Lamudi Data Shows Where Buyers Can Find Foreclosed Properties

most viable options, as these areas are teeming with foreclosed properties, according to data from global real estate website Lamudi Philippines.

In its latest data analysis, Lamudi found that the cities of San Jose Del Monte (Bulacan), Dasmariñas (Cavite), San Mateo (Rizal), Bacoor (Cavite), and Santa Rosa (Laguna) have the most number of listed foreclosed houses in the website. These are followed by Antipolo (Rizal), Imus (Cavite), Caloocan (Metro Manila), San Pedro (Laguna), and Quezon City (Metro Manila). Caloocan and Quezon City are the lone Metro Manila cities that made it the top 10. Together, these cities comprise 51 percent of all foreclosed houses listed in the Lamudi website.

In terms of prices, San Jose Del Monte offers the most affordable foreclosed houses among the top 10 cities. Foreclosed houses in this Bulacan city average Php336,000. Quezon City, meanwhile, offer much pricier foreclosed houses, averaging Php5.33 million.

CITY	AVE. PRICE	NO. OF LISTINGS
San Jose del Monte	P336,000	1,046
Dasmariñas	P686,000	635
San Mateo	P503,000	487
Bacoor	P1.67 million	320
Santa Rosa	P1.08 million	253
Antipolo	P2.45 million	225
Imus	P1.40 million	221
Caloocan	P1.54 million	171
San Pedro	P1.49 million	147
Quezon City	P5.33 million	145

Average prices of foreclosed houses listed on Lamudi Philippines. Data as of March 31, 2016.

Onsite Search

In terms of onsite search volume, Quezon City is the most-searched city for foreclosed properties in the Lamudi website from January 1 to March 31, 2016.

More than 6 percent of all searches for foreclosed properties conducted during the period involved Metro Manila’s largest city. Quezon City is followed by the cities of Las Piñas, Parañaque, and San Jose del Monte, the provinces of Benguet and Laguna, and then by Caloocan. Together, these areas captured almost 20 percent of total search volume for foreclosed properties in the Lamudi website.

Filipinos’ interest for foreclosed properties has also been increasing every quarter, at least according to Lamudi data.

The property website showed that search volume for foreclosed properties increased 5 percent from Q2 2015 to Q3 2015; 9 percent from Q3 2015 to Q4 2015; and a remarkable 75 percent from Q4 2015 to Q1 2016.

On the other hand, the proportion of searches attributed to foreclosed properties in relation to total searches made has also been increasing every quarter: 1.42 percent in Q2 2015; 1.68 percent in Q3 2015; 2.15 percent in Q4 2015; and 2.34 percent in Q1 2016.

Filipinos Still Uneducated About Foreclosures

However, foreclosed properties may not be on most people’s game plan when buying their first property. Perhaps because of pity or because they feel they are taking advantage of others’ misfortune, Filipino homebuyers may hesitate to buy foreclosed houses.

But this should not be the case. According to Ramil Arquileta, CEO of My Saving Grace Realty and Development Corp., a firm that specializes in foreclosed properties, foreclosed properties offer homebuyers that best affordable option in order for them to finally afford a home.

There are several advantages of buying foreclosed homes, according to Arquileta. “For one, the buyer can use regular housing loan or mortgage financing to acquire the property.”

In addition, the property will also be sold for the outstanding mortgage balance owed by the previous owner to the foreclosing mortgage holder. This means the property will be sold at a much lower price. Most importantly, as properties that became foreclosed are under the name of the foreclosing bank or mortgage holder, the titles will be clear, eliminating the risk for homebuyers to get scammed.

However, Arquileta advises would-be buyers of foreclosed properties to buy only from banks and their accredited brokers/brokerages to minimize the risk of ending up with a problematic property.

But Filipinos’ attitude toward foreclosures looks to be changing gradually, as shown by Lamudi’s data. As more and more banks and financial institutions are exploring online tools to market these non-performing assets, Filipinos will find it easier to discover and inquire about foreclosed properties. At least three major banks are now working with Lamudi to effectively market their acquired assets. As of this writing, there are almost 19,500 foreclosed properties listed on Lamudi, ranging from houses and condos to parking spaces and residential lots.