What is the Housing Market like in the Philippines?

[Mike J]

6 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

One of you guys buy one of these places and we will have a forum party there!

https://www.philippinesbeachfrontvilla.com/?fbclid=IwAR2MbjOHHsCOrmI_Qn4Xc2gjkW2AocsSCGt0Rd5CCwOXIYMZykN0Q-Hi1m8

Photoshopped pictures of buildings and landscaping seem to be quite popular here in the Philippines.   One wonders how often the actual house, if ever built, matches what the image?

[BLM]

Having a home in a gated community is different than in the states. A subdivision near us is like you would expect, everyone maintaining their homes and the whole place squared away. Our subdivision isn't so lucky. Two of my nearest neighbors live like squatters with trash laying around and no upkeep on their house. Some of the many guests they had were using the side of our house as a CR, no 1 and 2! We cemented in that area to stop that.

The houses here are the usual small two story boxes with a small lot. Many here can't afford to pay the HOA fees and just ignore notices. The subdivision doesn't want to kick them out and wind up with half the neighborhood empty as the vacant houses attract rats and more squatters. Many of the homeowners are like us and have developed their homes into decent places, but those who don't stand out with torn tarps, overgrown yards, and dogs/cats everywhere. The cats keep the rats down, as I haven't seen any evidence of a rat yet, only a dead one in a cat's mouth.

We went from 800 sf to about 1600 sf by building on as we went over a two year period. Dirty kitchen, patio, garage and front porch. I have my shop downstairs. That construction is good, as the wife oversaw the materials and labor. The house might be good, but it was a couple years old when the wife bought it. So far so good, and it's at 60 meters elevation which helps. 

[Mike J]

5 minutes ago, Lee said:

Earlier in this thread, there was a discussion about building a house.

My go-to local resource for Philippine home construction info for years was a blog done by an American who lived in Iloilo. Bob chronicled his house build step by step noting everything that worked and didn't work along the way. It was broken down by categories---roofing, electrical ,air con, etc. His blog has since disappeared it would appear. Does anyone know if something happened to Bob and his blog? I can name his blog but I'm pretty sure that the site mangers would disapprove of my citing his website (that doesn't work today). PM me if someone has any info to share.

I do recall his blog and enjoyed reading about his build.  I really appreciated his honesty in showing how some of his ideas did not work out as well as how he had to overcome issues with workers, materials, vendors, etc.  

[gbmmbg]

The house we are currently building in Cebu is almost done. When I get time I plan on posting a lesson learned. Hopefully it will help if someone wants to go down that road.  Is the house with the blue roof in the center of this photo.

[Tommy T.]

To me, buying an already constructed house is a huge gamble. Work quality is questionable at best and rubbish at worst. We paid attention when our home was built, but there are still issues that crop up. The "electrician" did some amazingly stupid things with his wiring and circuits. Wire up up the washing machine, refrigerator and freezer... Makes a lot of nonsense.

Also, amazingly, ants are a big problem. Just a week ago we lost power. We had underground wiring from the meter post to the house. Power went down here and it was ours, not the power company. We have had other failures where the power lines shorted due to ants eating the insulation..... They are also eating away at the cement (maybe because of the molasses they use that supposedly strengthens the cement?

Our roof leaked a lot to the point we had it totally replaced. The company guarantees the work for life. Well...it still leaks in a few places, but at least not as bad as before.

My main point, however, is that you have no idea about the construction quality of any existing home. So you take your chances We, at least, were able to minimize most potential issues, but still, housing construction quality is generally rather dismal....

[Rooster]

13 hours ago, Kingpin said:

That's mostly a Filipino mindset, because they lack experience with financial investments. Over 40 years your invested money will likely grow as much as your land value, with the additional freedom of not being locked into a single location.

Same applies with inheritance, instead of giving your people a house, you can leave them the investments with an income for life.

 

Strongly Disagree with your reply. That I acted with a Filipino mindset buy us purchasing land, building a house so we don't have to pay rent for the next 40 to 45 years or the rest of our lives. 

How is purchasing ones home so one doesn't have to pay rent for  40 years or for the rest of ones life a Filipino mindset when virtually everyone on planet earth who has the financial means to do so purchases their home to build equity and so they are not paying for rent?

Our land value has increased in value way beyond if I were to place money in a bank or investment. The lack of housing in the tourist area where we live is causing property to skyrocket.

The biggest point you are failing to consider is our house/lot was paid for within 5 years. That means for 40 years or more since becoming housing cost free our  money can go towards other investments unlike those who rent until death will continue to give their cash to a land baron with an expected rent cost raising each year due to inflation.

 

 

 

[Rooster]

6 hours ago, Kingpin said:

Unlike the US, the house doesn't come with the land, so what you're describing is the  common practice of Filipinos buying up all the "developed" land fast at low prices, that's their investment here. They know that years or decades later they can flip it for profit or pass it down.

 

 

 

 

Would you kindly explain this comment that the house does not come with the land in The Philippines? 

Are you referring to suckers who purchase Tax Declaration, Salvage Zone or rights properties? If that's what you mean, one is not even the owner of the land. One only legally owns the land with Titled Property.

 

 Generally, the ownership of a certain parcel of land is proved through an Original/Transfer Certificate of Title or Condominium Certificate of Title, as the case may be. In a catena of cases decided by the Supreme Court, it was held that a certificate of title is the best evidence of ownership.

When buying a property with no title but only tax declaration, the buyer must be wary of the same. As enunciated in the case of Cequena and Lirio, the Supreme Court held that tax declarations and receipts are not conclusive evidence of ownership. Tax receipts and declarations are prima facie proofs of ownership or possession of the property for which such taxes have been paid. Coupled with proof of actual possession of the property, they may become the basis of a claim for ownership. 

It was held in the case of Republic of the Philippines v. Rayos del Sol that, Tax declarations have probative value in land registration proceedings. Although a tax declaration by itself is not adequate to prove ownership, it may serve as sufficient basis for inferring possession. The voluntary declaration of a piece of real property for taxation purposes not only manifests one’s sincere and honest desire to obtain title to the property, but also announces an adverse claim against the state and all other interested parties with an intention to contribute needed revenues to the government. Such an act strengthens one’s bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership.

Sources: FERNANDA MENDOZA CEQUEÑA vs. HONORATA MENDOZA BOLANTE, G.R. No. 137944, April 6, 2000;

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES v. CESAR P. RAYOS DEL SOL et. al., G.R. No. 211698, May 30, 2016

 

 

[hk blues]

3 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

To me, buying an already constructed house is a huge gamble. Work quality is questionable at best and rubbish at worst. We paid attention when our home was built, but there are still issues that crop up. The "electrician" did some amazingly stupid things with his wiring and circuits. Wire up up the washing machine, refrigerator and freezer... Makes a lot of nonsense.

Also, amazingly, ants are a big problem. Just a week ago we lost power. We had underground wiring from the meter post to the house. Power went down here and it was ours, not the power company. We have had other failures where the power lines shorted due to ants eating the insulation..... They are also eating away at the cement (maybe because of the molasses they use that supposedly strengthens the cement?

Our roof leaked a lot to the point we had it totally replaced. The company guarantees the work for life. Well...it still leaks in a few places, but at least not as bad as before.

My main point, however, is that you have no idea about the construction quality of any existing home. So you take your chances We, at least, were able to minimize most potential issues, but still, housing construction quality is generally rather dismal....

For sure buying an already constructed home is more of a leap of faith than self-building (assuming you are able to be on-site for a significant part of the build and actually know what you are looking at as a self-builder - many aren't and don't) but there is some degree of quality control if you buy from an established developer as well as warranties and guarantees - and they do honour them if you have done your homework when choosing which development to buy on and are willing to stand up for yourself.  As an example, after 18 months I was able to get the whole downstairs tiling replaced with laminate for free because I was unhappy with the tiling. 

Was I completely happy with my unit when I took ownership - definitely not BUT that was as a newcomer to the country and with higher expectations than I should have given the price.  Looking back, I would have ranked it 3/10 but in hindsight more like 5/10 and after 2-3 months of snagging and cosmetic work (no structural issues or leaking roofs etc) I would give it a solid  7/10.  

 

 

[hk blues]

3 hours ago, Rooster said:

Would you kindly explain this comment that the house does not come with the land in The Philippines? 

Maybe my misconception, but I though most properties were house and lot or lot only in the Philippines, with the exception of condos obviously. I wasn't aware folk would buy a house but not the land it's build on.  

[mountainside]

Since we'll be returning to the Philippines in September, I've been exploring the purchase/lease/short-term-rent options.  I ran across this recent "Philippines Residential Real Estate Market Analysis 2023" from the Global Property Guide.  It's a long article, so I won't cut-and-paste it here.  Some of the historical data surprised me.  https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Asia/Philippines

Edited May 24, 2023 by mountainside