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Our Tagaytay garden in bloom!

October 19, 2008 by Johanna · 1 Comment 

Only two months ago, these bushes were low and mostly flowerless.. What a surprise to see them in overgrown mode! There must be something about Tagaytay rain– ang lulusog ng halaman!
Taken by my brother, Pete on Sept. 23, 2008.
More pics here.
Other Tagaytay pics:
Hardwood Furniture in Tagaytay
On the Way to Tagaytay, March 13, [...]

Makati projects on the rise (a reuters report)

April 16, 2008 by Johanna · Leave a Comment 

Here’s a summary of upcoming real estate projects (hotels included) in Makati, taken from Reuters:
FACTBOX: Philippine property projects on the riseSat, Apr 12 20:38 PM EDTMANILA (Reuters) – Philippine property firms have seen residential sales from Filipinos based overseas, especially in the United States, slide as the U.S. economy slows.
But companies continue to invest heavily [...]

Our Tagaytay house

April 14, 2008 by Johanna · Leave a Comment 

Uploaded new pics of our Tagaytay house, which I’ve described before as “a house built with love”..
We’ve started to garden it, and hopefully we can see flowers blooming (didn’t realize flowers bloomed so quickly!) even in the lower gardens in time for the May “spring” season..

The house is for sale and we do [...]

Real estate and land reform

March 31, 2008 by Johanna · Leave a Comment 

In a land reform lecture for my MVP history class last month, mention was made of real estate developers and how they fit into the picture of land redistribution in the Philippines.
I got the impression that in this issue, the developers belonged to the enemy camp. Being exposed to real estate at a young [...]

What to do with 15k disposable income

January 18, 2008 by Johanna · Leave a Comment 

I’ve been a real estate broker for a few years now, and I know a good deal when I see one..
Many projects are actually very promising, even with real estate peaking at an overwhelming rate now, but for starting families and “yuppies”, problem has always been the affordability of these condos.
What can you buy, really, [...]

The South goes green and sustainable!

September 12, 2007 by Johanna · Leave a Comment 

Been attending project briefings for Ayalaland’s Nuvali project in Canlubang, and WOW, must say I’m amazed. This planned city, whose main access road is already visible from the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road, will usher in a whole new era for our children and their children: ultra-modern with a spotlight on communal living and respect for [...]

Real estate industry update

April 17, 2006 by Johanna · Leave a Comment 

by Jose B. Pilar, Real Estate Broker
Based on our observation and experience, the realty business is somewhat slow in the last few years, particularly in general brokerage. Our earlier specialization was industrial and factory lots, but this market has declined since the 1997 Asian crisis, and has not yet recovered to date. With regard to [...]

The lure of Lease-to-Own

March 28, 2006 by Johanna · Leave a Comment 

Gone are the days of strictly 100% cash purchases; nowadays buyers have more options on how to pay for properties they want to acquire.
Many are attracted to “lease-to-own” arrangements, because of the benefit of spreading out payments while already enjoying full use of the property. What a lot of people don’t realize is that in [...]