Top Trends, Happenings and Events: Yahoo Philippines Unveils 2014 Year in Review

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Did you know that Vice President Jejomar Binay was the Philippines’ ‘top newsmaker of the year’.... and that the Gilas Pilipinas' participation in the FIBA leads the ‘top Philippine sports stories’... and stories about the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus tops ‘most in-demand gadgets’ list?

More of these top and in demand topics was recently announced by Yahoo Philippines in their 2014 Year in Review (YIR), an annual recap of the top trends, happenings and events, which grabbed the attention of Yahoo users in the Philippines. YIR is based on what users searched for through the year, and an editorial selection of what was most read, recommended and shared on Yahoo in 2014.

Yahoo YIR offers insights into what captured the user’s interests across categories like Philippines’ Top 10 Newsmakers, Top Sports Stories, and Global Obsessions, among others.

A perfectly coned-shaped volcano, a TV host’s bedroom shenanigans and a smartphone were among the top searches by Yahoo Philippines users in 2014. However, the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year topped the most searched list. The intensity and path of Typhoon Ruby brought back nightmarish memories brought by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) last year. The popular animated movie Frozen, an international beauty pageant and the death of a transgender woman also made it to the list of top searches on Yahoo Philippines in 2014.

A Look at Philippine Real Estate’s 2014 Performance

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With China’s property market cooling after years of rapid growth, and Singapore’s and Hong Kong’s housing markets expected to decline steadily, 2014 has seen real estate in the emerging markets come into focus. The Philippines, in particular, performed (and is performing) well. Although GDP growth slowed slightly, the country’s economy continues to outperform most of its neighbors.

“The Philippine property sector’s 2014 performance is marked by exuberance in certain segments traditionally overlooked,” said Lamudi Philippines managing director Jacqueline van den Ende. “For example, Metro Manila’s commercial real estate sector was and continues to be buoyant, bolstered by a healthy demand from traditional office takers and the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.”

As the year draws to a close, global real estate portal Lamudi looks back at an eventful 12 months for the Philippines’ property sector.

Lamudi Relaunches With Intuitive New Design

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International property platform Lamudi has relaunched with a complete revamp of its website to offer a more intuitive design that streamlines the online house-hunting process for users globally.

The new website introduces a responsive design, with the site adapting to match the user’s particular device and screen size. The platform’s appearance has been improved to display properties for sale and rent in an easier-to-read format with larger photos. Dedicated sections for real estate agencies and new space for advertisements have also been introduced.

Lamudi is a global real estate portal focusing exclusively on the emerging markets. The website is currently available in 28 countries in these regions. The new design has been rolled out for all countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with Latin America to be relaunched in early 2015. To ensure the website remains highly relevant for each of its local markets, Lamudi has introduced different variations of the website, including a customised search field for each country.

Lamudi’s Global Co-Founder, Kian Moini, said: “This redesign puts the user at the center of our product. The responsive design is very important because we know an increasing number of our users access Lamudi on a mobile device in addition to a desktop PC. The new design is tailored to our customers’ needs, making it easier than ever before to find the perfect property online and to contact real estate agents via phone, SMS or email.