Even among the locals, Tagaytay City is held in high regards as one of the nicest places to have a vacation in. Nice, cool weather, clean air, and spectacular views of Taal Volcano from its high location, all combine to make Tagaytay one of the most pleasing places to be in when you want to get away from the rush of city life. It’s also within easy reach of Manila at just fifty-five kilometers, giving it good access to important functions only available in urbanized cities when you need it.

Geography of Tagaytay

At six hundred forty meters above sea level, Tagaytay ridge, where the city is situated on top of, is the highest point in all of Cavite. You can see all the way to Batangas, and the famous Taal Volcano, a unique geographical feature in the area. This is why there is a strong tourism background in the city, because of the ideal conditions that the city has even just considering location. Technically speaking, Tagaytay City belongs under the province of Cavite, and on the east end of the island, all the way in Laguna, Laguna Bay can be found. On the north, however, Manila Bay is the area you’ll be seeing. Travel to Manila is done mainly by private car or bus, fifty-five km away.

The total land area of Tagaytay reaches sixty-five square km, which is just a small five percent of the total area of the province of Cavite. Thirty-four barangays belong under the auspices of the local government. The area of Cavite is high up, with mountainous terrain the norm in the area, and slopes of ten to twenty-five percent being the average. The urban center of the city however is located on the flatter portions of terrain.

Climate Conditions

Because of the high elevation of Tagaytay, the average temperatures here are low, averaging around twenty-three degrees Celsius, which is very low compared to other areas, especially in Manila and other lowland cities where the tropical climate can get quite muggy. The dry season in the area is much like the rest of the country, where November until April has generally little rainfall. The rest of the year, however, has a wet season with rains coming up periodically. Relative humidity is at seventy-eight percent compared to Manila’s eighty-one percent, showing how much cooler the city can be.

Economy of Tagaytay

Tourism is the main backbone of the economy supporting Tagaytay. From the high elevation of the city, tourists can view the unique geological formation presented by Taal Lake, which has the main lake surrounding an island, which also has an interior lake inside. Tourism really is the main driving force behind the economy here, with lots of hotels and convention centers catering to the crowd of professionals looking for a spot with a nice scenic view and a pleasant atmosphere away from the noise and activity of the city. The lines of business which is the fastest growing around the city area are weekend accommodations and recreational facilities, along with the seminar and convention halls cropping up all around.

Aside from tourism, agriculture is also one of the mainstay industries in the city, and though the profile of Tagaytay is shifting more towards being service-oriented in its economy, the government is implementing land use policies to help prevent the decline of the agriculture in the city which is one of the things that has made it so famous as a laid-back area. There are also lots of rich natural resources that make Tagaytay an ideal spot for agriculture-based businesses. The plant life here is also different from other areas with lower elevation, as the cool climate can support plants that thrive in cooler conditions.

Investing In Properties Located In Tagaytay

Compared to urban settlements, land prices in Tagaytay are lower, mainly because of the obvious bias towards tourism, instead of commercial areas like in Manila. Properties that are near in location to Tagaytay can be availed for as low as seven hundred pesos per square meter, while directly within the Tagaytay area prices hover at around one and a half thousand pesos per square meter.

Other developments that are also cropping up in the city area of Tagaytay to cater to the growing number of people coming into the city for their vacations are condominiums, from smaller-sized outfits ranging from one and a half million pesos for a unit with one or two bedrooms, to two and a half for a loft unit with two or more bedrooms, the latter of course being intended as a luxury offering above the standard condominium unit. Usually there are also packages for zero interest in the condominium purchase price, if you don’t want to shell out cash immediately.

Of course, if you don’t want developed properties like condominium units that offer only fixed rooms, you can always go at it on your own by building a residential unit on your own. The cost of putting up a modest-sized vacation house, complete with furnishings, won’t cost much more than three or four million pesos, and that’s for a house that’s already bordering on being large.

If you’re not always around in the Tagaytay area, you can count on a steady demand for rentals on your property because of the amount of tourists, both domestic and expatriates coming into the city. Advertising your property for rent also has little cost so you can run your ads in the local listings without putting a big dent out of your budget. Tagaytay City is one of the most famous destinations in the Philippines, and you can fully capitalize on this in your advertisement. Whether you’re buying properties purely for rent or for your second home, the value appreciation that these properties experience can really pay for your initial investment in a relatively short time. Investigate properties in Tagaytay today, and you’ll likely find a property that’s about right for the purpose you have in purchasing real estate and within a budget that won’t break the bank.