Manila provides a good start

Hong Kong homeowner Michael Kwan cashed in on the doubling of the value of his flat this month and wondered whether to park some of the proceeds in his first overseas property investment while he waited for the right moment to re-enter the local housing market.

Having looked at destinations popular among Hong Kong investors such as New York, London and Sydney, he decided the entry price levels in these markets was too high since he wanted to invest no more than 20 per cent of his money outside Hong Kong.

Finally he found a promising opportunity that fitted his budget - a 26-square-metre flat in a new luxury project a few blocks from the Makati business district of the Philippine capital, Manila. The flat, in Knightbridge Residences built by Century Properties, had a parking space and was on offer for HK$830,000, or HK$2,550 per sq ft of saleable area. The parking space about HK$114,000.

"I was attracted by the small lump-sum price and the prestigious location. In Hong Kong, it is impossible to buy such a home at that price. So I'm seriously thinking of buying one," he said.

Due to be completed by the end of the year, the development of more than 50 storeys is adjacent to another luxury project, Trump Tower, being jointly developed by American property mogul Donald Trump and local developer Century Properties.

Rick Santos, chief executive of CB Richard Ellis' Philippines office, said 20 to 30 per cent of Makati's luxury flats were bought by foreign buyers.