 12 Reasons on why you should invest in 68 Roces below…

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Posted in Eton-Properties, FLOOD-FREE PROPERTIES, Investment Opportunities, Pre-selling Townhomes, Quezon City Townhomes, Residential Lots | 19 Comments »

Laguna Lots: Riverbend at Eton City

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

riverbendRiverbend is a residential development in Eton City, Santa Rosa Laguna (more about Eton City and the boom of Sta Rosa in my previous blogpost at http://www.realestatephilippinesblog.com/investment-lots-future-makati city-in-santa-rosa-laguna/). Again it is another proud mid-scale vertical project made by Eton Properties by Lucio Tan.

This time, Riverbend offers a beautiful river as its main feature, as opposed to the higher-scale South Lake Village which offers a 35-hectare lake to residents (more on Eton South Lake Village at http://www.realestatephilippinesblog.com/south-lake-village-at-eton-city/).

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Posted in Eton-Properties, FLOOD-FREE PROPERTIES, Laguna Properties, Pre-selling Lots, Residential Lots | No Comments »

South Lake Village at Eton City

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

south lake villageSouth Lake Village is located in Eton City, the 1000 hectare city development project of Eton Properties in Laguna. It is dubbed as “the Makati of the South” due to its ultra-prime location right in the quadrant of the Eton City – Greenfield City Exit. It has a better location that its nearest rivals, namely Greenfield City by the Campos Group and Nuvali by Ayala Land (read more about the next real estate boom in Santa Rosa Laguna in my previous blogpost: http://www.realestatephilippinesblog.com/investment-lots-future-makati-city-in-santa-rosa-laguna/). Indeed, these pictures shows you its beauty and progress in more than a thousand words :-)

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Posted in Eton-Properties, FLOOD-FREE PROPERTIES, Laguna Properties, Pre-selling Lots, Residential Lots | 30 Comments »