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Expensive Foreigner Homes
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Why do some foreigners build big expensive houses in the Philippines right among the poor?
rickybobbytails
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There can be two main reasons: 1: The Filipina wife wants the best house possible, so that she becomes THE person of the area. 2: The Westerner just wants something similar to what he left behind, and the land is cheap in those cheaper areas. This is not always possible in the more expensive areas. Land in the desirable areas of the Philippines is very expensive. Makati is more expensive than Sydney, Australia for example. The following are average land prices in Quarter 1 of 2016, per square metre. (US$ values based on 47.33 PHP to the $) PHP523,000 (US$11,050) Makati CBDPHP445,000 (US$9,402) Fort BonifacioPHP189,000 (US$3,993) Ortigas CenterPHP123,000 (US$2,599) AlabangExample costs of typical western sized land blocks, in prime areas, would be: An 800 sq metre block in Makati CBD would cost PHP 418,400,000 This is equal to $8,368,000 at 50 piso to the US$An 800 sq metre block in Fort Bonifacio would cost PHP 356,000,000 This is equal to $7,120,000An 800 sq metre block in Ortigas Center would cost PHP 151,200,000 This is equal to $3,024,000An 800 sq metre block in Alabang would cost PHP 98,400,000 This is equal to $1,968,000Typical land blocks where I live near Brisbane, in Australia cost: A 600 sqm block for $148,000 or $247 (PHP 9,620) per sqm. (39piso per A$)A 4,537 sqm block for $117,500 or $26 (PHP 1,010) per sqm.Down in Central Sydney (Leichhardt) it is more like: A 225 sqm block for $4,000 (PHP 156,000) per sqm Total: $900,000About the same as the lower prices in popular areas of Manila.
Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported.
Because they can. Choosing an area outside of major cities makes perfect sense: foreigners don’t move to the Philippines to enjoy city life – they move to the Philippines to enjoy nature. They actually escaped from cities. It just happened that the most beateful places are mostly populated by people who can’t afford to build expensive houses. And Filipinos who can afford to build expensive houses usually prefer gated communities in cities. They also prefer to build rather then to buy because they can’t find good quality offers with properties they appreciate. At the same time – many foreigners who start construction here have no idea about construction, which results in wrong estimations/overbudget and features that do not work well in the Philippines.