#1 – Boracay

Sunset in Boracay

Boracay is one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines for tourists and for good reason. It’s white sand beach is reportedly one of the world’s best. There are also any number of water sports to be found at this beach, from diving to kite boarding. There’s a fairly new lifeguard service that’s been introduced, which started in March 2008, and the nearby international airport is getting a serious facelift to accommodate some larger planes, and giving it easier access to regional hubs like Singapore, Manila, and Taipei. With the exception of the rainy season from June through October which brings the risk of typhoons, there is good weather and tourists galore making this a great location to own property.

#2 – Cebu

Cebu is an island in the middle of the Philippines and is home to the nation’s second largest city, second largest airport, and largest seaport. Because of the amount of people in the city, property here is not very cheap. However, the area is much more easily accessible to outside flights, with direct connections to most of the major Asian hubs every day, making getting to any beachfront property you buy here much easier. The area is a short ferry ride from many other pristine locations, including the island of Bohol, and is a highly sought after destination for both divers and tourists. For the comforts of a big city with the setting of a beach, beachfront property is Cebu is worth it.

#3 – Palawan

Coron, Palawan

Palawan is an archipelago of over 1,700 islands located in the South China Sea, but is dominated by the large island of the same name. It is the eco-tourism destination of the future for the Philippines. There is a huge, long coastline protected from the seasonal typhoon, four marine sanctuaries, and even two world heritage sites. On top of this, the island is very close to the financial centers of Singapore and Hong Kong. However, what is holding Palawan back right now is a lack of infrastructure. There are daily flights from the island’s main city of Puerto Pincesa to Manila, but travel up to the northern city of El Nido takes seven hours by bus over bumpy roads. El Nido does have an airport, but service is not consistent. Once better infrastructure is built on this amazing island, property prices will skyrocket.

For all of its problems, the Philippines contain some of the most beautiful beaches and scenery in the world. If you’re a fan of watersports, you’ll never find yourself with nothing to do in this amazing country. Make sure that you’re aware of all the risks before investing in any property and enjoy your own private island paradise!

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There are over 7,000 islands to choose from in this country, but only about 2,000 of those islands are inhabited. The islands are split into three major groups, Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas. Luzon is the northernmost set of the islands, and contains the largest island, which is home to the capital of Manila. Visayas contains the middle group of islands, and Mindanao is the southernmost group of islands. With so many islands in such an idyllic location, beachfront property is not hard to come by. However, there are several obstructions to owning property in the Philippines.

Cebu, Philippines

First, despite the fact that there are many locations for eco-tourism, diving, and other water sports, not to mention great weather, the Philippines has received a lot of bad press. It’s in the middle of a volcanic fault line known as the “Ring of Fire” making volcanic eruptions in certain areas a relatively common affair. Depending on what islands you’re on, there are also typhoons that hit the islands, sometimes in devastating form. If you can deal with everything Mother Nature throws at you, the Philippines also have their share of political troubles. Since being colonized by the Spanish, the country has been predominantly Catholic, but there is a small Muslim majority on some of the islands that stirs up trouble from time to time. Perhaps the most important flaw holding people back from owning land in the Philippines is the corruption present in the government. Despite recent efforts to tackle this, the Philippines is consistently one of the worst countries in the world for corruption, which will limit your ability to own the land, and also to sell or rent it.

If you decide that even with these troubles, owning beachfront property in the Philippines is worth it, there’s another obstacle in your way. Foreigners are not permitted to privately own land in the Philippines. Unfortunately, there is no way for you to directly own any Filipino beachfront property. What foreigners can do is control up to 40% of the equity in a domestic company that owns land. These companies are generally joint venture development projects that are run by Filipino individuals and build condos and other apartment blocks. This is because the lease holding is much easier and more straightforward for the condos. Instead of just owning 40% of a piece of land, leaving you out maneuvered if your Filipino business partner decides to pull a fast one, Foreigners are allowed to own individual condos in a complex, provided that they don’t own more than 40% of the total amount of units.

The Philippines is a great area with some of the beast beaches in the world. Unfortunately, the country also has many problems it needs to tackle. Whiles these issues don’t make the country completely unstable, serious issues like corruption make owning property a risk because your rights to it may be violated by the highest bidder to a certain government official. On top of this, foreigners can not directly own land in the country making it more difficult to acquire beachfront properties. With all this taken into account, while the Philippines has a great atmosphere, great people, and great beaches, it may not be worth investing your hard earned money into the country and instead keeping it as a vacation destination, especially when there are so many other great places to own land in the world.

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