In my first article I tackled the City of Manila, the Capital of the Philippines. Now we go to the rest of the cities. Disclaimer: I am biased to certain areas. Hehe.

As mentioned in the previous article, there is no best location for everybody. It all depends on an individual's preferences and needs. For better or additional context, please read the first part of this article series. If you've already read it then let's continue!

♦️ Top Central Business Districts (CBD) of the Philippines

These are where properties are priced highest as compared to other areas due to the various businesses in it. If you're looking for affordable places to live in you won't find any here. 😂 Affordable in these areas means expensive in other parts of NCR. But again, if money is no problem, you can choose to live anywhere! 😉

Pre-pandemic, the most expensive condo project was priced at P550,000/sqm ($10,800 as of 10/14/21 currency exchange rate). That's according to the report of Colliers International in May 2019. Based on Santos Knight Frank Research info, you can see in this image the average selling prices per area in Philippine Peso (PHP).

In terms of land value of CBD's despite the pandemic, it is currently still considered as stable.

Now that you know the real estate part, let me continue telling you more about the four cities with the highest selling prices as shown in the graph above.

1. Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City

BGC is a township inside barangay (district/village) Fort Bonifacio found in Taguig City. It is best for those who prefer an upgraded Makati lifestyle. After all it was developed much later than the latter. It became the fastest to rise in terms of property value in less than a decade!

Wanna know how much an available preselling 3 bedroom luxury condominium unit with 3 parking slots is worth here? Well, let me give you an idea of the price of one of the luxury properties here.

How does owning a P181 Million ($3.6 M) 337 sqm. future luxury home in BGC sound? Is it awe inspiring enough? Hehe.

Of course there are also mid-end properties available to buy or rent here. Recently the rental rates have gone down due to the pandemic.

Middle of this year I assisted a client looking to rent a BGC condo. I was able to find several with about 12% to 22% reduction for a size range of around 40 to 50+ sqm! Whoa. The mid-to luxury market price for a fully furnished 1 bedroom condo unit ranged from P35k to P50k+ ($690 to $985+) per month. (Including the reduced monthly rate.)

Pricing aside, for sure you're wondering what BGC is like if you haven't been there. Perhaps it's best to think of it as an organized or planned city inspired by New York (NY). Just basing it on the street names alone you'd really think of NY! I mean, 5th Avenue? 32nd Street? How American does that sound to you? 😆 And then you will see all the high rise office and residential buildings one after the other. Oh my, are we still in the Philippines? 😆

Kidding aside, it's one of the ritziest places to live in. It's not crowded and polluted, nor does it look excessive. There's still plenty of open spaces and huge wall arts too! Many multinational companies and investors choose to work and invest in and around BGC. Of course people choose to live there as well. Better to stay near where you work to avoid rush hour traffic.

Another point to consider is it's acceptable distance from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

What's in BGC?

Here are some of what you will find here:

• Upscale restaurants

• Clubs or night life

• Public golf course

• Science museum

• Foreign embassies

• Philippine Stock Exchange

• International schools

• World-class hospital

• Luxury hotels

FYI, BGC is also what I will call a "walkable city". If you don’t have a car nor want to spend money on taxi/Grab, you can either walk or wait at the bus stations for a bus to go around the area. You can ride jeepneys too but those don't usually go into the various streets of BGC. Where it does go is into other parts of Fort Bonifacio.

Outside of BGC there are also many open spaces. You can still see plenty of greens. For example if you go to McKinley Hill, along the way you will see plants on both sides. Oh one more thing, there's even a mall inspired by Venice canals! 😆 Who wouldn't want to live in a place with everything I mentioned eh?

2. Bay Area in 3 Cities: Manila, Pasay and Paranaque

Bay Area a.k.a. Manila Bay Freeport Zone or Bay City. I will be blunt and say I do not recommend living here except if you live too far and/or are wealthy. It is a reclamation area which rose to prominence due to the many Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO). Where will the foreign operators put their imported and local employees? Of course in the many office buildings and residential condominiums in and around the area! Boom! Property value skyrocketed in no time.

Can you imagine looking for a P4 Million worth of condo unit in this place? Oh it does not exist in the area. The smallest one is a tiny home priced too high for the average Filipino. Only foreigners, expats and overseas Filipinos can afford to buy condo units here. If on a tight budget, your best bet would be to rent a unit together with several people if you prefer to live here.

Again, it is one of the places where you WILL NOT find affordable housing. But of course it's not all bad. After all, it can be a good investment. Many people rent units especially when there are events and special occasions. How and why? I'll give you examples based on my experience.

SM Mall of Asia (MOA) has it's own sports and entertainment venue called MOA Arena. This means, when a famous Hollywood singer/band holds a concert in it, people from provinces book a place to stay for a day or two (or more?). When a corporation holds it's year-end party, employees can opt to book nearby rental units too. See what I mean? This is why many people buy condo units here.

What's in Bay City?

• Amusement parks

• Senate of the Philippines

• World Trade Center

• Luxury hotels/resorts and casinos

• Cultural and tourism hubs (PICC, CCP, etc.)

• Business park (for POGO's, BPO's, etc.)

• Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange or PITX

If you like the view of the ocean everyday, have a night life, like to work and play, and prefer easy access to public transportation to various destinations then you probably will enjoy living here.

3. Makati Central Business District (CBD) and surrounding areas in Makati City

If you are a wealthy person, Makati is the best place for you. There are plenty of corporate offices there as it is still considered the top business district of the country. Many expats also live in this city.

For me it's also walkable as it has many over and underpasses to go from place to place. Don't like to walk? You can ride a jeepney but you can only drop off at designated areas at major roads. Most likely you will still walk to the many interior roads if you don't have a car. Oh don't ask me about parking and such because I will never own/drive any automobile. Hehe.

Of course it also has a park and a night life you can enjoy. There are plenty of unique bars and restaurants to choose from. Aside from that, in case you are not too rich you can also eat at the sidewalk food stalls called Jollijeep or Jolly Jeeps. You can find several of these in the side streets of the Makati Business District. Don't expect them to be open late at night though. Haha.

If you are having some food cravings at midnight, do a food crawl of the Poblacion area. There are many pubs, cafes and restaurants to choose from. Pre-pandemic, they closed from 10 pm to 2 am. Haven't been there lately though, as you know the food industry has been hit hard by this Corona virus problem. The good news is, the area is still alive and kicking thanks to open air establishments!

In case you are a USD/GBP or even European mega millionaire / billionaire you can probably buy a luxury house in the many exclusive and gated subdivisions for the rich. Take Forbes Park for example. That's where the really wealthy Filipinos (or for sure even expats) live.

I've never been inside that gated luxury community but world boxing champ Manny Pacquiao has a house in there. He's already selling it for P2 Billion ($39.5 Million). (Oh I'd love to sell his house and others like it too. I just need buyers first haha. 😉😁)

Let me give an example of the rental rates in and around the CBD. I was able to assist an expat client in 2019. He and his family was looking to rent a home in another exclusive village. A furnished 2 story, 4 bedroom house with 3 car garage on a 532 sqm lot area cost as much as P220,000 per month ($4.3k)! Whew, all that space cost that much. The community is well maintained and looks pleasantly refreshing as well.

What's in Makati City?

• Auction houses

• Exclusive and private colleges/universities

• Exclusive and luxury villages

• Multinational and local corporate head offices

• Luxury hotels

• Art galleries and history museums

• Poblacion food hub

• Salcedo Satuday market (food community)

Worth mentioning: Ortigas CBD

If you prefer a greener city to live in but is still all business, choose Ortigas. 💕 This area is within three cities so it is a place of it’s own. It's made up of the following: Quezon City, City of Pasig and City of Mandaluyong. There are many BPOs there and plenty of corporate head offices too.

I love working in Ortigas because it is also a walkable place and is clean. You can pick whichever mall to go to as there are about four plus two more at the outskirts. And the gold building is there (Raffles). I just love seeing it everytime I am in the area. Hahaha. There are plenty of fast food restos and convenience stores open 24 hours because of the many call centers too.

Ortigas is the heart of the National Capital Region (NCR/Metro Manila). If you don’t want the hassle of traveling too far from north to south then this is the best place to be. If I would buy a property (condo) I would choose this place. (Don’t mind me I am just biased. Hehe.)

As you can see the top three cities I mentioned above have quite pricey properties for the average person. Someone who's not earning six digits a month (in Philippine peso at least) can choose to invest in Ortigas and still get the most value for their money.

In case you prefer a single detached house in upscale villages then there are several to choose from around Ortigas area, Pasig. Many of these are rented out or can also be bought.

If you are from the upper middle class to rich (in Filipino terms) then you can find a house to rent in one of the exclusive villages here. Most famous are the many Valle Verde subdivisions. That's where the rich and the expats with families usually rent if not in any of the many upscale and luxury Ortigas condos. It's definitely a great area to raise a family too!

Check out this walking tour of Ortigas. She was able to capture the place really well. I don't like her video thumbnail since it's clickbaity so just watch the content as it is much better.

What's in Ortigas?

• Exclusive and private schools/universities

• Exclusive and gated villages

• Multinational and local corporate/head offices

• A park, banks, various cafes/restaurants and plenty of high rise buildings

• Upscale and luxury hotels

• Banchetto (weekend food bazaars)

• Elevated walkways or overpasses

Don't you think Ortigas is really nice too? 😊

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That concludes my take on the business districts. 😌 Which one do you like the most? Have you been to any of these four? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section too.

In my next article I will be sharing about the other 4 cities here in Metro Manila. Stay tuned!

XOXO,

@LucyStephanie

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All images are mine unless otherwise noted.

Other travel articles:

• Where is The Best Place To Live in Metro Manila (NCR), Philippines?

• Finally Fully Vaxxed and Raring to Go Around The World!

• Oh Hey, There's A Non-Golfer in a Golf Course!

• The Brouhaha Over Killing Mangroves in Manila Bay

• About Me

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