Young property hunters sustain real estate growth

CEBU, Philippines - Property hunters are now getting younger. May it be for rent or purchase purposes, a study conducted by Lamudi Philippines showed that among 18 to 24 year olds, the percentage of those going into property investments are somehow in close proportion at 50.2 percent and 49.8 percent.

Lamudi, which based its study on online property hunting trend, also found out that property hunters likewise check out properties for sale online as they get older.

Data shows that among 25 to 34-year-old users, 57.3 percent are checking out for-sale properties in the website, compared to 42.7 percent of users who look for for-rent properties.

The preference to buy is even higher in the 35 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 to 64 age groups.

Lamudi data noted that 70.8, 72.6, and 71.1 percent of the website’s users, respectively, are checking out for-sale properties, while only 29.2, 27.4, and 28.9 percent are looking for for-rent properties, respectively.

According to Lamudi Philippines managing director Jacqueline van den Ende, these findings are consistent with observations made in Europe and the United States, where people have the tendency to buy as they get older.

“This seems to be the case among Filipinos,” says Van den Ende, adding that younger people—those aged 18 to 24—probably prefer mobility and flexibility, which explains a higher search volume for for-rent properties in the Lamudi website.

However, this does not mean that "they are not planning to buy eventually," she added, in fact, almost half of searches in this age group are dedicated to for-sale properties, then this tendency significantly increases in the 25–34 and 35 to 44 age groups–stage when young people start to have stable jobs, consider getting married, and start families.

Launched in 2013, Lamudi is a global property portal focusing exclusively on emerging markets. The fast-growing platform is currently available in 34 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, with more than 800,000 real estate listings across its global network. (FREEMAN)