Our three days in Manila were based out of Newport City, which we selected because we had considered buying here, and while we decided not to buy in the Philippines in 2017, we figured we’d give it another look.
Our stay this time was at an apartment rented through AirBNB, which gives us another data point to compare to our own AirBNB rentals in Costa Rica.
Staying in Newport City in Manila
The location of Newport City, both as a location for buying real estate and as a location to stay during our visits, appeals to us for several reasons.
Newport City is Super Convenient
Newport City is located right across the street from the Manila airport (NAIA), saving time and eliminating a stress on travel days. You can even walk to the airport, utilizing Runway Manila, a walkway over the highway from Newport City directly into Terminal 3 of the airport.
Being near the airport, taxis are always available, and it is also easy to tell non-English speaking taxi drivers where to go.
While it is located outside the main city center, since Manila is so spread out, you generally need to travel when going from place to place, so it is not like there is one central place that is the best place to stay for a tourist.
Newport City would appeal to both the leisure and business traveler – therefore, a broader pool of renters.
Newport City is quieter than the typical Manila hustle and bustle
Manila is a very loud and crowded city, and Newport City just feels a bit calmer than the typical Manila area. It is still crowded in many ways, given the hotels, casino and housing complexes, but it is a bit less chaotic than the rest of the city, and a place where it is easy and comfortable to walk around.
This appeals to us personally, and we would make this a selling point if we did end up buying an investment property there.
Things to do in Newport City
Another post will focus on the food we ate, but one of the things we like about Newport City is that there are several cafes and restaurants on the streets, there is the mall at Resorts World Casino with several restaurants, and it is a quick walk to the food court in terminal 3 of the Manila Airport, which surprisingly had great food options, including staples Max’s and Mary Grace.
We were able to easily get food shopping done at the Metro Supermarket which was close by, and we also discovered a great massage place, where we had really nice foot reflexology sessions.
Looking at Real Estate in Manila
Started with Newport City
First we checked out three units in a particular complex in Newport City that were vacant and available to buy immediately. These were all one-bedrooms units, approximately 42 square meters, and ranging in price from $130k-$150k. Monthly carrying costs would be under $150, including taxes, insurance, HOA, and utilities.
However, projected rents for long term rental would be $700/ month, and nightly AirBNB rates are also on the low side – so the potential income seemed much too low to offset the purchase price.
The units also had some aesthetic problems, such as no windows in the living room, and we also didn’t like the pool area in the particular building we were looking in. Other buildings in Newport City have nicer looking pools. In addition, the AirBNB unit we stayed in during this trip and an apartment we saw on our last trip had more windows.
Looking at Ayala Land properties
Ayala Land is a premier land developer in the Philippines, and they have many high end developments in the Philippines, including Bonifacio Global City (BGC), which is a modern residential and commercial area developed on a former military base and built out over the last 10-15 years so there are no more new units available. We were particularly interested in ARCA South, a newer development currently being built that is close to Newport City.
These developments generally have plenty of residential living, commercial business space, restaurants, traffic calming/control, nice outdoor spaces, and a shopping mall. It makes these developments very comfortable areas to live in, but also desirable as a location to stay during a visit as a tourist, as it will have everything you need, outside visits to tourist spots.
BGC is fully built out now and really is a gleaming view of what a higher end Manila looks like. In the commercial business district of BGC, you might forget you are in Manila altogether and instead feel like you are in a business district of San Francisco or New York City! I have no doubt that ARCA South will also have a similar feel when completed.
On this trip, we were able to see the master plan for BGC and ARCA South to get a sense for how Ayala builds their developments. We were able to go into a studio unit in BGC to see an apartment firsthand and also see what a finished Ayala building typically looks like.
In ARCA South, the typical available apartments would likely run in the $220k range and rent for $1,200/ month. Also, since ARCA South is not yet built out, it would be several years before you could see any income.
After returning home, our realtor in Manila sent us details for an available studio apartment in BGC. It was in the building we had toured firsthand, it was fully furnished with floor-to-ceiling windows boasting a great view of the Manila American Cemetery and Monument. The asking price was about $140,000 (although probably negotiable) but the monthly rent is around $700 per month.
View from above Bonifacio Global City and the Manila American Cemetery and Monument
Manila real estate conclusions
ARCA South won’t complete its residential developments for at least two years, but the commercial buildings are already sold out and much of the residential is pre-sold, so these Ayala properties are definitely hot tickets!
But for the types of apartments we saw, you’d really be buying in anticipation of price appreciation, not for immediate cash flow. Remember, we are Team Cash Flow or, at most, Team Cash Flow plus Appreciation.
Appreciation is definitely a possibility in the new Ayala Land developments, as there are some interesting urban planning developments in the Philippines. For one, ARCA South will be served by a highway expansion and a new bus terminal. The projected capacity will be to serve 4,000 buses and 200,000 daily commuters! Also, a subway system has just been approved and is to be built over the next 5-7 years, which will serve both ARCA South and BGC.
As exciting as these developments are, we are happy to spend our money in the Philippines as tourists, not investors. For less than the $140k we’d have to spend for a small one-bedroom in Newport City or a studio in BGC, we were able to buy a 2-bedroom in Tamarindo, which is walkable to the beach and in the short term rental market, rents for double the projections for Newport City.
On this trip, we confirmed for ourselves that we don’t have to buy real estate in the Philippines to enjoy the Philippines. Our decision to buy in Costa Rica, where the numbers make sense, and then use that rental income to fund our travels to the Philippines and elsewhere, will serve our FIRE lifestyle better.
We are Scott and Caroline, 50-somethings who spent the first 20+ years of our adult lives in New York City, working traditional careers and raising 2 kids. We left full-time work in our mid-40’s for location-independent, part-time consulting projects and real estate investing, in order to create a more flexible and travel-centric lifestyle. 
Financial independence and early retirement is not something we originally focused on, but over time realized it was possible. Our free report, 
The price of real estate in Metro Manila is getting crazier and crazier as years go by. It’s almost impossible for a local to buy one. The people who have bought properties in and around BGC while it was still being developed are very lucky as the price shot up significantly.
I wonder if BGC still paid off when you factor in holding costs. When we stay in AirBNB’s in Manila the rates are so low. I can’t imagine you would be able to make enough to pay for HOA, tax, insurance and utilities, even in BGC (and as I recall, many of the BGC complexes do not allow short term rentals). We ultimately didn’t buy b/c we were concerned about carrying costs — we wouldn’t be using it that much. Cebu seems like a better option, and there may be other parts that we haven’t yet explored. I can’t wait till we can travel again!