Many Pinoys abroad taking advantage of low real estate prices in PHL — report

Many overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are taking advantage of the low prices of real estate property in the Philippines, a report of the news site Gulf News said.

Gulf News said Philippine real property developer Shoe Mart Development Corporation (SMDC) reported a spike in the number of buyers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

“Our strategy is to meet every buyer’s need for five-star homes at affordable cost,” said Byron Ramos, an SMDC international property specialist in Dubai.

Ramos noted that from January to July this year, SMDC netted over P1 billion in sales from customers in those countries.

During the said period, the company sold 425 units, compared to just 386 units in 2011 and 421 units in 2010.

However, not only OFWs are recently showing interest in buying furnished apartments but also foreign investors, Ramos said.

Because of this, SMDC, led by Filipino business tycoon and billionare Henry Sy, plans to set up offices in Dubai soon.

Gulf News cited Edward Caoc, 37 and Joan, 36, a couple in Dubai, who are looking forward to owning a real estate property in the Philippines.

The couple is paying a six-year contract for a 150-square-meter lot in Plaridel, Bulacan and a ‘condotel’ in Quezon City, Manila.

“The next six years will be tough as we pay them off, but it’s better to suffer now and enjoy later — than enjoy now and suffer later,” Caoc told Gulf News.

Overseas Filipinos send around $20 billion (P842.6 billion) annually, making the Philippine peso the best performing currency from Asia amidst disastrous floods in 2012. - Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News