Focus

Why this sector, and why now

I chose this sector because it is large and fragmented, and because few advisers work on it full time. Property is bought and sold in the Philippines through a great many small brokerages, most of them founder-run, and the technology that serves them is still being built out. A regional group that wants a position here has to pick its way through that landscape, and there are few advisers who work on it full time.

Three public figures shape my view. First, the audience is online. DataReportal counted 98.0 million internet users in the Philippines in October 2025, 83.8% of the population (report dated 5 November 2025). Property search in this market is a digital activity, which is why listing platforms and lead generation matter as much as the brokerages themselves.

Second, the licensed broker base keeps growing. The Professional Regulation Commission reported that 1,863 of 2,296 candidates passed the April 2026 Real Estate Brokers Licensure Examination (published 21 April 2026), up from 1,306 of 1,741 a year earlier. Every new broker needs a brokerage, a lead source and software. Those are the businesses a buyer is acquiring.

Third, prices have turned. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that its Residential Property Price Index rose 4.5% year on year in the first quarter of 2026 and 5.6% on the quarter, reversing two quarters of decline (report dated 26 June 2026). A market coming off a soft patch is the moment when founders who held out through the downturn become willing to talk, and when a buyer can still pay a sensible price.

None of this makes a deal easy. Ownership rules for foreign buyers, licensing, data hygiene and founder dependence all have to be worked through. That is the work.

Alberto Roberts, Managing Director