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The Philippines’ financial center is undoubtedly its prime real estate hotspot.
When people mention Makati, what often comes to mind is how it is arguably the busiest city in the country. Being the country’s most important central business district, it has the highest concentration of local and multinational companies, the headquarters of the country’s largest banks, and at present is home of the main trading floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Makati is also the Philippines’ wealthiest local government unit, both in terms of total income and per-capita income. For more than 25 years now, the city of Makati has continued to enjoy a deficit-free status, despite not increasing tax rates since its latest Revenue Code took effect in 2006.
Leisure, history, and culture
Aside from being the Philippines’ financial center, Makati is also a bustling leisure and lifestyle center. Its entertainment districts and shopping malls are among Metro Manila’s most luxurious, boasting the flagship stores of many foreign brands. The city is also not wanting of cultural and historical attractions. Among these are the Filipinas Heritage Library in the Ayala Triangle Park and Garden, the Ayala Museum, and Museo ng Makati.
Although not as grand and historic as those found in downtown Manila, Makati’s Catholic churches are also noteworthy. An example includes the Makati Church in Poblacion (also known as Saints Peter and Paul Parish Church), which was founded in 1650 and is among Metro Manila’s oldest. Another is the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Orense Street, Guadalupe Nuevo.
Living in Makati
Despite being a densely populated city, there continues to be an adequate number of properties for sale and for rent in Makati. Granted, newly built or vacant lots are scarce, but the city more than makes up for in number of condos, townhouses, and low-rise apartments. New residents, both locals and expats, are quickly moving into Makati to take advantage of its buoyant economy and business and employment opportunities.
Real estate market overview
Due to land scarcity, Makati has some of the priciest pieces of real estate anywhere in Metro Manila. Condos in the Makati CBD area (Ayala Center, Salcedo Village, Legaspi Village), Rockwell Center, and Century City are the most popular.
Most mid- and high-end inventories can be found in the Makati CBD area. Prices of these condos may range from Php 98,000 to 187,000 per sqm. However, Ayala Center hosts some of Makati’s most expensive properties: a branded condo can command a per-sqm price of as high as Php 388,000.
Condos in Rockwell Center and Century City, being relatively newer, have a more or less uniform price Php 146,500 and Php 140,800, respectively.
Makati is also known as the location of exclusive gated communities; as a result, it has the reputation for having the priciest houses anywhere in the metro. Houses are also quite very expensive here, mainly due to a combination of limited supply and the highly sought after location. The median home price in the city’s very exclusive Forbes Park, for example, is around Php 382 million, followed by the nearby Urdaneta Village at Php 236 million and Dasmariñas Village at Php 200 million.
This does not mean, however, that Makati does not offer more affordable housing options. Townhouses and duplexes in San Antonio Village, for example, can be purchased for Php 9.5 million, while one-bedroom condos outside the CBD have asking prices of Php three million or lower.
New developments
Despite being heavily built up, Makati also has a number of big real estate developments in the works. These include the 21-hectare Circuit Makati on the site of the former Santa Ana Race Track. Ayala subsidiary Alveo Land plans to build approximately 11,000 residential condo units here, in addition to office, retail, and entertainment components. Another is Century City along Kalayaan Avenue, which now boasts the Philippines’ tallest skyscraper and the country’s first Trump-branded project.
