Aug 21, 2026 · by BalayHub Admin · 6 min read

Apartment Building for Sale in the Philippines: Income Math

How to read an apartment building for sale: listings from ₱4.7M to ₱35M, gross to net yield on a nine room example, rental income tax and the title checks.

Apartment Building for Sale in the Philippines: Income Math

The listings call it an income generating apartment, a door apartment or a cash flowing compound, and the price never explains itself. An apartment building for sale in the Philippines is priced on what the units earn, not on the square meters, and most buyers work the math backwards from a number the seller chose. This guide sets out how to read one of these listings, how to turn the rent roll into a real yield after taxes and repairs, and what to check on the title before you pay for someone else's tenants.

What is actually on the market

Our listings show the range. A nine room income generating apartment in Pembo, Taguig, on a 184 square meter lot asks ₱35.1 million (about $562,000 / €483,000). A six unit compound in Gordon Heights, Olongapo, with 450 square meters of floor on a 1,050 square meter lot, asks ₱22 million (about $352,000 / €303,000), the same as an apartment complex in Dampas, Tagbilaran. A 15 unit building in Tayud, Consolacion, near Cebu asks ₱13 million (about $208,000 / €179,000), as does a nine room apartment in Pajo, Lapu-Lapu, and a three storey titled apartment with five bedrooms and a studio in Tondo, Manila. Below that sit a four bedroom corner lot apartment with a store in Mandurriao, Iloilo, at ₱9.5 million (about $152,000 / €131,000), a three door apartment in San Antonio, Parañaque, at ₱7 million (about $112,000 / €96,400), and a four unit apartment in Dau, Mabalacat, at ₱4.7 million (about $75,200 / €64,700).

Three things stand out. The price per unit runs from about ₱870,000 (about $13,900 / €12,000) in Consolacion to ₱3.9 million (about $62,400 / €53,700) in Taguig, a wider spread than any condo market. Almost every listing is a house and lot that has been subdivided into rooms or doors, not a purpose built block, which matters for permits. And the rent roll is rarely published, so you have to build it yourself.

The income math, on a real example

Take the nine room apartment in Pajo, Lapu-Lapu, at ₱13 million (about $208,000 / €179,000). Rooms in that part of Mactan rent for ₱6,000 to ₱9,000 (about $96 to $144 / €83 to €124) a month, so nine rooms at a realistic ₱8,000 (about $128 / €110) give ₱72,000 (about $1,150 / €992) a month or ₱864,000 (about $13,800 / €11,900) a year. Gross yield: 6.6 percent. That is the number the seller quotes, and it is not the number you keep.

Subtract a vacancy allowance of one month per room per year, about ₱72,000 (about $1,150 / €992). Subtract real property tax on land and improvement, which for a declared value of ₱3 million (about $48,000 / €41,300) in a city works out around ₱90,000 (about $1,440 / €1,240) a year at the 2 percent basic rate plus the 1 percent education fund; how amilyar is computed walks the assessment. Subtract repairs and repainting, which on nine rooms of shared plumbing and roofing run ₱60,000 to ₱100,000 (about $960 to $1,600 / €826 to €1,380) a year, and a caretaker or manager at 8 to 12 percent of rent if you do not collect yourself. Net operating income lands near ₱560,000 (about $8,960 / €7,710), a 4.3 percent yield before income tax and before any loan. That is in line with the roughly 4.2 percent gross yield Colliers reported for Metro Manila condominiums, and it beats the condo once you remember that the apartment owner has no association dues and owns the land.

The tax you will actually pay

Rental income is taxed twice: income tax on the earnings and a business tax on the gross receipts. Under the rules summarized by TaxCalculator.com.ph, a landlord with gross rent up to ₱3 million (about $48,000 / €41,300) a year can choose the graduated rates on net income after expenses, or an 8 percent flat rate on gross receipts above ₱250,000 (about $4,000 / €3,440). The business tax is 3 percent of gross rent below ₱3 million (about $48,000 / €41,300) and 12 percent VAT above it, but residential units renting for ₱15,000 (about $240 / €207) a month or less are exempt from both, which covers most room and door apartments. When the tenant is a business it withholds 5 percent of the rent and remits it to the BIR as a credit against your income tax. Expenses you can deduct on the graduated route include the real property tax, repairs, insurance, depreciation, loan interest and management fees, or you take a flat 40 percent optional standard deduction without receipts.

On the Lapu-Lapu example, nine rooms below ₱15,000 (about $240 / €207) mean no VAT and no percentage tax; on ₱864,000 (about $13,800 / €11,900) of gross rent the 8 percent option costs about ₱49,000 (about $784 / €675) a year, which takes the net yield to just under 4 percent. Run your own version on the property valuation tool to sanity check the purchase price against the district before you negotiate.

What to check before you buy the tenants

Start with the title. Most apartment listings are one lot and one title with several doors on it, so confirm at the Registry of Deeds that the seller owns the whole lot and that the improvement is declared at the assessor; verifying a land title is the same drill as for a house. Ask for the building permit and the occupancy permit, because a house converted into nine rooms without them can be ordered to reduce occupancy, and check the fire safety inspection certificate. Get every existing lease in writing with the deposit and advance the seller is holding, since those transfer to you, and a statement of who pays water and electricity; submetering is the difference between a clean rent roll and a monthly argument. Confirm the real property tax clearance is current, and write a deed that lists the leases you are assuming.

Then price it. Compare the price per unit with what a similar door rents for in the barangay, and compare the price per square meter of lot with raw land nearby, because the land is your exit if the building fails. Where rental income works best sets out the districts where room demand is deepest, and renting out property as a landlord covers the contracts and the eviction rules you inherit with the tenants. Browse the current apartments for sale with the 4 percent net figure in mind, and treat any listing that quotes only a gross yield as a listing that has not done its own math.

Figures are from BalayHub listings and the sources cited at the time of writing; tax rules change and depend on your registration. This is general information, not tax or investment advice.

Dollar and euro figures are approximate conversions at ₱62.5 per US dollar and ₱72.6 per euro (ECB reference rates, 2026-09-08).

Frequently asked questions

How much does an apartment building cost in the Philippines?

In our listings from ₱4.7 million (about $75,200 / €64,700) for a four unit apartment in Mabalacat and ₱7 million (about $112,000 / €96,400) for a three door in Parañaque to ₱13 million (about $208,000 / €179,000) for nine to fifteen unit buildings in Lapu-Lapu, Consolacion and Tondo, ₱22 million (about $352,000 / €303,000) for six unit compounds in Olongapo and Tagbilaran, and ₱35.1 million (about $562,000 / €483,000) for a nine room apartment in Pembo, Taguig. Per unit that is about ₱870,000 to ₱3.9 million (about $1.39e+04 million to $62,400 / €1.2e+04 million to €53,700), a wider spread than any condo market.

What is a realistic rental yield on an apartment building?

Gross yields of 6 to 8 percent are common on paper: a ₱13 million (about $208,000 / €179,000) nine room apartment at ₱8,000 (about $128 / €110) a room grosses ₱864,000 (about $13,800 / €11,900) a year, or 6.6 percent. After a one month vacancy allowance per room, real property tax, repairs and a manager's fee the net operating yield is near 4.3 percent, and about 4 percent after income tax, in line with the 4.2 percent Colliers reported for Metro Manila condos but without association dues.

How is rental income from an apartment taxed?

Income tax on the earnings, either graduated rates on net income after expenses or an 8 percent flat rate on gross receipts above ₱250,000 (about $4,000 / €3,440) if gross rent is at most ₱3 million (about $48,000 / €41,300) a year, plus a business tax of 3 percent below ₱3 million (about $48,000 / €41,300) or 12 percent VAT above it. Residential units renting for ₱15,000 (about $240 / €207) a month or less are exempt from the business tax, which covers most room and door apartments. Business tenants withhold 5 percent.

What documents should I check before buying an apartment building?

The title at the Registry of Deeds to confirm one owner for the whole lot, the tax declaration of the improvement, the building and occupancy permits for the number of units, the fire safety inspection certificate, every existing lease with the deposits the seller holds, the utility submetering setup, and a current real property tax clearance. Write the leases you assume into the deed of sale.

Is an apartment building better than a condo for rental income?

Often, on the numbers: no association dues, several tenants instead of one, and the land as an exit if the building fails, against a Metro Manila condo market with vacancy near 25 percent and yields around 4 percent. The price is management: multiple tenants, shared plumbing and roofing, permits and collections. It suits an owner who lives nearby or hires a caretaker, not an absentee investor.

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