This author had the distinct honor and privilege to be invited as a resource person to speak about “Land Ownership and Investment in the Philippines” during the first Asia-Pacific Real Estate Convention and Expo (APRECE) held from March 19-23 at the iconic Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
The twin events, organized by the Singapore-based Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) and supported by the one-million strong National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), saw the collaboration of more than fifteen cooperating national real estate associations from the region – including CREBA.
With its inaugural theme “Bridging Global Partnerships”, APRECE 2013 served as a platform for property developers and practitioners from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Australia, India, USA, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and many more to showcase their properties, products and services to real estate professionals and investors. The event likewise saw a huge number of property developers, architects, consultants, real estate associations, real estate agencies, realtors, marketing tools providers, and other exhibitors converging in Singapore.
Indeed, with the advent of modern ways to converge and communicate, the world is getting smaller and global business has been, still is, and always will be poised to be the wave of the future. Changes, too, are happening at fast paces. In today’s global village, it is no longer just how big you are but how well and fast you can adapt to changes, innovation and technology. This limitlessness of opportunities in the international scene proves true for real estate developers and professionals.
According to NAR president Gary Thomas, the United States enjoys some $82 billion in foreign investments annually from the residential real estate market and Asian countries represent nearly a third of all these investments. By facilitating connections with professionals, he said, real estate associations across the globe act as engines in these cross-border transactions. Studies show that the Philippines ranks in the top 10 foreign countries investing in properties in the US.
Prior to the APRECE, CREBA hosted a five-day Trade Mission in partnership with the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) which culminated with a Real Estate Forum held last March 18, 2013. Twenty-five real estate professionals comprised the top-level AREAA delegation who flew in to Cebu and Manila.
Founded in 2003, AREAA is an organization of real estate, mortgage and housing professionals committed to promoting sustainable homeownership opportunities in the diverse Asian-American market. CREBA signed a memorandum of understanding with AREAA during the 2012 Annual REALTORS® Conference and Expo held in Orlando, Florida to open new opportunities for Philippine developers to market their projects through AREAA’s global network of members.
During the third quarter of the previous year, Philippine economy grew 7.1%, exceeding economists’ expectations and gaining record for being the highest in Southeast Asia. For this year, analysts can only see bright future for the Philippine economy boosted by the stellar growth of the real estate and housing industry. While 2012 has been a remarkable banner year for the property business, the bullish performance of various market segments is seen to continue even beyond 2013.
Hence, this is one of the best times to invest in Philippine real estate. Through the CREBA’s wide-ranging networks with formidable global real estate associations, we are committed to help our members find new markets and investors from the world over and make a resounding call that we are very open to business.
Published in the Manila Bulletin May 2013
