Ph, Vietnams Top Property Markets in SE Asia

The Southeast Asia real estate market hailed Philippines and Vietnam as their strongest performing markets in 2015, The Manila Times reports, citing Asian industry magazine, Property Report.

According to the magazine, Philippines' strong performance in the past year can be attributed to its strong business process outsourcing (BPO) industry that is getting stronger than ever.

"The Philippines has continued to be a solid performer and although analysts are predicting a slight slowdown in growth, they see plenty to be positive about, especially in an office market, likely to be the beneficiary of a thriving BPO sector," Property Report said.

Philippines is benefiting a lot from its BPO industry, says Sigrid Zialcita, Cushman and Wakefield managing director of Asia Pacific research. This plus its sound economic management, stable political landscape, and its young and well-educated population, are all contributing factors to the country's growth.

The BPO industry will stay robust for the next five years, forecasts Zialcita.

"The next five years could still see BPO companies enlarging their footprint across the country to ensure high occupancies and a platform for long-term, moderate rental growth of more than five percent," she said.

It was also a strong 2015 for Vietnam's real estate market according to Property Report, and it's only to continue given the construction of its economic hub in Ho Chi Minh City.

"This retrenchment after the crisis of just a few years ago has been due to various factors, including state purchase of billions of dollars worth of non-performing loans, stronger financial requirements on developers, and government stimulus," Property Report said.

The future is looking bright for Vietnam's property market, says CBRE Vietnam director for research, Dung Duong.

"The property market in Vietnam has been supported by a stable economy and, due to the growing strength in the US dollar, the Vietnam dong has become one of the strongest currencies in the Asia Pacific region," said Duong.

"Both decreasing interest rates and a strong currency are expected to attract foreign investors," he added.

Strongly supporting the same sentiment is Jones Lang Lasalle Managing Director for Singapore and Southeast Asia Chris Fossick who believes that investors have their eyes on Philippines and Vietnam as stable economies for investments this 2016.

"Business confidence, I suppose, is the opportunities that they see. Those decisions will be based on the ability of the economy to grow in 2016, and the opportunities that it provide," Fossick said.