HOW TO READ OUR PRICE GUIDE?

How to read our price guides

The secondary-market figures we've been posting are asking prices: what sellers are asking right now, not what properties actually sold for. Here's how to read them.

1.⁠ ⁠Upgrades don't pay back in full.

As my dad used to tell me, a Honda Civic is still a Honda Civic, even if you upgrade every part. Volk mags, a B18C5 engine, a Focal sound system. There might be a buyer for a P1.5M Civic, likely an enthusiast, but that pool of buyers is very small.

Houses work the same way. If you're adding top-notch features like narra flooring, an elevator or Italian marble, treat the upper end of the published range as the realistic ceiling for your village or building.

2.⁠ ⁠The neighborhood sets the ceiling.

The same goes for build-and-sell. A P150M house in a village where most homes ask around P50M is a hard sell. Buyers with P150M usually shop in villages where P150M is normal.

3.⁠ ⁠These are "asking" prices, not "done" prices.

Asking prices are sellers' hopes. Based on our own records of recent resales, condos typically closed at about 80–95% of today's asking prices, and houses and lots at about 70–93%. Nine in ten condo deals closed below the asking price.

4.⁠ ⁠The listings still online are on the high side.

Well-priced properties sell quickly and drop off the market. Overpriced ones stay up for months. If a listing has been up for a year, that price is probably too high, not proof of what the market will pay.

5.⁠ ⁠Your property sits somewhere in the range.

The figure we show is the median, the middle listing, not the average, so a few extreme prices don't skew it. Corner lot, view, floor level, lot shape, condition and title can all move your property up or down from there.