Property shopping among balikbayans up in numbers

CEBU, Philippines - Property brokers in Cebu are looking forward to busier days ahead noting a surge in interest for property acquisition from balikbayans visiting Cebu for the Sinulog festivities.    Philippine Allied Chamber of Real Estate Brokers and Licensed Salesmen (PhilAcre) president Anthony Leuterio said in an interview that since Christmas and new year, brokers have been busy accommodating the demand of mostly balikbayans for property tripping. This is expected to get much busier in the coming days, as more visitors from other countries will be arriving for Sinulog.

Leuterio, who owns one of the largest real estate brokerages in Cebu , said that unlike in the past that decision making to buy a property in Cebu would take longer, today buyers are serious and some even buy properties on the spot.

"They know that Cebu is progressive. Most of them are wise enough to see the fast growing assessment of any property in Cebu and that their money could grow faster than any investment channels," said Leuterio.

Even at the start of 2015, Leuterio said sales of real estate properties in Cebu saw triple growth, as buyers started to close deals with different property developers--outrightly.

"What is good now is we have a lot of projects to show off. Buyers with already strong interest have wider options according to their preference," said Leuterio.

Balikbayans, Filipinos or Cebuanos married to foreign nationals, OFWs, and even foreigners who want to make Cebu as their second home dominate the buyers' profile of Cebu property market, Leuterio said.

Promising economic projections as well as good Feng Shui vibes for real estate in 2015 fueled the strong interest of buyers from all over the world to acquire properties in the Philippines, including Cebu, said Leuterio.

This observation is backed up by the fact that since the start of 2015, brokers have been very busy accommodating buyers' appointment and site-seeing requests to different real estate projects in Cebu, Leuterio said.

Traditionally, visitors coming to Cebu to witness the Sinulog Festival also include “real estate shopping” in their itineraries, apart from recreational activities. This year, Leuterio said the momentum is surprisingly outstanding—buyers are willing to buy on the spot.

Based on Feng Shui belief, Leuterio said the year of the Wood Sheep is good for the real estate industry in general. However, he warned that because sheep is known as competitive, the industry will see a more competitive industry, that those developers who are willing to "bend their knees" to respond to buyers' prompt requests, and offer good payment terms, and attractive project concepts are the ones most likely to win the competition. — Ehda M. Dagooc (FREEMAN)