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Filipinos overseas are fueling the local real-estate
industry, snapping up tropgy properties and allowing the market to
come if age.
Annual remittances from Filipinos
living and working abroad grew by 25 percent and were forecast to
exceed the $12-billion mark by end-2006. the inflows contributed
significant to country’s international reserves, spur consumer
demand and help stimulate investment, particularly in real estate,
as stated in last year’s government report.
Dave Rafael, general manager of
Ayala Land International Sales Inc., in the past years alone, sales
for Ayala Land to OFW improved from 25 percent to close to 35
percent in the following year.
“A very big jump in terms of
sales accounted for by the overseas market,” Rafael said. “And
the trend going forward is even increasing.”
He added that location is the
most important criteria for them, and this basically means their
home must be centrally located in the malls, hospital, churches and
relatives.
Indicative of this is the pace of
sales of Two Serendra, a project of Community Innovations known not
only for being situated in the middle of every conceivable
convenience city living can provide but for being a haven dedicated
to verdant landscapes and expansive open spaces as well.
While the development has long
prospered from its proximity to the Makati business district from
local buyers, their cachet has now spread overseas, drawing Filipino
investors from abroad.
“Two Serendra has been one of
our top sellers, particularly for the Filipino-American market,”
Rafael explains. “The Fil-Ams abroad, their homes are located in
suburbs—surrounded by greens, open spaces, clean air. Their
biggest concern in the Philippines is the traffic, so they want a
very central location that is close to everything.”
The 12-hectare development
therefore, with 65 percent of the property devoted to greens and
open spaces, impeccably master-planned community and central
location, is a very compelling proposition for investors who are
looking to fuse the ease of the urban lifestyle with all the
comforts of suburbia in their home.
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