Buying real estate in the Philippines is a great idea, and I’ve personally been doing this for years.
Through our Serenity Real Estate service, we give you the opportunity to also invest in real estate in the Philippines, even from your own country.
If you want more information about this, be sure to check out Serenity Real Estate!
In this article I will give you 5 advantages of investing in real estate in the Philippines.
Diversifying your portfolio
The secret of successful investing as an amateur investor is a well thought-out portfolio that is diversified both in terms of sectors (ie funds, gold, cash, real estate, etc.) and in terms of geography.
The reason for this is that you are quite safe if a problem or crisis occurs in one of the sectors or countries in which you invest.
After all, the main rule of investing is: never lose money.
Many people understand this concept, but they don’t apply it.
Or they simply invest everything in a “diverse” fund through their bank and think they are safe with that (this is a laughable notion on several levels), or they buy a second home in their neighborhood and are satisfied with that.
To be safe, you have to be as diverse as possible, and that also means looking beyond your national borders by, for example, buying ETFs or funds in Latin America or Asia, or buying real estate in another country.
And the Philippines is an excellent choice for this.
Real estate is cheap
Real estate in the Philippines is without a doubt a lot cheaper than in the West.
An average house or apartment will quickly cost you $300,000.
In the Philippines you can buy a house in certain regions for $10,000.
Now, I wouldn’t recommend you do that – for several reasons, but this is for illustration.
As a foreigner (who is not married to a Filipino) you can only invest in condominiums.
On the one hand, that’s a shame, but I do understand – the government doesn’t want to be bought up by China.
On the other hand, this is not really a problem either, because in my experience it is not only better to live in a condo, it is also better to rent out and earn an income from it.
My studios have cost me about €45,000 each – which is quite expensive for this country, but they are in one of the best locations in an up-and-coming city and have doubled in value since I bought them.
If you want more information about how cheap life in the Philippines is, be sure to read my article about it!
Solid return
As I said, my studios have already doubled in value, and you can see that trend across the Philippines.
Rents have also gone up, which is of course ideal if you buy real estate in the Philippines with the aim of renting it out for a passive income.
At the moment I get a return (rental yield) of about 6 to 7% – AFTER expenses.
Of course, this strongly depends on the location (which city, and where in that city), so it is certainly possible that you can get a higher return in certain places.
In our countries you will often be happy with half of that.
It is therefore not a way to easily earn money quickly, but in the long term this is certainly the case.
A place of your own under the sun
Buying real estate in the Philippines to rent it out for an income is certainly a good idea, and that’s the main reason why I did it – but an additional advantage that should not be underestimated is that you always have a second home in a tropical place.
Whether you want to go on holiday, or want to finally leave your collapsing Western country, you always have a place to go.
For me it is a great source of peace of mind to know that no matter what happens, I always have something to turn to.
- If I suddenly lose all my sources of income, I can live there for free.
- If my current hometown collapses, I’ll just move to my own place.
And don’t think that this is wasted money if you just live in your own country and only come here for a few weeks a year – during the rest of the year you can just rent it out through AirBnB.
The West is getting more and more expensive
It may not have escaped your attention, but life in our countries is becoming noticeably more expensive, month after month.
And that was already the case before the sky-high inflation hit!
In a few decades, our countries will look a lot different than they do now, because the West is a region that is collapsing.
That is a sad fact, but if you look at the numbers (births, crime, migration, economy etc) it is indeed an inescapable fact.
If you invest in an emerging economy like that of the Philippines, besides the other 4 major advantages, you also have the chance to enjoy their upward march.
So, I could go on and on and list the benefits of the Philippines, but I think my point is clear.
If you are also interested in investing in real estate in the Philippines, be sure to check out my Serenity Real Estate service!