In the Philippines, residential real estate agents are gearing up to work with Chinese buyers during the Lunar New Year holiday and the rest of 2020.

The Chinese Lunar New Year takes place on 25 January, and the year of the White Rat will soon be upon us.

Chinese New Year is part of the Spring Festival Golden Week holiday golden week when China's famously hard workers drop tools and head for family reunions or overseas holidays.

According to official data, more than 7 million Chinese travellers will head overseas during the holiday this year, up 11 per cent on last year.

Pinnacle Real Estate and Consulting Managing Director and President, Michael Mabutol, said he expected a surge of Chinese visitors during the Spring Festival, many of which may be using this long holiday to check out properties in the Philippines.

"With Philippine-China relations at an all-time high, the number of Chinese tourists is soaring," he said.

"There was an increase of 31 per cent in Chinese visitation to the Philippines for the first six months of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018, totally 750,000."

"This year, the number is likely to be even higher."

Houses in Manila. Source: Depositphotos

Why do Chinese buyers buy in the Philippines?

According to Mabutol, affordability is a key reason.

Local banks are making purchases even easier now by extending financing to Chinese nationals who have good credit.

On our website, Juwai.com, trusted developers like Bonwai are marketing new affordable-luxury apartments for starting prices as low as US$80,000.

Another top agent who will be working with Chinese buyers during the holiday is Emmanuel Andrew Venturina, Managing Director and VP for Growth of IQI Caliver.

He said buyers begin arriving in large numbers the week before the actual holiday.

"For most Chinese, its a time for vacations and enjoying family," he said.

"But it is also a convenient opportunity to visit properties, make offers, and even sign contracts in cases."

Venturina is hoping to place Chinese-language ads in the airport before Chinese New Year, and if not, then at least soon after that.

He gets into the festive spirit by distributing nian gao sweet sticky-rice cakes to his Chinese clients before the holiday, as well.

APAC Director of Global Research and Business Development for Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Jojo Romarx Salas, doesn't expect a surge of Chinese buyers during the Spring Festival Golden Week holiday, but does believe their investment will climb this year.

Romarx Salas says the biggest season for Chinese buying in the Philippines is after "Ghost month," which usually falls in August or early September, and up to Christmas.

Juwai IQI's data shows that Chinese made 21 per cent more buying enquiries in the Philippines in 2019 than the year before. 

More than 200,000 Chinese have recently moved to the Philippines in recent years, and that doesn't include those who invest from afar.

That's why Chinese have replaced overseas Filipinos as the largest buyers of real estate in Manila.

Besides affordability, Chinese like the Philippines due to its strong real estate market and economic growth. Large infrastructure investments and the country's participation in the Belt & Road Initiative offer the promise of future price gains.

The Philippines offers an affordable entry price, good projected yields and capital gains, and a long-term story of economic growth.

That is an appealing combination for many Chinese buyers.

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