What you very rarely hear in this industry is any of the experts saying if I was going to make an investment it would be “here”, though I have read one expert saying he wouldn’t invest in Dubai. So I am going to take a rare step here and say:

If I was going to make a property investment it would be in the Philippines, where I could get a really promising off-plan apartment for under 30k and where I would be in for a tidy profit.

The Philippines has its troubles outside of Manila but the EU has pledged millions of dollars to the Philippino government to try and assist them in bringing in health service reforms and reforms to try and reduce corruption, and for better distribution of wealth.

Manila is booming, primarily it is benefiting from its new attractiveness to big business who can set up outfits there relatively cheaply, and to be honest in my book, businesses coming in is better to base a fledgling emerging market’s growth on than tourism. As it gives the population jobs, and ups the possibility of resale from within the country if the foreign interest dies down because of changes in the global economy.

Having said that regional tourism to the Philippines is growing really quickly, apartment rental yields are already around the 8% mark and will rise to more like twelve when holiday lettings become more readily available, especially from western tourists. With the Philippines of course, being so attractive to big business there is of course the potential for high yield residential lets from imported execs or even young and newly promoted local workers looking for a swanky luxury apartment.

Because of Manila’s across the board growth, and as a part of Asia its potential for sustained growth for at least the next 5-10 years also make it a safe investment. But my reason for investing in the Philippines is because it would be short-term, I would be selling my Manila property in about 4 years at which point I would expect to be selling for at least twice what I paid.

We [David Stanley Redfern Ltd] have apartments in Manila, unfurnished £28000, with furniture packs available at reasonable rates. Buying a furnished one would make these apartments instant earners. The good thing about these is that it is a two tower development and the first tower is complete, so I am able to send out shots of the finished products to prospective buyers.

Liam Bailey
Head of International Research
www[dot]davidstanleyredfern[dot]com
media[at]davidstanleyredfern[dot]com