Empire East Land Holdings, Inc., a Philippine real estate company that builds homes for middle-income families, recently shared an important insight about who is buying their properties and why.

According to a disclosure filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 9, 2026, the company explained that most of their buyers are people looking for actual homes to live in, not investors trying to make money from renting out properties.

What Does This Mean?

In simple terms, there are two main types of property buyers:

• Investors – People who buy condos to rent them out and earn money from rental income (called “rental yield”)
• End-users – People who buy condos to actually live in them with their families

Empire East says most of their customers fall into the second group – they’re buying homes because they need a place to live, not because they want to become landlords.

What the Company Leader Said

During their Annual Stockholders’ Meeting, Empire East President and CEO Atty. Anthony Charlemagne C. Yu explained the difference: “For investor-driven segments of the real estate market, rental yield is a primary consideration. In our case, most buyers are end-users, so their decision is less dependent on rental returns and more on livability and long-term value.”

Think of it like this: when you’re choosing a house, you care more about whether it’s near your school, whether the rooms are comfortable, and whether your family can afford it – not about how much money you could make if you rented it to someone else.

What Their Buyers Care About

According to Empire East, their customers – who are mostly middle-income families – make buying decisions based on:

• Accessibility – Is it easy to get to work, school, and shopping areas?
• Affordability – Can they afford the monthly payments?
• Livability – Is it a good place to raise a family long-term?

Why This Matters Now

The company noted that after the pandemic, some changes have happened in the real estate market. Industry watchers have observed that rental income from properties in some city areas has been going down. However, Empire East says this doesn’t really affect their business because their customers aren’t buying properties to rent them out anyway.

The company did acknowledge that their well-located properties (ones in good locations with easy transportation access) still attract some rental demand, but emphasized that “it is not the primary driver for our core market.”

About Empire East

Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. (stock code: ELI) is a Philippine real estate developer that focuses on building homes for middle-income Filipino families. The company is known for building communities near public transportation and in growing areas of Metro Manila and nearby cities.

As of the filing date, the company has 14,676,199,167 common shares outstanding.

The company’s main office is located at 2F The Paddington Place, 632 Shaw Boulevard, Barangay Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City.

Empire East stated they remain committed to developing communities that focus on what Filipino homebuyers actually need: comfortable homes in accessible locations that provide good value over time, rather than properties designed mainly for investment purposes.

This article is based on the company’s official press release and disclosures filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange’s Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology (PSE EDGE) system. For the complete and official version of the announcement, readers may visit the PSE EDGE website and search for the company’s filing directly.