Three questions decide whether anything else matters: can you own it, does the register hold, and is your deposit protected. Here are the answers for Philippines, each with the law or source it rests on. The answers are written for EU and EEA citizens; where rules differ for other nationals, the ownership answer says so. As of September 2026.
The core answers
Can you buy property here as an EU citizen?
No land ownership. Condominium units can be acquired as long as the foreign share of a project does not exceed 40 percent.
Legal basis: Constitution 1987, Art. XII Sec. 7; Condominium Act 4726
Is your deposit protected by law?
PD 957: licence to sell and performance bond for infrastructure, right to reclaim payments on construction delay, but no escrow account
Source: lawphil.net · 1976
Residence
SRRV retiree visa from USD 10,000-50,000 deposit, convertible into a condo with PRA approval; no land purchase, condos only up to 40 %
Source: respicio.ph
First thing to check
- Whether the DHSUD project licence exists and the 40 percent limit in the building has not yet been reached.
All 24 dimensions
Scale 0 to 100, higher is better. Each value shows where it comes from: tied to a published index, own research with a source on file, or approximated from comparable countries.
Law and register
| Dimension | Score | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Property rights | 30 | Index |
| Register | 50 | Research |
| Deposit protection | 35 | Research |
| Rule of law | 32 | Index |
| Freedom from corruption | 29 | Index |
| Political stability | 42 | Index |
Money and market
| Dimension | Score | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase costs | 3 | Index |
| Tax burden | 51 | Index |
| Entry price | 65 | Index |
| Rental yield | 42 | Research |
| Short-term rental | 65 | Research |
| Price development | 79 | Index |
| Demand pipeline | 47 | Index |
Residence and access
| Dimension | Score | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Residence | 75 | Research |
| Exit | 70 | Index |
| Currency | 71 | Index |
| Accessibility | 24 | Research |
Place and building stock
| Dimension | Score | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Climate | 38 | Index |
| Natural hazards | 1 | Index |
| Utilities | 32 | Index |
| Build quality | 66 | Research |
| Construction cost | 75 | Research |
| Quality of life | 16 | Index |
| Healthcare | 61 | Index |
Researched individually
These entries do not come from an index but from research for this country. The source is given with each.
Residence
SRRV retirement visa from a deposit of USD 10,000-50,000, convertible into a condominium with PRA (Philippine Retirement Authority) approval; no land purchase, condominiums only up to 40%
Source: respicio.ph · 2025
Deposit protection
PD 957 (Presidential Decree 957): licence to sell and a performance bond for infrastructure, a right to reclaim payments in the event of construction delay, but no escrow account
Source: lawphil.net · 1976
Accessibility
10,178 km great-circle distance from Munich
Source: Grosskreisentfernung Muenchen-Hauptstadt · 2026
Build quality
BQCI 13/15 (WB Doing Business 2020) + WGI Government Effectiveness 54,15 (2024), Gewicht 35/65
Source: archive.doingbusiness.org · 2019
Place and building materials
What to check in the Philippines
Derived from the four weakest dimensions of this country - statistically, that is where buyers lose money.
- Natural hazards. Exposure to earthquake, storm, flood and wildfire at the specific site, not the national average.
- Purchase costs. The actual purchase costs including transfer tax, notary, registration and agent's commission.
- Quality of life. Whether everyday life works for years, not just for a holiday.
- Accessibility. How often you can realistically get there - and whether a site inspection is possible in one day.
Developers and projects in the Philippines
The developer index records 30 projects and 5 developers in the Philippines without rating them, each entry with source and retrieval date. An excerpt:
| Project | Place | Developer | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patio Suites Abreeza | Abreeza | Alveo Land (Ayala Land) | on sale |
| Laurent Park | Araneta City | Megaworld Corporation | planned |
| Alea Residences | Bacoor | DMCI Homes | completed |
| Bristle Ridge | Baguio City | DMCI Homes | completed |
| Hartwood Village | Barangay Malamig | Federal Land, Inc. | on sale |
| Costa Mira Beachtown Panglao | Brgy. Totolan | Cebu Landmasters Inc | planned |
| The Calinea Tower | Caloocan | DMCI Homes | under construction |
| Bryant Parklane | Capital Town | Megaworld Corporation | completed |
| Chelsea Parkplace | Capital Town | Megaworld Corporation | completed |
| Montrose Parkview | Capital Town | Megaworld Corporation | planned |
| Astela at Circuit Makati | Circuit Makati | Alveo Land (Ayala Land) | on sale |
| Callisto at Circuit Makati | Circuit Makati | Alveo Land (Ayala Land) | completed |
Individual project pages are currently in German; they contain the recorded data, the source and the retrieval date.
All 30 projects and 5 developers in the Philippines
What the guide cannot do
A country can look good in all three columns and the specific property can still be a total loss. The reverse is also true: in a country with a weak register, a cleanly titled plot can be entirely unproblematic. The guide tells you what the environment looks like. Whether this one property holds up is decided by the review.