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Foreign nationals continue to snap up Philippine Buy-to-Let investments
Low prices, 100% financing option and retirees’ spending
money are directing foreign attention to residential condominium hotels in the
Philippines, which in turn is driving up more construction, according to a
Manila based marketing firm
Beth Collingz, director of PLC International Marketing
Networks, said her company had been very busy catering to buyers from the United
Kingdom and Australia who were interested in investment properties as well as
holiday homes in the Philippines.
“A lot of this interest is being driven by the relatively
cheap market prices in the Philippines compared to Europe – especially UK
housing prices – and the easy payment options available for condominium hotel
developments,” she said.
Collingz, who runs the internet based PLC Global Pinoy
marketing network, added that offshore property investors, foreign baby boomers
as well as overseas Filipinos were looking for ways to maximize their return on
investments as they approach retirement. And so they are purchasing second
homes, particularly buy to let condo hotel property, where they use the condo
for vacations and rent it out when they are not using the unit. The buyers gain
rental incomes that on today’s purchase prices give a projected ROI of some 8
percent depending on the mode of payment for the unit, she said.
Collingz’s firm is in partnership with Pacific Concord
Properties, Inc., which has market ready projects in Metro Manila and Cebu under
the brand Lancaster Suites, with more being built in other locations. Condotels
are gaining a following because, in Pacific Concord’s case, the owners can make
the condos available for short-term rentals when they are away.
At least 85 percent of PLC Global Pinoy’s condotel sales in
the Philippines were to international clients. While such a level of foreign
purchasing activity is not as high in the Philippine provinces, Cebu in
particular, has seen a sharp increase in real estate purchases by international
buyers in the past several years. Foreign buyers were aware that it was a
buyer’s market in the Philippines right now with many properties available and
fewer local buyers, concluded Collingz. (PRLog Press Release)
Home Builder 2010 expo in August
The Thai Home Builder Association is seeking to kick-start the
second half of the 2010 property market through the staging of its Home Builder
2010 exhibition at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center this coming
August 18-22.
Themed under the “Trend & Beyond” concept, this year’s event
is expected to be the biggest ever with exhibitors including leading home
builders, construction material suppliers, financial institutions and property
media all taking part. Special promotions will be available for customers who
sign agreements onsite and there will also be special mortgage loans available
from five leading financial institutions, including Siam Commercial Bank, Bank
of Ayudhya, Kasikorn Bank, Bangkok Bank and Government Housing Bank.
With the exhibition running alongside the Home Buyer Expo, a
consumer show for homes, condominiums and other bank NPAs, organizers hope to
attract approximately 70,000 – 80,000 visitors to the 5 day event. (PR Oasis
Media)
Asia’s 2nd tallest tower
to be built in Hanoi
The PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVN), a subsidiary of the Viet
Nam Oil and Gas Group, has announced plans to build Asia’s second tallest
building in the capital Hanoi.
The 102 storey PVN Tower would have a height of 528 metres
and cost an estimated US$1.2 billion to build.
The tower is designed to house a complex of trade centres,
offices, and apartments and will occupy a 25 hectare site in Hanoi’s Tu Liem
district.
Trinh Xuan Thanh, chairman of PVN’s management board, said
the company planned to commission one of the world’s most famous architects to
design the tower. Those on the shortlist include Argentina’s Cesar Pelli, who
designed the Petronas Twin Towers (452 metres high); Adrian Smith from the US,
who designed the world’s tallest building the Dubai Tower (828 metres high); and
Australian Karl Fender, who built the 88-storey Eureka Tower.
Construction is expected to start in early 2011 and building
work is scheduled to last three years.
One possible obstacle to the project however could be the
current economic crisis which has impacted the property market worldwide. Mohsin
Ahmad, general director and chairman of US consultants Axis Design Group
International, said he doubted there would be sufficient capital to finance the
project – even if it were to get the go-ahead – because demand would be limited.
Over the past five years, a number of high-rise buildings
have sprung up in the Vietnamese capital, including the 34-storey Vinaconex
building, which stands 135m; the 65-storey Hanoi City complex; the 50-storey Cau
Giay Trade Centre; and the 70-storey Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower.
The planned PVN Tower, if constructed, will be by far the
tallest building in Vietnam and second only to the Dubai Tower in Asia. (VNS)
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