The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Leslie D. Venzon / Philippines News Agency
The Philippine real-estate sector is expected to remain strong until next year on the back of robust economic growth and the expanding business-process outsourcing (BPO) sector, real-estate advisory and services firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Philippines Inc. said recently.
In a press briefing, CBRE Philippines Inc. Chairman Rick M. Santos said his company truly believed “that Southeast Asia is one of the most exciting regions today for business for the real-estate industry.”
“And the Philippines, we feel, stands as a…truly fast-growing economy in Southeast Asia and in the full radar screen of most global investors,” he added.
Santos said the country’s sustained economic growth over the medium term was expected to drive the growth of the commercial, industrial, office, and residential business segments.
“We also see [the] hotel and leisure sector as [offering] an opportunity. We are bullish on the residential sector, especially in the high-end residential sector,” he said.
The CBRE Philippines chief said sustained investor confidence created a significant demand for condominiums, prompting more property developers to boost their residential portfolios.
“On the supply side, countryside expansions, as well as innovative residential developments, are expected to generate new demand, as they are seen to capture relatively new market segments,” he added.
Santos also said that, in 2017, offices in key Metro Manila cities are expected to reach 1.2 million square meters of gross leasable area (GLA). The bulk of the expected additional supply would be coming from Bonifacio Global City.
“The overall office market is expected to remain robust as the BPO industry continues to expand,” he said.
Santos also projected upcoming retail developments in Metro Manila reaching 560,000 sqm of GLA.
“Vacancy rates will decline and occupancy rates will reach 98 percent with [the] influx of international brands and brand expansions,” he added.
On the industrial business segment, Santos said he expected sustained industrial production amid increased activities in the manufacturing industry.
He also said demand for manufacturing, warehouses, and industrial lots would remain strong, with economic zones at full occupancy.
“Construction of additional industrial subdivisions is expected to accommodate the influx of foreign investments,” Santos said. “Developers’ real-estate portfolio diversification veers toward industrial investments.”