Beyond saving, what does it take to buy your first home?
Buying a first home is an exciting prospect, but the decision also comes with its fair share of uncertainties. How much can one realistically afford? What makes a location worth considering? And when is the right time to buy?
“Buying your first home is a major milestone, and it comes with real questions,” said NextAsia Land Inc. president and chief operating officer Dustin Carreon during his opening remarks at the recent INQTalks, themed “Adulting Beyond Saving: How to Know When You’re Ready, What You Can Afford, and Which First Home Is Worth Buying.”
Held on Oct. 17 at the Holiday Inn & Suites Batangas Limapark by IHG, the forum brought together experts in banking, real estate and housing finance to address these concerns. Organized by the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Property Section in partnership with NextAsia Land Inc., the event formed part of INQ Talks, a series of forums aimed at helping Filipinos make informed property decisions.
Securing financing
For many Filipinos, homeownership hinges not just on finding the right property but also on securing affordable financing.
Pag-IBIG Fund is addressing this through expanded housing programs, lower interest rates and flexible repayment terms.
Fermin A. Sta. Teresa Jr., senior vice president of Pag-IBIG Fund, highlighted the agency’s promotional interest rate of 4.5 percent, fixed for three years, for eligible borrowers with loans of up to P4.9 million until December 2026.
“We wanted to make sure that the housing, specifically economic and open market packages, will be made affordable to our members,” he said.
Pag-IBIG Fund also offers repayment terms of up to 30 years and allows up to three qualified borrowers to combine their borrowing capacity to finance a property worth as much as P30 million, subject to eligibility.
The informed buyer’s way
Mikko Barranda, co-founder and director of Leechiu Property Consultants, urged homebuyers to look beyond current economic uncertainties and consider the property market’s long-term growth, supported by the IT-BPM industry, overseas remittances and tourism.
“Even at the hardest of times, whether it’s the crisis of 2008, or whether it’s COVID that happened five years ago, or currently, everything happening in the Middle East, many of these metrics continue to grow,” he said.
Barranda noted that condominium inventory has declined from five years’ worth of supply to two and a half years, while developers now offer down payments spread over up to 120 months. He also cited growing opportunities in Laguna and Batangas, driven by infrastructure improvements and township developments.
Still, he cautioned against rushing into a purchase. Buyers should assess their finances, research developers and consider their long-term needs. For some, renting may remain the more practical choice.
Practical lessons
For his part, Andy Gomez, vice president for property sales and marketing at BDO Unibank, emphasized the importance of financial discipline in homeownership.
Drawing from personal experience, he shared how he and his wife compared rental costs with prospective loan payments and assessed their finances before buying their first home.
“We didn’t buy because everyone else is buying, but we bought because we could afford it,” he said. Gomez also advised buyers to choose homes that can accommodate their future needs and to use bonuses or extra income to reduce their outstanding loan principal.
“Financial freedom comes from reducing your liabilities,” he emphasized. “It’s either you save more or you pay off your debts.”
Making a decision you can live with
The concluding panel discussion brought the conversation back to a question many first-time buyers ask: How do they know when they are ready?
Barranda urged buyers to assess their finances, research the developer and consider practical factors such as the daily commute, while Gomez suggested comparing monthly amortizations with rental expenses.
For Carreon, a home should be seen not merely as a reward for reaching life’s milestones, but as a foundation for building a future, provided buyers understand what they can afford.
Ultimately, buying a home is not simply about finding the right time or taking advantage of favorable market conditions, but about making a decision that aligns with one’s financial capacity and long-term needs.
As Inquirer Property editor Tek Samaniego, who moderated the forum, put it in closing: “When you decide, make sure that you decide based on what you really can afford. Let this home be a source of happiness and not a source of nightmare.”
