CEBU-BASED Filipino Homes is bringing 400 Filipino delegates from across the Philippines to Bangkok, Thailand, for a one-day Asian Real Estate Summit this July.
The event aims to prepare local real estate brokers and salespersons to compete in the global scene and capture the abundant opportunities, particularly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region.
According to Filipino Homes founder and president Anthony Gerard Leuterio, the activity would translate into more dollar-earning opportunities for Filipino real estate brokers and licensed sales agents.
Leuterio said they want to groom local real estate salespersons to market Philippine properties to potential buyers in Asia, the Middle East and South America.
“This is our first step in immersing them in the culture of the international market,” Leuterio said.
The one-day Asian Real Estate Summit is slated for July 14, 2023, and will be held at Amari Watergate Bangkok, Thailand. It will be anchored on the theme: “Revolutionizing the Real Estate Industry: The Power of PropTech and Digital Marketing in Asia.”
“This real estate summit is not just about Cebu but about the Philippines. We are congregating all leaders and stakeholders in the real estate industry, including promising real estate developers to come together to educate, share best practices, innovate, and inspire,” said Leuterio.
Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) and Weecom Developers Inc., two of the country’s fastest-growing real estate companies today, have confirmed their attendance at the summit.
According to Leuterio, the summit is a perfect platform for industry benchmarking and for real estate professionals to exchange ideas and impart industry knowledge.
“This summit will play a key role in equipping our partners in the industry with the right tools and technology to address the ever-changing needs of the industry,” he said.
Aside from CLI and Weecom, which are expected to speak at the summit, Filipino Homes has also partnered with Bangkok’s biggest online companies to discuss innovation in today’s digital economy.
“There will be an exchange of ideas. We will share our strategy in selling properties and at the same time, our counterparts in Thailand will also share industry practices in selling properties in their country,” said Leuterio. “We believe that the future is about shared values and strategies because of the Asean connectivity.”
Due to sustained remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Filipinos’ purchasing and investing power in real estate properties have increased over the years.
Leuterio said OFWs are the country’s top real estate buyers. They invest their hard-earned money to purchase residential properties, mostly condominiums for end-use or as a source of passive income.
He said about 40 to 50 percent of the remittances are invested in real estate.
In the first quarter of this year, money sent home by OFWs rose by three percent to $8.91 billion from $8.65 billion recorded in the same period in 2022.
Cash remittances coursed through banks in the first quarter stood at $8 billion, with growth coming from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. (KOC)