EXPECT Cagayan de Oro to continually boom for the next three years or so. The old Lumbia airport in Cagayan de Oro City has already been earmarked by Rep.-elect Jose Benjamin Benaldo to be the next economic zone in Northern Mindanao. In fact, this will be the very first bill that the congressman-elect will file once he assumes this post come July.

According to Benaldo, it is ripe for the sprawling old Lumbia airport to be converted into an economic zone once the whole airport facilities be transferred to nearby Laguindingan in western Misamis Oriental. In fact, the area around the airport itself has already been booked by Rockwell as a state-of-the-art shopping center. The shopping mall is expected to rise in the next ten years or so. Development of the Gokongwei-owned Robinson’s Land Subdivision across the old Lumbia airport is in full swing as we speak.

On the city’s eastern hemisphere, construction is starting at the first skyscraper in Mindanao, the 21-storey Limketkai Hotel. Right near the hotel will rise a branch of Starbucks, the first of its kind in Cagayan de Oro City. Never has CDO look good with Benaldo’s winning as congressman.

THE economy of the world has been in chaos since 2007. Now we’re leaving 2009 behind and usher in the Chinese Year of the Tiger. According to my friend Jiryn Encong, the lovely manager of SM City Cagayan de Oro, the Year of the Tiger calls to be resilient. And so, every Westerner in that hemisphere is encouraged to visit Cagayan de Oro. Just visit Cagayan de Oro located in the northernmost tip of Mindanao and feel the place for two weeks. You will never regret what you experience and you’ll find a home here.

There are lots of cozy homes available especially in middle-class subdivisions. The quality of these homes are roughly equal to those homes found in United States suburbs such as in the New Jersey and Virginia areas but the difference is in the price. Because of the very low cost of living here, the price of a middle-class abode in the Philippines and especially here in Cagayan de Oro is equal to the price of a socialized housing for welfare persons in the US. But the quality is definitely high. Real estate companies in the Philippines particularly in Cagayan de Oro are one of the most reliable in the world in terms of quality. They really walk what they talk.

Cagayan de Oro is being groomed as a retirement home for Westerners. The city is the most peaceful place in Mindanao. It is shaped like a basin so it is immune from typhoons. It is not located to a faultline. It has a very active expat community. You will not be alone nor lost in translation here in short. So what are you waiting for? Visit Cagayan de Oro today and feel the difference for yourself.

ONE of the results of the recent Chamber of Real Estate Builders Association (Creba) convention held here was knowing one inspiring thing – that A. Brown Company, the developer of Xavier Estates, is serious in its corporate social responsibility (CSR).

It was revealed that the Phase 5 development at Xavier Estates located along Masterson highway in going to the airport in uptown Cagayan de Oro yielded Huluga archaeological artifacts. And because of the new discovery, the CEO of A. Brown Company, Walter Brown himself, ordered that all earthworks at the site be stopped so that all artifacts could be unearthed and claimed by the National Museum.

And because logistics and funding for the diggings are not yet in place, the actual digging will be held at the later part of this year. Because of this development, Walter Brown has to recalendar the Xavier Estates Phase 5 development to next year. This is indeed one company worth emulating.

Creba holding its national convention in Cagayan de Oro every now and then has indeed its advantages aside from the expenses the delegates incur during their stay in hotels and loitering. Mayor Constantino Jaraula revealed that when the national convention was held here in 1994, one of the developers bought the Roa party in the western side of Masterson road. This is now what is known as Pueblo de Oro Township.

It’s not uncommon for a first-time home buyer to say to me, “Gosh, just last week I called you about buying a home and now I’m in escrow! How did this happen so fast?”

The answer is it didn’t. First-time home buyers start the search long before most even realize it.

Here’s what you can expect from your home shopping experience.

Benefits for a First-Time Home Buyer

You should buy a home. That’s what you’ve been hearing from friends and family, right? So, by now you have likely already weighed the benefits and decided that home ownership was the best decision for you. That’s a major hurdle now passed. You are focused and certain. Good.

Defining Search Parameters for a First-Time Home Buyer
Almost 80% of all home searches today begin on the Internet. With just a few clicks of the mouse, home buyers can search through hundreds of online listings, view virtual tours, and sort through dozens of photographs and aerial shots of neighborhoods and homes. You’ve probably defined your goals and have a pretty good idea of the type of home and neighborhood you want. By the time you reach your real estate agent’s office, you are halfway to home ownership.
How Long Should It Take to Buy Your First Home?
In seller’s markets, often I show only one home. After all, how many homes does one family need? A few buyers will look for years, but buyers who do that aren’t motivated. A motivated buyer will find a home within two weeks. Most of my buyers find a home within two days.

Good real estate agents will listen to your wants and needs and arrange to show only those homes that fit your particular parameters. Your agent should preview homes before showing them to you as well.
How Many Homes Will a Home Buyer See?
Studies show that your memory dramatically improves after consumption of carbs and slows upon consuming sugar. So, lay off the soft drinks and have a hearty meal of carbs before venturing out to tour homes. The average number of homes that I show to a buyer in one day is seven. Any more than that, and the brain is on overload. Therefore, don’t expect to see 20 or 30 homes; although it’s physically possible to do so, you probably will not remember specific details about any of them.
The “Red Shoes” Experience for a Home Buyer
Women will relate to this. Say, you need a new pair of red shoes. You go to the mall. At the first shoe store, you find a fabulous pair of red shoes. You try them on. They fit perfectly. They are glamorous. Priced right, too. Do you buy them? Of course not! You go to every other store in the mall trying on red shoes until you are ready to drop from exhaustion. Then you return to the first store and buy those red shoes. Do not shop for a home this way. When you find the perfect home, buy it.
How a First-Time Home Buyer Can Rate Inventory

* Bring a digital camera and begin each series of photos with a close-up of the house number to identify where each group of home photos start and end.
* Take copious notes of unusual features, colors and design elements.
* Pay attention to the home’s surroundings. What is next door? Do 2-story homes tower over your single story?
* Do you like the location? Is it near a park or a power plant?
* Immediately after leaving, rate each home on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.

View Top Choices a Second Time Before Buying That First Home
After touring homes for a few days, you will probably instinctively know which one or two homes you would like to buy. Ask to see them again. You will see them with different eyes and notice elements that were overlooked the first go-around.

At this point, your agent should call the listing agents to find out more about the sellers’ motivation and to double-check that an offer hasn’t come in, making sure these homes are still available to purchase.
Making the Selection To Buy a Home
I’ll let you in on a little secret. I generally know which home a buyer is going to choose, and I suspect most other agents operate the same way. It’s an intuition. But I make it a practice not to steer buyers, and I insist that buyers choose the home without interference from me. It’s not my choice to make.

License Real estate agents are required, however, to point out defects and should help buyers feel confident that the home selected meets the buyer’s search parameters.

Xavier Estates Subdivision

LIVING the good life may sound somewhat clichéd but this is really true if you are in Cagayan de Oro City. If you are living somewhere at Xavier Estates for example and you wake up at 6 in the morning, what will greet you is dew and the freshness of air. Life is really laid-back here and the food is so yummy, so Southeast Asian in delight.

Take for example, an everyone’s favorite, dried fish. Dried fish as its name implies is dried and cured with salt so people will love its taste once its fried or sautéed and mixed with other ingredients. There are lots of amenities when you go downtown. One of the shopping malls here is the biggest all over Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines, where you can find virtually anything that you like.

Of course, modern life in Cagayan de Oro City is typically Western-influenced yet the culture here is retained by typical Kagay-anon characteristics which are full of respect indeed. For instance, kids still kiss the hands of their elders. If you want to experience more on that, then live somewhere in Cagayan de Oro.