Filipinos leave no stone unturned in investments

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

Filipino millennials, born between 1981 and 1995, whether in their homeland or abroad see the value of investments including real estate and so take the effort.

From Sharjah is six-year UAE resident Winnie Jane Orines and her fiancé Christian Lumbera: “Our priority is a house-and-lot among other property investments. We believe that investments while given the chance to work is a sound move even in critical times like this pandemic we have been through for over a year.”

For practicality and Novel Coronavirus (COVID19)-related, Orines said they are eyeing an easy scheme, specifically rent-to-own: “We do not want to get into bank loans. We are not also going for the PagIBIG Fund (the Philippines’ government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development that advocates socialised housing).”

Dubai-based in the past three months is real estate professional in the past 21 years, Liza S. Teves. Gulf Today interviewed the DecaGold Realty & Development Inc. — Sales Operations senior vice — president regarding financial literacy and her observations on the Philippine real estate industry with focus from 2018 to the present, and how millennials have entered the equation. DecaGold is affiliated with the 17-year-old

8990 Holdings Inc. whose Cebu-based owners are in support of providing decent housing to all Filipinos and so into a wide range of property investment offerings including low-cost mass housing to high and mid-rise condominium projects.

Teves likened the Philippine real estate industry to any other business impacted by COVID-19: “But due to the rise of investors (both foreign and local), and home buyers purchasing power and more affordable offerings from real estate developers, there has been an upward trend for houses and condominium units. Filipinos are into real estate investments because they want to own decent houses in safe communities (which have been bolstered by the pandemic).” She implied engaging into the industry is another opportunity since at present is a backlog of 6.5 million housing units plus 300,000 more each year.

Based on her 21-year experience, Teves continually sees “young professionals” majority of whom are millennials between the ages of 25 and 35, as the “potential investors in real estate.” A huge number is female. In the last three months alone in the UAE, the Teves’ team has seen the interest and strong purchasing power of the Filipino millennials, attracted to the “affordability terms” which include rent-to-own.