Scarcity of available land – although the Philippines has 7,100 islands of virgin forests, beautiful mountains, splendid white and volcanic beaches, there are only a few developed areas comparable to those of the urbanized world. Central Business Districts, which are home to familiar brands as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, ING Barrings, Deutsche Bank, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, Ducati, Starbucks and the like are not that abundant.  Properties sold years ago have more than doubled their values and prices are still going up. So if you are thinking about owning your corner of the world in the center of a major city, you should go ahead and buy now before new developments in the landscape raises the prices even higher. 

Low prices  – Real estate is like a stock that, regardless of economic downturns, are always going up in a given 20 year period.  Time moves forward – never backwards. Unless you have a time machine to blast back into the past, you are faced with property values that is bound to appreciate in the next decade. A few years ago, the Central Bank and other cooperating universal banks offered retail treasury bonds to the public that doubled in 5 years – it was a tough sell back then. The smart seasoned investors who realized the potential, invested millions of their savings. 5 years later, their money doubled. Now, the central bank does not offer these retail treasury bonds anymore. Properties behave the same way, properties sold 5 years ago have enjoyed 20-50% return in their values today. These are not bonds that stay in your safe but properties that you use or even rent out. Opportunities come and go. Buy today to buy low. Tomorrow may cost you more money.

New areas of development – New central business districts are being planned for the Philippines. The most notable are Fort Bonifacio Global City, Alabang CBD, Cebu Business District, Sta. Rosa Laguna, Canlubang laguna among others. Buying in these newer developments during the first 15 years will guarantee you a property in a prime neighborhood. Buying it within the first 10 years of development guarantees you a decent profit. Buying it during the first 5 years of development puts you in the same league as those seasoned investors who are stocking on properties at the lowest possible prices at the best possible locations to sell at fully matured prices years down the line. Posh Forbes Park,  Dasmariñas Village and Ayala Alabang Village, considered to be the country’s version  of Beverly Hills, used to be marsh lands in the middle of nowhere. Years after their initial release, they have become one of the most coveted residences in the country to date.  

Low interest rates – Interest rates are at their lowest in 20 years. If you are one of those people who are speculating that rates are going to drop further, you may find yourself homeless when the rates recover and corrects itself. Bank rates and in-house financing terms are at their lowest at the moment. The best real estate deals of the decade are being sold now.  Imagine prime properties with monthly payments similar to a brand new car payment . Many of the best deals today vanish tomorrow. It may be worthwhile to buy your dream home now and turn down that dream car for a better tomorrow. Cars depreciate in value anyway.

Safe investments – Land is always a safer and more rewarding investment to the average person than stocks, mutual funds, bank savings, insurance, etc. How many financial investments above can you actually live in? Most investments are immaterial while land is always real – hence the term “Real Estate”. The Philippines’ biggest tycoons  have real estate businesses: Jaime Zobel de Ayala (Ayala Land), Eugenio Lopez (Rockwell Land), George Ty (Federal Land), Henry Sy (SM Development Corp), John Gokongwei Jr. (Robinsons Land), Lucio Tan (ETON Properties), etc. Perhaps the most popular real estate tycoons in the world are Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki. Real estate is a good investment but not all real estate is a good buy. Some properties perform better than the others and getting a “Licensed” Real Estate Broker is key into getting into a good real estate investment.