Overseas Property: Where Would I Invest Part 3 - The Philippines

The Philippines' economy has been growing by more than 5% since the current President took office in 2001. Its growth accelerated between 2005, and late 2008, mainly fuelled by growing worker remittances, and massive growth in the services sector as outsourcing fuelled similar growth throughout Asian emerging markets. Growing tourism, primarily regional tourism was also partly responsible for the Philippines' rapid growth.

The Philippines was worst affected by the last Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s and as such when the Philippines began to become appealing as a location for overseas property investment, Philippines property prices were comparatively lower than in other emerging markets. Because property price growth has been severely stunted by the current global economic situation, bargain Filipino properties can still be found.

Meanwhile the Philippines economy is nowhere close to recession. Like some other places in Asia (Singapore and Taiwan not included), economic growth is expected to continue at a slower rate. The latest Philippines government forecast put 4.4% as a figure for growth this year, but as it slowed from 7%+ in 2007, to 4.6% last year, a more realistic figure for this year is 2.2 - 3%.

None the less any emerging market that can keep growing this year, when economies far bigger have fallen into recession like dominoes, are well placed to see growth pick up far quicker when the wider global economy begins to recover. EC forecasts expect European recovery to begin next year.

Well placed because when the world recovers, the Philippines services sector will be largely intact, and the country won't have to start from scratch as some others will. Worker remittances will increase at the same time. EC forecasts expect economic recovery to begin in the EU in 2010.

When the Philippines economy begins to grow again, employment, which has fallen quite sharply recently will begin to rise once again, and more Filipinos will be looking to buy and rent property, and at the same time it will probably become appealing to large numbers of foreign investors. And that is why I would invest now: get a bargain when demand is low, and cash in when demand increases.

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