Philippine Real Estate: No Signs of Slowing Down

The Philippine property sector is expected to exceed last year’s already stellar performance and will remain to be the region’s leading real estate market for 2018.

Various property consultancy firms have said that we shall expect even greater movements this year as we see the government’s BUILD BUILD BUILD infrastracture projects attract and give confidence to investors here in the Philippines.

The country will pick-up where it left off last year, as investors see the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals, a talented labor pool, and the growing middle class are still the country’s main edge and will continue to set us apart from other Asian markets.

The demand for office space in Metro Manila alone is expected to take a big chunk, with as much as 1.2 million square meters in office space are being required. As early as January this year, over 415,000 sqm were already pre-committed, marking “the largest pre-commitment activity in history.

Rents are in an all-time high in Metro Manila’s CBD’s, which is an indication of rebound in the IT-BPM industry as well as a steady growth of the gaming segment.

Last year, Metro Manila’s total office take-up was at a record high of 775,000 sqm or 23 percent more than the take-up for 2016.

An LPC Metro Manila Absorption Study covering 2018 up to 2020 forecasts industry demand to remain at the 485,000 sqm level up to 2020 while the offshore/online gaming industry, which registered demand of 234,000 sqm in 2017, is expected to grow further by 15 percent annually up to 2020.

For retail, shopping mall expansions and upgrading are widely being carried out in order to attract more customers, while the large volume of domestic consumption is pushing expansions of global brands and retail space in the country.

Residential projects is still expected to be a haven for investors, as developers continue to provide quality projects that are suited to the needs of it’s future residents. They are seen now as looking in to the idea of mixed-use developements that gives convenience and solution to an already congested Metro.