Tap growing UHNWIs, developers told

Curretly, M etro Manila has residential supply of 176,731 units from affordable to luxury segments. (Shutterstock photo)

MANILA — The country’s property developers are urged to look into the growing number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) as these can be potential investors in the Philippines’ residential market.

In a media briefing Wednesday, Victoria Garrett , Knight Frank head for Residential for Asia Pacific, said global population of UHNWI is expected to increase by 43 percent in 2026.

Knight Frank’s 2018 The Wealth Report showed that UHNWI population will climb to 275,740 individuals from 193,490 UHNWI in 2016.

Garrett highlighted that Asia will have the fastest growing number of UHNWI at 91 percent over the next decade.

UHNWI in Asia will reach 88,180 in 2026 from 46,080 last year.

Garrett said Asia’s UHNWI powerhouses will be China and India, pushed by the economic rebalancing in China and the bullish manufacturing sector in India.

For Southeast Asia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka will be leading the region with most number of UHNWI.

Garrett noted that the behavior of investments of UHNWI globally has been evolving from investing locally to other markets to investing across border.

“People are more and more diversifying allocations of investments across border,” she said.

This trend is also seen in the Philippines, with more UHNWI from Asian countries buying high-end and luxury residences.

“Demand for the luxury and high-end residences over the past quarters has been strong, with buyers not only coming from the local high and ultra-high net worth markets, but also from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia,” Knight Frank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Santos said.

“In particular, absorption of luxury residences is one of the highest vis-à-vis other segments at 96 percent, signifying growing interest in the country’s prime residential market,” Santos added.

Moreover, Santos noted that the local residential market would continue to grow amid rising prices due to increasing middle-income families, bullish business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, and cross-border investments.

The company projected that residential stock in Metro Manila in the next four years would jump by 50 percent, an addition of 3.0 million square meters of housing space.

Currently, Metro Manila has residential supply of 176,731 units from affordable to luxury segments.

The Bay Area is also seen as the new hotspot for residential property buyers. It has the highest average monthly take up of residential property in the second quarter of this year at 70 units, compared to Makati at 16 units, Bonifacio Global City at 14 units, Ortigas at 13 units, and Alabang at 10 units.