Philippine property seekers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are encouraged to mark their calendars for the upcoming Lamudi Housing Fair in Mall of Asia happening this December 14, 2019. As the last leg of the Housing Fair series by the leading real estate platform Lamudi, the one-day fair will gather some of the most trusted names in real estate and related industries to guide property seekers and home buyers in finding the home of their dreams.
Overseas Activity on Lamudi
The appetite for real estate from OFWs and foreign investors continue to grow. In the last two years alone, there has been an 81% increase in the number of sessions outside the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. Based on sessions on Lamudi from outside the Philippines during this period, the top ten foreign destinations that have shown interest in real estate properties are:
- United States
- Canada
- Singapore
- United Arab Emirates
- Australia
- Saudi Arabia
- United Kingdom
- Japan
- India
- Hong Kong
The biggest growth came from India, with a 425% increase from 2017. Canada, on the other hand, showed a 216% increase in the fourth quarter of 2017.
When compared with the distribution of OFWs around the world in 2018, the location of inquiries shows familiar places. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2018 Survey on Overseas Filipinos, 82.6% of OFWs worked in Asia, 0.9% came from Africa, 2.1% came from Australia, 7.8% came from Europe, and 6.6% came from North and South America.
The Philippine Statistics Authority mentions that in Asia, 18.7% of OFWs worked in East Asia, including Hong Kong (6.3%), Japan (3.3%), Taiwan (5.5%), and other countries such as China and South Korea (3.7); 9% worked in Southeast and South Central Asia, including Malaysia (2.4%), Singapore (4.9%), and other countries including Brunei, Cambodia, and Indonesia (1.7%); and 54.9% worked in Western Asia, including Kuwait (5.7%), Qatar (5.2%), Saudi Arabia (24.3%), United Arab Emirates (15.7%), and other countries such as Bahrain, Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan (4%).
The Growing Interest from Overseas
Based on Lamudi’s data, the number of sessions from 2017 to 2018 nearly doubled, showing a strong interest in real estate from overseas in the period of October to December. Saudi Arabia accounted for 7% of the sessions outside the country on Lamudi during this period. As the “most preferred country of destination among OFWs,” 25.4% of the 2.3 million OFWs have worked here anytime during the period April to September 2017, says the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Hong Kong, which had 6.5% of OFWs as of 2017, accounted for 18.41% of searchers on Lamudi from 2017 to 2018.
Japan served as the place of work for 3.3% of OFWs in 2018, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. It is also where 3.25% of Lamudi searches came from in the third quarter of 2018, which is a 95.83% increase compared to the same period in 2017.
The United States is yet another OFW-rich location that has shown interest in real estate properties in the Philippines. Property seeker activities on Lamudi show that 21.5% of sessions outside the country come from the United States, and it has shown a 93% growth from 2017 to 2018.
Meanwhile, Singapore showed a 79% increase in sessions in the same time period, and Australia showed an 82% increase.
Global Pinoys Come Home
Going back to Lamudi Housing Fair, aside from the Christmas festivities which keep Filipinos busy this time of year, now is also the time to look for investment properties that can be a source of passive income or the realization of a life-long homeownership dream.
At the housing fair, property seekers can visit the booths of exhibitors PA Properties, Damosa Land, Inc., BPI Family Housing Loan, Robinsons Land Corporation, RCD Land, CDC Holdings, Inc., MyCitiHomes and more to know their housing and real estate investment options.
Those interested in saving money when buying real estate can stick around for the UnionBank auction of foreclosed properties.
The one-day event is also a place for brokers and agents to network and find potential clients. It is also a day for learning, as learning development coaches from Lamudi Academy will be sharing pointers on converting online leads to sales and improving online strategies.
The Lamudi Housing Fair in MOA has major sponsors Federal Land, Inc., Lancaster New City by PRO Friend, and Eton. The minor sponsors for the event are DMCI Homes and Aboitiz Land, Inc. Lamudi also worked with event partner Subdivision and Housing Developers Association, Inc. (SHDA) to make the housing fair possible.
Visit lamudi.com.ph/housing_fair for more information.
