Philippine buyers are in the market for second homes with nearly 41 percent of respondents in a recent Santos Knight Frank study saying they were actively searching for an additional residence. Only 27 percent of those surveyed in Asia were considering a second home while this total was 33 percent globally.
The consultancy noted that second homes weren’t simply an investment for buyers in the Philippines, but a destination where they could get away during times when travel may be restricted.
Santos Knight Frank’s Global Buyer Survey 2021: The Philippine Edition also found that new considerations were influencing what people were looking for in housing. Low-density environments and wellness-related features, such as indoor air quality and green spaces, were among the most important factors to property seekers.
“The pandemic has amplified buyers’ concerns on their health, wellbeing, comfort, and safety, and we see this clearly reflected on the shifting preference in acquiring new or secondary homes,” Marie Gimena-Villanueva, Associate Director for Residential Services at Santos Knight Frank stated. “As we see recovery from the pandemic over the next months, buyers who want to acquire residential property should need to make a decision soon amid the discounts we see today. Our survey suggests that 39 percent of owners expect the value of their property to increase between 1 percent to 9 percent over the next 12 months from the start of the survey, reflecting increasing market confidence.”
Related: Real estate discounts: How much can you ask for when negotiating?
A majority of the survey’s respondents in the Philippines have moved house since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 33 percent said the primary reason for moving was the need for outdoor space while 17 percent were driven by a desire to have better amenities.
Pampanga and Rizal are among two popular suburban locations around Metro Manila seeing an influx of home buyers in search of green spaces.
