Why are Rentals so expensive in Manila?

Mainly because the filipino salaries are too low and very little job security.

Range of rent is quite large. And where in Manila? Makati and Fort tend on high side, but Pasay, Pasig, QC are much cheaper. A small 1 br in Makati ban start at 10k while a large 3 br in Fort can top 200k. Price for everyone.

I think it's because the demand for such accommodation is high due to the fact that people from the provinces are flocking here, like myself, for better opportunities plus they sell convenience since condos are usually located either in the CBD area or just a little bit outside.

I have been in Malaysia and China. Those countries are high standard compare to Philippines; but you can easily get a 2 bed rooms furnished or semi furnished 7,000PHP. You can also have 3 bed rooms for the same price and in a beautiful condo 10,000PHP. That was in Kuala - lumpur and Penang Malaysia and in Guangzhou China. Those are business cities. You can understand that in some other provinces there rent is over cheap.

In 2010 I stayed 1 month in the hotel in Guangzhou, in a 1 QB with TV, Cable, hot water paying 100 CNY per day (600PHP) What is totally impossible in Philippines.

Just like you, I'm very much lost as to why the price of the accommodation here is very pricy. I work here in Makati and for the first month, I was commuting back and forth to my home in Laguna but it is very tiring since it takes 3 to 4hrs plus the fare is high. Then I decided to live here in Makati as well because I might not able to take the stress and tiring commute. I was able to rent a small room worth 4K with a shared bathroom. I still can't imagine how I survived living there for 4 months. Then my office mate and I decided to live together with my two friends and rented a condo worth 8K exclusive of association dues.

Its a capital market. Obviously people can afford to pay the rent, otherwise they would not charge what they charge. If you cant, then your not making enough money. Dont blame the landlords for charging the rent they do. Blame yourself for not being able to earn enough. Or go back to Malaysia and China where you can afford to live. Easy to understand?

Thanks for the feedback,
But am not talking about myself, and for sure am earning more than Million of People in this country, and I have my own 4 Bedrooms house. Please no confusion. My topic was just to understand about the high cost of rental here. maybe u haven't been in other countries, but people are earning more in Malaysia, and china compare to here for the same position, but rent is 2 times cheaper there. That was my point.

There is no simple answer to your question, maybe except this one: the difference in price of accommodation among cities in different countries does not necessarily equate with standard of living in those cities. Trying to compare rents in different cities in different countries would be like comparing apples and oranges.

There are so many parameters that would affect price and the reason for the disparity of rents in those cities you mentioned. If you want a detailed answer, then do a study. These are just a few factors to research:

- types of housing available within and outside the area
- supply of housing / accommodation within and outside the area
- price of real estate within and outside the area
- ratio of owner occupied to tenant occupied
- vacancy rate
- how long tenants stay before moving out
- financial status / income bracket / nationality of owners of rentals and their particular tenants
- cost of living within and outside the area
- age, marital status, no. of children (if any) and lifestyle of the renters
- comparison of age, marital status, no. of children and lifestyle of renters vs owners
- how many occupants are in a unit and how they are related (a whole family, friends / co-workers sharing rent, etc.)
- amenities / "prestige" / convenience of living in a certain area and how it affects price
- available modes of transportation and how long is the commute from work / school to residence
- history of rental prices / fluctuations / possible reasons for fluctuations (economy, techies invaded your city, etc.)
- laws / regulations (rent control, subsidized housing, etc.)

Thanks so much for ur reply. Its with people like u i can have a real discussion. I really appreciate it.

Hello there well i agree with baleze on this it is not where you decide to live life is where you can find a job and where your family from as well we move from usa to shanghai to macau then to bangkok and now to manila,i got a job where actually i get not what was offer but no choice as we are here when you are adult you must grow and understand specially with family you cant decide where to live yes if you in you 25 to 35 single and party and have fun its differentes story.
Shanghai was really good and not expensive macau was a bit boring as it is small but you have hong kong where its all you need there at a higher price to go therebut bangkok is at least 50 years ahead from manila Ph no compaison first price are lower they are very organize the health care system the food the mall and importante is the schooling international system cant be compare to any of manila,manila is over expensive food is terrible school if you csnt afford a good international school that cost 800.000php minimum a year you willnot get anything good health care system well be ready to spend in thebest hospital like st lukes 4 to 5 hr for a simple blood test it is another world headach it still at à prehistoric level lol, traffic police and coruption are the best of the all world for sure lol!
Condo price in bgc 37 sqm 6.5M 125sqm 25M
The crask of real state will come for sure as big company are buying all apartment at a lower price then almost double it to the customers its a corupt market,we live in apartment in best area of bangkok for 70.000 top of the ligne giant bath and more fantastic view her at bgc for the same we pay 110.000  with only shower and poor irrigation with so much wrong infrastructure in the apartment from the company that build the condo anyway and so much stupide policies that exist only in the Ph what im trying to say it is that it is over exprnsive here with such a low quality conparate to bangkok if you go shopping in bsngkok you will find how all is good and taking care off here people said rustan for expat is good but how good you cant find much variety of food sometimes meat you buy are already smelly and cant be eating,
Im sure someone here will reply to us right away well should go back to bamgkok lol! But life is not a life where you can decide where to live when you reach acertain age and have family to take care and think about,the crash of real state will happen here same as it happen in usa ,for example 3 month ago a condo was 3.8M same place today its 5to 6 M just ridiculous when so many are living in povertynot to far away,i agree that bangkok gouvernement think about right build anazing  mall,and share money with the people of thailand and really think about expat and children ,people of TH  dont have to go outside of thailande like all the poor from philippine must do like going middle east and macau hong kong to take care them family home,anyway life is much cheaper in thailand with such amazing place to go and a top of the lign quality life with no hassle of paperwork or questions that does not make any sens lol!   I just share my opimion nothing else yes if we could go back there it will be good and better but we here from now and lets see what can happen in near future who knows only us and god for sure!

Very well said, good analysis

Hi, baleze:
                  You are in manila, the capital.
                   And not enough jobs. Low salaries, kind of rental place.
Finally, it's not expensive country.
Whole world comes over. No compare

good day my friend, baleze
And happy new year all expatriates in the Philippines

blessing all

The price of the rentals depends on location. I have 1 unit at Grass Residence in QC and this is behind SM North Edsa. The demand is very high specially expats looking for a place to stay near the malls.

The price of a unit whether it is an apartment, room, condo unit would depend on the demand, location and conditions of the accommodation. But if you would ask me, I'd prefer a condo unit over and apartment for security reasons, location wise even if it is still a bit pricey but if you come to think of it there's somehow not much of a difference.

Are you renting now  here in manila?

How about 30,000 pesos for studio type located in Manila?

Studio type for 30,000? That's too expensive. You can rent a place that's already a 3 bedroom condo at that price.

Rated the worst major city in the world to live in , i wouldnt live there if it was dirt cheap.     man get out to nicer areas of the Country where u are not bugged for money, u are safer, cleaner living enviroment, and so on. Just my humble opinion but different strokes for different folks ya know.

It much depends where work is, not so?

Not a single person could intellectually answer Baleze as to why Rent in Metro Manila is absurd based upon what it offers to the table in comparison to other cities and their rent across the world.

1. Lack of laws; outdated laws.

2. Corruption

The real-estate market is very "simple" compared to other countries. If you built a mansion beside a trailer park in the USA, the value of that mansion would plummet because of the ugliness of the trailer park, and risk of crime around the area.  In the Philippines, you can build a mansion beside a resettlement area and it magically retains it value!

The other problem with the Philippines real estate market is corruption. Land that was P5,000 per square meter less than 5 years ago can magically be worth 20,000 peso per square meter today. They can claim demand all they want but when almost 90% of the available land is owned by real estate companies and developers, it's not supply and demand its PRICE FIXING. Especially when said developers pay off appraisers to falsely increase the value of the land.

Lack of laws in the Philippines comes into the equation at this point.

Everyone loves money. When private owners see that the valuation of land and homes in their area have magically increased, they go with the flow and follow suite like parrots, mocking the fraudulent real estate monguls, with supply and demand.

Real Estate companies that help private owners rent is another problem. Some jack the rent up significantly and then take that amount as monthly profit. So if the landlord originally only wanted P10,000 a month, yet the real estate company says it is P20,000. Now they earn P10,000 a month for basically doing jack shit other than placing the ad on their website and taking you out to the property to show it. Something most people in other countries only offer as a 1-time commission, not recurring monthly.

The last problem with real estate in the Philippines falls under lack of laws and the attitude of most landlords to begin with and that is they don't give a shit about the integrity nor display of their properties and this is why you see some rental properties that are 30 years old, look it, smell it, and are horribly in need of renovation going for the same price as brand new rental properties.

There is no rhyme or reason, or sophisticated formula behind the rental prices in the Philippines. It's all bullshit. It's that simple and anyone who states otherwise is full of bullshit themselves.

Hi,
That's a good summation of the situation there.     They really aren't pricing the rentals on what the broad cross section of the community can afford...which in the Phillipines isn't much.

It's  purely a grab for cash from whoever is in a position to pay it.    I'm mainly in Vietnam and spend time in Malaysia as well.   KL & Penang do have some really good value apartment deals for a quality of life that is way above Manila.      I wouldn't tie a dog up in Manila ,,it's a shithole. 
But if your tied to a job or a family ,that's the predicament your in.

Property values have gone thru the roof here in VN.   The average wage is only $170 a month but the locals cram a dozen people into a small place and share the bills.   Even white collar professionals are only getting $400 a month.     Unless your a corrupt govt official, a drug dealer or a hooker ,,your going nowhere fast.

Land prices in my country Australia , in a nice regional coastal centre are around $350 a sq metre. For the average Aussie that's about 10 hours work.
Here in regional Vietnam they're asking $2000 a metre for shitty land, NO services included , which for the average Vietnamese working 10 hours a day, 29 days a month = about 4000 hours pay to buy ONE shitty square metre of land.....NO house on it either.

Go do the maths.......somethings got to give, and when it does , don't be standing anywhere near the fan😆😆

I'll be in the Phillipines in a couple of months,,just for a visit though.

As someone renting out a studio type condominium unit in Manila, think it's because the price of acquiring the property and housing loan interest rates are high (due to high inflation). A studio unit starts at about 3M from a reputable developer. Add closing fees and bank fees, it may go up to almost 3.5M. A property purchased at that price will need to command about P30,000+ / month to cover the monthly mortgage and to cash flow.

I think the answer is simply because there is demand for it and the cost of property is high, thus demanding higher rents. A lot of the property market is dictated by the earning power of Filipinos working abroad, not middle class Filipinos working in the country. I can draw a parallel to India, my country of origin, where property prices are even higher than the Philippines. The market here is influenced by the large number of Indians working abroad who buy property back home.

i think so many people have posted here stating it is greed and i agree.
PI is a country of low wages. i have got a condo at Pine Peaks tower 2, it will be finished in Sept of this year, and i plan to let it out fully furnished. it is only a studio and its to supplement my pension (when i do retire) i will have paid it off 2 years time so it will be mortgage free. As im still living and working in the uk, i dont need the rental income from it for another several years. i plan to rent it out at between 8k and 10k per month inclusive of association fees. I bought because firstly it was cheap, secondly i would not miss the money, also it showed my fiance that i was serious about coming to live in Pi, and that it would be hers to run as a source of income for her, i am in the process of purchasing a second condo to add to that portfolio.

Is a function of holding power.. Owners, assuming the majority are professional OFW or moneyed locals tend to have little to no leverage on the purchase, given the bulk of these condo units were purchased pre RFO through monthly equity injections (basically interest free project financing for the developers) yet at same time OFW owners can sit on these units if unnocupied without having to worry about -ve equity etc. That combined with growing disposable domestic incomes as well as incoming foriegn labor in IT, Gaming etc, you get a massive variance in what theoretical rental fair value is for a condo vs what it goes for. Not speaking from experience here, more observational. We bought a unit in Makati (The Gentry) in 2018 and were told completion by 2022... dont think Ayala has gotten past laying foundations yet...

Reply to Lolo1970

So, what are doing here in Manila?!  If you love Bangkok so much, no one is stopping you to move back.
Oh, like you said you were offered a job but you didn't have a choice ?  Of course you have a choice, everyone has a choice !

Ha, I watch this thread with interest and the input from members. Very simply it is supply and demand.... Tokyo? New York? Sydney? Manila? What you see is what you get and if you want to play the big game?

Cheers, Steve.

Indeedp, the price is much higher considering the average salary here. This is caused by the BPO and online gaming industries that attact many Chinese here to invest on properties - this is what they usually do in China.

Mostly because of the chinese in POGO companies. Rental in 2015-2016 when they were not here yet were completely different

No, rental in the Philippines is still among the cheapest in Southeast Asia. Try to Visit Singapore, and even Myanmar for you to say OMG what happened to Myanmar, the Cheapest studio is $600 US Dollars per month compared to the Philippines that you could find even $300 US Dollars in the Bonifacio Global City or Ortigas Business District.. $300 USD is still too cheap.

There isn't really a functioning housing market in the Philippines as there are ridiculous requirements from the Banking sector in terms of capital and interest rates way above the international norm. Houses/apartments tend to be held in families and Filipino's can have an unnatural level of greed. They would rather sit on an empty apartment for 3 years then rent it out at a discounted rate. They also tend to apply a $/m with no thought as to the quality of the building or apartment. Generally the apartments are terrible, even places like residences on greenbelt have terrible plumbing and fixtures (And yo can pay $3K USD a month for a shot apartment). Everything is cheap, they can't even plan any proper sewage with each apartment having a grease trap under the sinks. The tiles are laid without rubberized cement, the painting is cheap. The problem if you are working there is you don't have much choice as even a 5km trip in a car can take you 1hour plus. My record between Makati and Quezon City is 3 hours 47 minutes (That's 11km).

It's basically entirely speculation for the prices, remember 1/3 of the commercial real estate is dedicated to "online" gaming. Which is basically webcams for money laundering. Apartments are regularly rented by large numbers of Chinese (illegal immigrants) who work in these venues.

The Philippines seems on a path to self destruction with a very poor government, terrible infrastructure, dodgey buildings, corrupt landowners etc etc. Despite this the average Filipino themselves is a wonderful nd caring person, how they tolerate the inequity is baffling to me.

If you have a choice, stay way out of Manila. Cebu, Bohol, or Dumaguete are much nicer and more affordable.

Welcome to the forum Jimbob.

Cheers, Steve.

Well if you think the Philippines is not best for you then leave. There are better places to live around like Singapore, South Korea or Japan.

By the way I supposed t be impressed because you are from Australia, a commonwealth country which is owned by Queen Elizabeth II. But I realized that your idea is illogical. How could you incorporate the Philippine government to the private sectors. Government is Government.. If government is killing drug addicts then I think it is the place where you could voice your disagreement but talking about your chosen apartment then incorporate to the government. man I am warning you to leave the country if you are like that the place is not for you to stay longer.

Why?

1.) The mercenaries are online and pro government people are willing to kill anyone who wants to destroy the government. They will act according to how they believe is right. There might be monitoring you now as anti government spy from the other country that wants to destabilized the Philippines. I am just worry that you might no longer be able to return to your country alive. Warning you the 90% of the people in the Philippines supports the government to change for better so if you come to just  destroy them while they are in transition then you are risking your life.

2.) You always have a choice. Pick the best price least $300 to $800 US Dollars rent per month  then you could have a better apartment. Maybe you pick the cheaper one less than $100 USD then expect the worst that even rodents and cockroaches are around.

3.) If it is hard for you to adapt the situation in the Philippines then return to your country. Nobody might invite you to come over anyway.

Lastly is I think you could not compare a developing republic country to any country owned by Queen Elizabeth II like Canada, Australia ahhh maybe only PNG is a poor country that is owned by the Queen.. you may help them as well to have the same level with Australia.

Jimbob26 wrote:

There isn't really a functioning housing market in the Philippines as there are ridiculous requirements from the Banking sector in terms of capital and interest rates way above the international norm. Houses/apartments tend to be held in families and Filipino's can have an unnatural level of greed. They would rather sit on an empty apartment for 3 years then rent it out at a discounted rate. They also tend to apply a $/m with no thought as to the quality of the building or apartment. Generally the apartments are terrible, even places like residences on greenbelt have terrible plumbing and fixtures (And yo can pay $3K USD a month for a shot apartment). Everything is cheap, they can't even plan any proper sewage with each apartment having a grease trap under the sinks. The tiles are laid without rubberized cement, the painting is cheap. The problem if you are working there is you don't have much choice as even a 5km trip in a car can take you 1hour plus. My record between Makati and Quezon City is 3 hours 47 minutes (That's 11km).

It's basically entirely speculation for the prices, remember 1/3 of the commercial real estate is dedicated to "online" gaming. Which is basically webcams for money laundering. Apartments are regularly rented by large numbers of Chinese (illegal immigrants) who work in these venues.

The Philippines seems on a path to self destruction with a very poor government, terrible infrastructure, dodgey buildings, corrupt landowners etc etc. Despite this the average Filipino themselves is a wonderful nd caring person, how they tolerate the inequity is baffling to me.

If you have a choice, stay way out of Manila. Cebu, Bohol, or Dumaguete are much nicer and more affordable.

Well if you think the Philippines is not best for you then leave. There are better places to live around like Singapore, South Korea or Japan.

By the way I supposed t be impressed because you are from Australia, a commonwealth country which is owned by Queen Elizabeth II. But I realized that your idea is illogical. How could you incorporate the Philippine government to the private sectors. Government is Government.. If government is killing drug addicts then I think it is the place where you could voice your disagreement but talking about your chosen apartment then incorporate to the government. man I am warning you to leave the country if you are like that the place is not for you to stay longer.

Why?

1.) The mercenaries are online and pro government people are willing to kill anyone who wants to destroy the government. They will act according to how they believe is right. There might be monitoring you now as anti government spy from the other country that wants to destabilized the Philippines. I am just worry that you might no longer be able to return to your country alive. Warning you the 90% of the people in the Philippines supports the government to change for better so if you come to just  destroy them while they are in transition then you are risking your life.

2.) You always have a choice. Pick the best price least $300 to $800 US Dollars rent per month  then you could have a better apartment. Maybe you pick the cheaper one less than $100 USD then expect the worst that even rodents and cockroaches are around.

3.) If it is hard for you to adapt the situation in the Philippines then return to your country. Nobody might invite you to come over anyway.

Lastly is I think you could not compare a developing republic country to any country owned by Queen Elizabeth II like Canada, Australia ahhh maybe only PNG is a poor country that is owned by the Queen.. you may help them as well to have the same level with Australia....

Lastly is I think you could not compare a developing republic country to any country owned by Queen Elizabeth II like Canada, Australia ahhh maybe only PNG is a poor country that is owned by the Queen..

what are you talking about ???

I moved from Thailand to the Philippines.  Everything in the Philippines is cheaper EXCEPT for rentals.  I found that the rentals for 50 sqm condo in the Philippines is approximately  40% more expensive and with much less quality.  Townhouses and houses tend to be more reasonable for some reason.  My 10 year old condo looks like it was designed and built at least 25 years ago.

Expensive in a relative sense, partly due to demand in and around Makati? Imagine tech and financial, auto firms dont flinch to pay the relatively inflated prices to house their expats and locals share into rental pool to stay close to work? Just a guess. I do think design and aesthetics are a work in progress... A relatively new condo we purchased (studio unit on the 40th floor) comes with box aircons as opposed to the split types..which we thought was rather odd..then again dont really care if the single expat future tenant does'nt..on another note govvie think tank is talking about reducing corp taxes from 30% to 25 then possibly 20% to attract more foreign investment into automotive, aerospace, electronics, copper-nickel products, and IT and business process management...

Because the people that own rentals are greedy and doesnt follow any kind of method  or system at all.  The principles of fair market doesnt apply there.  Not even in real estate prices.  They pick a number and thats their price.  You dont even need a license to become a real estate agent.  There so many agents selling with no knowledge of anything but the price that their sellers feels like.  The more you can jack up your price, the better.  Thats the basic.  And I dont know why you would be interested in buying in a country with more than 11% unemployment rate and luxury real estate surrounded by squatters.  The country's main bread and butter is from the remittances of its OFW (Overseas Foreign Workers) sending money to their families.  And thats the tip of the iceberg.  They manipulate rates and keep exchanges rayes of foreign currencies low so they would coukd good profit.  Its shocking that a country with so much poverty would try to manipulate currency for the rich to get richer.