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In the last three years, Manila has seen an increase in the price of flats of 12.4 per cent annually, according to the CEO of Ohmyhome. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Singaporean online property portal Ohmyhome expands into Philippines, eyeing share of steady workers’ remittances

  • The home sales site will have to compete with other online portals such as Carousell, Lamudi, and Hoppler that are already operating in the Philippines
  • Remittances from a vast army of overseas workers, relatively unaffected by Covid-19, are driving sales of affordable to mid-priced flats in Manila, says Colliers

Singaporean online property portal Ohmyhome has expanded its operations to the Philippines, hoping to grab a slice of the growing property market in the capital Manila.

The lack of a comprehensive electronic database of property transactions and a stable internet connection, however, are just two constraints that need to be addressed for such platforms to flourish there.

“Expanding in the Philippines was the logical next step due to its growing market,” said Rhonda Wong, CEO and co-founder of Ohmyhome. “In the last three years, Manila has seen an increase of [apartment] prices of 12.4 per cent each year on average.”

The Philippines is the company’s third market after Singapore and Malaysia, which it entered last year. The four-year-old firm will have to compete with other online portals such as Carousell, Lamudi, and Hoppler that are already operating in the Philippines. Ohmyhome says it has facilitated more than 5,300 property transactions worth over S$1.6 billion (US$1.2 billion), serving more than 8,000 customers.

Ohmyhome seeks to be a “global player in taking care of everyone’s housing journey, starting with the buy, sell and renting of homes to post-purchase services, including the renovation and maintenance of their homes,” said Wong.

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“Our model is unique, we’re a hybrid platform of do-it-yourself platform and full-fledged agency services.”

The huge number of overseas Filipinos, she added, presents an opportunity to Ohmyhome. Remittances from this segment of roughly 10 million people came to US$21.9 billion between January and September, down by a mere 1.4 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to government data. The very modest decline suggests resilience even as thousands of Filipino workers have come home because of the global recession brought on by the coronavirus.

“Given the lockdown restrictions on international travel to and from the Philippines, OFW [overseas Filipino worker] buyers are looking for platforms that will enable them to progress with their planned property transactions, whether they are for investment or for their families’ use,” Wong said.

“This puts Ohmyhome in a great position as we are not only an online platform, but we have in-house real estate agents who can serve the Filipinos who are working abroad.”

Developers based in the Philippines have recognised the huge opportunity from remittances, which drive demand for less expensive residential projects, according to property consultancy Colliers.

“Colliers has observed anecdotally remittances from [OFWs] drive the demand for affordable to mid-income [flats], or those worth US$34,000 to US$119,800,” said Joey Roi Bondoc, senior research manager for Philippines at Colliers. “Developers remain proactive in offering units to families receiving remittances from their relatives working abroad. They do this by partnering with online selling and listing sites.”

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Currently, many of the online real estate sites merely list properties, creating the need for a more efficient portal.

“Our current platforms in the Philippines have a long way to go in terms of efficiency as most of them simply collect listings from sellers or brokers,” said Philip Mareschal, head of property and asset management, JLL. “This presents an opportunity for these platforms to become more relevant and accessible by going beyond property listing.

“Properties should be curated properly according to need and updated availability, among others, and with as much relevant information as possible, to improve user navigation and speed up the decision making process.”

As a developing country, however, internet connectivity in the Philippines both in coverage and quality must be improved, analysts agree.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Ohmyhome expands business to Philippines
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