Elections to affect real estate activity; oversupply in vertical residential segment

AS THE PHILIPPINES “goes bananas” in an election year—in the year of the monkey at that—property experts see a number of challenges, and likely trends, flavoring and coloring the real estate industry in 2016. Here’s their fearless forecast:

1. There will be an oversupply in the mid-market vertical residential segment.

“I expect 2016 to be the most challenging year for the residential property sector. A looming oversupply in the mid-market vertical residential segment in Metro Manila is developing, and developers should expect a slowdown by as much as 10 percent in the average annual take-up rate of 50,000 units. Several developers are already holding back sales of new projects until supply balances out in 2018,” said Enrique M. Soriano III, Ateneo program director for real estate and senior adviser for Wong+Bernstein Business, in an Inquirer Property interview.

Soriano said that with this oversupply scenario, “we will naturally anticipate vacancy rates to go up in 2016 to double digits in the Makati and Ortigas CBD (central business district) area.”

2. The 2016 presidential elections will affect the market. Soriano said the presidential and national elections “is likewise expected to freeze any major real estate activity in the first two quarters of 2016. Naturally, investor sentiment will be on a wait-and-see attitude. This will not bode well for the property sector and the economy as a whole. Hopefully, after the elections, it will be followed by a possible uptick in transaction levels in the last two quarters of 2016,” said Soriano.

3. Business process outsourcing (BPO) growth continues. BPO companies, according to property portal Lamudi Philippines, will continue to buoy Metro Manila’s commercial real estate.

“Experts do not foresee the supply of office space surpassing demand soon, meaning commercial properties (and offices in particular) remain a beneficial investment for 2016,” said Lamudi

Philippines in a statement.

Soriano said that in 2016, Grade-A office rents in prime areas is expected to increase 5 percent, given strong demand for office space and low vacancy rates. Meanwhile, rents in non-CBD areas may slightly drop by 5 percent due to available supply in Makati and Bonifacio Global City.

4. Metro Manila land values will go up. Lamudi Philippines said that despite slower gross domestic product growth in 2015, land values still continue to appreciate, albeit at a slower pace.

Colliers International said that growth rates of land values in Metro Manila accelerated in the second quarter of 2015. In addition, land values in the Makati CBD, growing at only 0.85 percent during the first three months of the year, rebounded in the next three by growing at a rate of 2 percent. This raised the area’s average price to P452,704 per square meter. Values similarly rose in the business districts of Fort Bonifacio and Ortigas Center, increasing at 1.97 and 2.1 percent, respectively.

5. Retail property market will face a slowdown. Soriano said “the challenging retail environment is likely to persist next year due to diminishing inbound tourist arrivals. We expect prime rents outside of the shopping centers to slide by 10 percent in 2016, while shopping mall spaces are expected to escalate.”

“We can also expect a decline in premium retail market rents due to the expected drop in tourist arrivals as a result of the national elections happening in the first half of 2016. The mass retail market is expected to remain resilient as domestic consumption continue to grow, fueled partly by election spending nationwide,” said Soriano.

Source: by Tessa R. Salazar / http://business.inquirer.net/204872/elections-affect-real-estate-activity-oversupply-vertical-residential-segment

Construction in full swing: Commercial sector shows no signs of slowing down as developers off to a strong start this 2016

IF the latter part of 2015 and the first quarter of this year would be any indication of how busy and vibrant the entire 2016 will be for the Philippine real-estate sector, it would be safe to say that we’re likely bound to surpass the milestones of the past year.

While the residential sector has been reaping the fruits of continued investments over the past few years, players within the commercial development sector, most notably, are now starting to enjoy an increasing growth momentum as more and more developers venture outside of Metro Manila.

ArthaLand and Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), for example, have both began strengthening their presence in Cebu, which has earned the reputation as the most vibrant investment destination in the Visayas. ArthaLand plans to promote its sustainable building culture by putting up an “energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable office building” also in Cebu City. The company recently acquired a property in Cebu via its subsidiary, Cebu Levana Land Corp., and plans to offer approximately 51,000 square meters of office space for the region’s offshoring and outsourcing sector (O&O) players.

Meanwhile, the latest Philippine Property Market Monitor from Jones Lang LaSalle reported that RLC is set to inaugurate an office building in Cebu City, which will take up about 30 percent of its 4.6-hectare property that also houses the recently opened Robinsons Galleria Cebu. This is deemed to be a welcome development for commercial locators in Cebu, particularly for those engaged in its O&O, as the facility will be offering a GFA of close to 9,500 sq m.

Booming growth beyond Metro Manila

Back in Luzon, developers are also keen on building the next thriving investment districts outside of Metro Manila. In Clark at Northern Luzon, construction activities will likely hit a record high in the months to come following the recent announcement of two massive development projects: Global Gateway Development Corp.’s (GGDC) Aeropark Campus and the 35,000-hectare Clark Green City.

The $150-million Aeropark Campus, one of the more remarkable investments initiated by Kuwaiti investors GGDC, promises to be a major development that will help shift the focus of growing industries away from Metro Manila. The project, which will host more than 5.8 million sq m of premium office, logistics, retail, hotel and residential space, is expected to generate at least 10,000 jobs during the first few years of its operations. That number is seen to balloon to at least 300,000 jobs once the entire project is completed. Clark Green City (CGC), meanwhile, is seen to lure more foreign investors as state-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) continues to facilitate development for the 9,450-hectare master-planned property inside the Clark Special Economic Zone. Once completed, the entire CGC has the potential to generate a gross output of at least P1.57 trillion annually, apart from facilitating the continued growth of more areas in Northern and Central Luzon.

Supply more than meets current demand

The abundance of office spaces in other areas within Metro Manila continues to complement the increasing demand and confidence of local and foreign investors.

A recent insight shared by experts from Jones Lang LaSalle revealed that, as we speak, there’s a total of 1 million sq m of available office space spread out among areas like Makati City, Ortigas, Bonifacio Global City, reclaimed areas in Manila Bay, and Alabang in Muntinlupa. Of this grand total, at least 15 percent to 20 percent will be taken up by business-process outsourcing (BPO) companies, as established firms expand their operations and new players come in. All of these developments confirm the earlier analysis made by Lamudi Inc. Founder and Managing Director Jacqueline van den Ende, who was among the thought leaders I spoke to for one of my trend reports prior to the end of 2015. “Developers are looking to go provincial due to the increasing scarcity of available land.

A couple of very big projects are being launched, especially in Cebu and in other provinces.…The office market in Manila will continue to be very strong. We see a lot of strata-titled office developments launched this year, which I think will be huge in 2016. Metro Manila’s office market is tight with very few properties coming online.

This is especially true in non-BPO-type offices. This presents an opportunity for investors.” We’re definitely on the lookout for how all these exciting developments will shape up this year. Great times ahead, everyone!

Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/construction-in-full-swing-commercial-sector-shows-no-signs-of-slowing-down-as-developers-off-to-a-strong-start-this-2016/

LESSONS LEARNED IN 2015

Property portal Lamudi said  2015 was a good year for Philippine real estate. 

In the first part, we gave a rundown of 12 of the 25 lessons in property development in 2015.

The remaining 13 are as follows:

13.  Forbes Park is the most expensive subdivision in the Philippines
Average monthly rents in the very exclusive Forbes Park—home to business tycoons, foreign dignitaries, and boxing icons—stand at Php402,459, making the enclave the most expensive area to rent a
house anywhere in the Philippines.

15. Filipino-Americans prefer houses
Despite the condo boom happening in Metro Manila and other major cities across the Philippines, it seems that many Filipinos based in the United States still prefer to purchase houses, at least according to
January–June 2015 search data from Lamudi. More than half (57.83 percent) of all searches in the Lamudi website were for houses, followed by condos (16.58 percent). The most searched cities? Quezon
City, Makati, Manila, Tagaytay, and Baguio, in this particular order.

16. Cities affordable for first-time homebuyers
There are cities surrounding Metro Manila abound with affordable options for first-time homebuyers. These cities include San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, where average home price stands at Php495,999; and followed by San Mateo, Rizal (Php549,259); Dasmariñas, Cavite (Php1.189 million); Imus, Cavite (Php1.858 million); Bacoor, Cavite (Php2.777 million); Antipolo, Rizal (Php3.668 million); Santa Rosa, Laguna (Php4.16 million).

17. Condos close to train stations are more expensive
An average condo located within 100 meters of an MRT station is at least Php16,645 more expensive per square meter than a similar, newly built condo situated more than 500 meters away, according to
listings data from Lamudi.

18. Ayala Center, Century City, and Rockwell Center lead most expensive list
Ayala Center—the commercial core of the Makati CBD—commands the most expensive condo rent per sqm than any area Metro Manila. Living in the area, which is within striking distance of Greenbelt, Glorietta, and most of Makati’s luxury hotels, can set a renter back Php1,144 per sqm per month, meaning a 100-sqm condo here can command monthly rent of more than Php110,000. Following Ayala Center are Century City and Rockwell Center in Makati’s Poblacion area, where condos command monthly rents 
of Php986 and Php973 per sqm, respectively.

19. Pricier condos are not necessarily bigger
On a per-square-meter basis, more expensive condos do not necessarily mean bigger space. Areas where condos are on average bigger are actually cheaper on a per-sqm basis. These areas include Ayala Triangle/Apartment Ridge, where condos average 275 sqm and where monthly rents average Php568 per sqm. This area is followed by Salcedo Village, where the average size of condos is 126 sqm and average monthly rent stands at Php652 per sqm. In contrast, in the Mall of Asia Complex and Newport City, the average sizes of condos are 34 and 50 sqm, but monthly rents average Php850 and Php785 per sqm, respectively.

20. Caloocan will be the second most populous city by 2020
The City of Manila will be overtaken by nearby Caloocan as the Philippines’ second most populous city by 2020. This is according to an analysis by Lamudi using the annual average population growth rate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2010. Caloocan’s projected 2020 population will be 1.88 million, compared to Manila’s 1.72 million.

21. Eleven PH cities will have populations of more than 1 million by 2025
Using the annual population growth rates recorded in 2010, 11 cities in the Philippines are projected to have populations of more than 1 million. These are Quezon City (3.95 million), Caloocan (2.115 million), Davao City (2.056 million), Manila (1.76 million), Dasmariñas (1.27 million), Antipolo (1.25 million), Zamboanga City (1.25 million), Cebu City (1.14 million), Taguig (1.12 million), Bacoor (1.11 million), and Pasig (1.022 million).

22. Can BPO workers afford condos?
With an average monthly salary of Php22,500, entry-level customer care representatives cannot afford to rent a condo in either of these “affordable” areas: Eastwood City, Pioneer-EDSA, Poblacion (Makati), and San Antonio (Makati), where average rents range from Php19,838 to Php22,563 per month. Using the 30 percent rule (spending not more than 30 percent of one’s monthly income on housing), only those working as managers, with an average compensation of Php75,000 per month, may only afford to rent a condo in these select areas.

23. How long Filipinos should work to buy a home
A salaried Filipino with more than 20 years of work experience and earning Php1.43 million per year may need 128 years’ worth of his salary in order to afford a house in Makati where average home price stands at Php184 million. In contrast, this same person needs 4.16 months’ worth of his annual salary in order to afford a home in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, where the average home price is Php495,999.

24. Are Filipinos buying or renting?
Based on its third quarter 2015 search data, Lamudi found that there is an almost equal proportion of renters and buyers among 18- to 24-year-old online property-hunters (50.2 percent for rent versus 49.8 percent for sale). Quite interestingly, there is a tendency for property-hunters to check out for-sale properties online as they get older. Among 25- to 34-year-old users, 57.3 percent are checking out for-sale properties. In the 35–44, 45–54, and 55–64 age groups, it is even higher; 70.8, 72.6, and 71.1 percent of the website’s users, respectively, are checking out for-sale properties.

25. Most sought-after locations for land
Quezon City, Tagaytay, and Baguio are the top three most popular locations among property-hunters looking for land online. These cities are followed by Davao and Antipolo. “Clearly there are cities preferred by people researching about land for sale online, and we hope these findings will give real estate developers insight into how to properly plan their next projects,” said Lamudi. In addition, the fact that only five Metro Manila cities were in the top 10 indicate that Filipinos are not too keen into buying residential land within the National Capital Region, either due to lack of supply, unaffordability, or both.

Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/special-features/lessons-learned-2015

PROPERTY SECTOR GROWTH SLOWDOWN SEEN

Brokerage firm Colfinancial.com  sees a slowdown in the property sector in 2016 after years of robust expansion.

The online brokerage firm noted this is particularly true in the residential market.

“Take-up sales of residential properties continue to grow annually. However, the pace of growth has been slowing down since 2014 given the high base effect,” it said. 

“This year, we expect growth to remain slow as take up sales in 2015 remain substantial. Aside from high-base effect, as risk to growth this year is the slowing growth of OFW remittances,” it added. 

Colfinancial.com noted that in the first 10 months of last year,  remittances from overseas Filipinos increased by only 3.7 percent to $20.6 billion from an average of around 7 percent in the past five years.

 This should a big consideration in the property market, according to the brokerage firm, given that the average contribution of OFW sales to take-up sales is around 31.5 percent. 

“Another possible, albeit small, risk to demand is higher interest rates. Local bond yields have increased following the rate hike by the Federal Reserve of the United States in December of 2015 and
expectations of more rate hikes,” Colfinancial.com said.

 “However, according to our banking analyst, lending rates are not expected to mirror the increase in bond yields due to ample liquidity conditions and intense competition among banks. Moreover, the Federal

Reserve has repeatedly said that the rate hike cycle will be slow,” it added.

 Colfinancial.com said any increase in lending rates will be very small and not enough to significantly dampen demand for real estate. 

The brokerage firm also assured that the risk of a glut is low.

 “For the first nine months of 2015, takeup sales of leading property developers outpaced launches. This indicates that sales are not primarily driven by new launches and that there is enough demand to
absorb developers’ existing inventory. This also indicates that developers are disciplined enough to continuously monitor the demand- supply situation and are careful not to flood the market with supply,” it
said.

 The office space segment meanwhile continues to benefit from the good prospects of the business process outsourcing sector. 

“The depreciation of the peso last year also gives international companies greater incentive to move backroom operations to the Philippines,” it added. 

Colfinancial.com said the growth in demand will be able to absorb incoming supply. 

“According to Colliers, office supply will grow at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 8 percent from 7 million sq uare meters in 2014 to 9.5 million sqm by 2018. Meanwhile, IBPAP (Information

Technology Business Processing Association of the Philippines)  expects the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector to have 1.3 million full-time employees by 2016, up by a CAGR of 14 percent from 1 million in 2014,” it said.

 “Even if growth rate of full-time employees drops to half in 2017 and 2018, we believe it will still be enough to fill the incoming supply,” it also said.

 Colfinancial.com meanwhile said outlook for the commercial leasing segment remains positive as retailers continue to expand, creating demand for retail space. 

“The improvement in the economy is also resulting to an increase in the number of casual dining outlets. Economic growth and stability has led to the increase in the frequency of people dining out rather than
eating at home, thus creating demand for more casual dining outlets. This serves as a big driver of demand for commercial space,” it said. 

“With this in mind, we expect vacancy rates to remain low and same store/ mall sales to remain on an upward trajectory,” Colfinancial.com added.

Source: By ALBERT CASTRO  / http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/special-features/property-sector-growth-slowdown-seen

FAILURES Makes You Closer To Your Success by: Realtor Samuel Lao

Good Morning Everyone.

As saying said, experience is the Best Teacher. Don't be afraid to fail, it is part of the ingredients to SUCCESS.

Because if you don't Fail, you never try at all.

I know someone who fails several times, in fact he don't have real estate sales in two years. But this guy never surrender. He continue to move on, bounce back harder, and bring to him the two years of learning & experiences. On his 3rd year he made several million sales, and one of those is 17million worth house & lot.

Imagine if he quit, he never know Success is just there waiting for him.


YOU can be like him a slow start, but never stop, because your just closer now to the pot of gold.

What is important for every failure, there is a valuable lesson learn. Every experiences is unique, learn from it. And improve your approach.

Remember Thomas Edison, fails several time before he perfected the formula of the lightbulb.

But if people ask Mr Edison, he only said, I never failed, it just cause me several revision on my formula to make it perfect.

Again, FAILURES is just part of your steps, or ingredients for SUCCESS.

Just like practicing to ride a bicycle. It will take you several FAILURES until you will get it perfect your balance, timing, running the bicycles.

Again, in your first practice riding bike, you failed, and you quit. I'm sure until now you don't know how to ride a bicycle.

Because you cemented your failure.

Again failure is a stepping stone to rise up and reach your SUCCESS.

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BUY-SELL-RENT Properties


------------------

Dr. Samuel O Lao, is a Professional Real Estate Broker, President & CEO of RealtyOPTiONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc., Graduate in Real Estate Finance & Investment at National University of Ingapore (NUS), Past President of Cebu Real Estate Board Inc (CEREB), & National Director of Philippines Association of Real Estate Board Inc. (PAREB).

Philippine year in review 2015

Strong domestic demand and increased government spending helped sustain high levels of economic expansion in the Philippines throughout 2015, though a slight slowdown was observed late in the year as demand from the country’s main trading partners eased.

While yearend data have yet to be released, estimates from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in December project gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.9% — short of the 6.4% forecast earlier in the year — as a result of declining merchandise exports, which fell by 6.9% year on year in the first three quarters to $43.7 billion.

Despite the modest slowdown, the Philippine government remains confident that end-of-year spending will help boost GDP growth to 6%-6.5% by the close of 2015.

The months ahead are expected to usher in strong economic expansion, with the ADB projecting growth of more than 6% in 2016 as the government continues to increase public spending. Higher demand from India and other Southeast Asian economies is expected to offset the effects of this year’s weaker exports.

INFLATION SUBDUED, EMPLOYMENT UP
While still modest, inflation gained pace late in the year, rising to 1.1% in November, up from 0.4% in October. However, rates remain within the Central Bank of the Philippines’ target band of 0.4% to 1.2%, and well below the 3.7% registered in November 2014.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority, inflation is being driven by rising food and non-food prices stemming from higher local demand and the lingering effects of typhoon Lando, which struck the country’s shores in October.

Core inflation — which excludes energy and unprocessed food costs — edged up in the last quarter of 2015, reaching 1.8% in November, its highest level since July, but still below the 2% target set by monetary authorities.

In a research note issued in early December, Barclays predicted inflation would rise to 2.4% in 2016, due in part to a modest anticipated increase in fuel costs and the potential impact of the El Niño weather pattern on agricultural prices.

Nonetheless, the ongoing strength of the economy helped stem unemployment in 2015, with figures released by the Philippine Statistics Authority in early December reflecting a 5.6% unemployment rate as of October, down from 6.5% in July 2015.

POSITIVE RATINGS OUTLOOK
The steady growth and stability of the economy prompted ratings agency Fitch to revise its outlook for the country from stable to positive in late September. The agency also affirmed the Philippines’ long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings at “BBB-” and “BBB”, respectively, maintaining the country’s investment-grade standing.

Moody’s was also optimistic about the Philippines’ economic prospects for 2016, reaffirming the country’s “Baa2” bond rating with a stable outlook in mid-October. According to the agency, the rating reflects the “resilience of [the Philippine] economy to the current headwinds buffeting neighboring countries” and expectations that the positive economic and fiscal trends will continue for the next one to two years.

BUDGET DEFICIT WIDENS
The year’s economic expansion was fueled in part by higher levels of government spending, which led to a deeper budget deficit in the latter half of the year. On the back of more than P1.82 trillion of disbursements in the first 10 months of the year, the year-to-date budget shortfall rose to P52.6 billion in October, up 56% year on year.

While outlays were higher than anticipated, government revenues were also up, with receipts rising by 12% year on year to P1.77 trillion between January and October.

In past years the government had come under fire for the relatively slow pace of spending, which often fell short of expenditure targets and delayed investment and capital projects. The late-term acceleration in public spending could help clear some of the project backlog and further stimulate the economy.

Economic activity in the coming year is also set to be fueled by presidential elections in May 2016. A recent report by Standard Chartered Bank predicted the election campaign would spur an influx of investment in the manufacturing, government services, private services, transport, communications and storage sectors, in particular.

According to the bank, the ramp up in public spending, alongside higher household consumption levels, could add between 0.1 and 0.3 percentage points to GDP in 2016.

Source: Oxford Business Group/ January 7, 2016/ http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=philippine-year-in-review-2015&id=121092

Residential, office markets expected to continue stellar performance in ’16

WHILE 2016 has just begun, preparations are now being made to hail the Year of the Fire Monkey with a bang, when the Chinese celebrate their lunar New Year on February 8.

The whole nation is thrilled on what lies ahead this year, particularly on the political front, since this will mark the denouement of the Aquino administration and a new leadership will take over Malacañang Palace for the next six years.

With the national polls heating up, however, the economy and its growth-driving industries, especially real estate, are expected to weather the political noise.

Philippine economic development is seen in the expanding property sector as housing projects, commercial centers, workplace buildings, hotel and gaming facilities, as well as economic zones are being built one after the other not only in Metro Manila area, but also in other parts of the country.

This trend is seen to continue across all real-estate industry segments this year and beyond, most notably in the residential and office sectors.

Residential market

THE perennial housing backlog keeps on pushing the residential market’s growth, as the National Economic and Development Authority estimated the need of Filipinos for a “decent roof” is pegged at around 800,000 units per annum.

Since close to 400,000 households or almost half can still afford to buy dwelling units annually, this segment of the real estate remains the most competitive and profitable at present.

The towering heights of opportunity for both the developers and buyers still abound in vertical projects or condominiums.

In fact, the condo market accounts for the biggest share of all licenses to sell at 27 percent, according to the nine-year average of Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) data.

Leading the pack of developers is the SM Group, which intends to sell an annual average of 20,000 units starting 2016.

This initiative solidifies the Sy family’s market share in the condo space, said Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services Inc. Director for Research and Consulting Jojo Salas.

In their recent Market Insight Report, he also noted DMCI Group’s announcement that it would launch nine projects this year, with 14,000 units and estimated sales value of P50 billion.

The Consunjis also intend to generate recurring income when it launches its 36-story office project along Pasong Tamo in Makati City.

This will offer more than 40,000 square meters (sq m) of leasable area, subject to approval of permits and licenses.

Salas said the Ayala Land Group and Ortigas and Co. have packaged their housing projects with mixed-use and township developments.

Other developers are also ramping up the kick-off and completion of their projects to meet the predicted demand.

Lamudi Philippines reported that Century Property is on track to finish the construction of its luxury residential condo—the Trump Tower—by December.

Once completed, this 56-story tower in Makati City, composed of over 250 units, is the first Trump-branded condo not only in the country, but in Southeast Asia.

The property web site also revealed the scheduled opening this year of high-end 67-floor tower Shang Salcedo Place, which houses 749 units and top-class amenities.

Apart from condominiums, other residential types also offer good business and investment potentials for both the players and end-users.

Like vertical housing projects, economic housing comprises 27 percent of all licenses to sell, based on HLURB figures.

Meanwhile, socialized dwellings, as well as open-market subdivisions and townhouses account for 24 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

Pinnacle’s report shows the Ayala Group has focused on the economic housing by strengthening its projects under the Amaia brand.

It’s timely given the recent hike of the loan limit for this type of residence from P1.25 million to P1.7 million, as approved by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

As for the socialized market, Bella Vista brand has been playing in this category, the study added.

Office segment

AS the economy surges, there’s still more room for expansion in the office sector of the real-estate industry.

Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) Managing Director for Singapore and Southeast Asia Chris Fossick said new office supply is expected to be high in Manila in 2016 at 870,000 sq m, growing by 10 percent to 20 percent.

He said that most of the new buildings are in the central business districts (CBDs) of Makati and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, where there has been a shortage.

This year’s supply until 2018, however, is close to the five-year historical take-up from 2011 to 2015.

With the projected spike in the office-space inventory, a moderate hike in rental rates is likewise projected—this time at 4 percent, as 18 percent of the new supply in 2016 has been already precommitted.

This trend could still be attributed to the ever-expanding business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry, as some locators are moving up the value-chain and require more centrally located premises, Fossick said.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the office segment accounts for 29.4 percent of the real-estate demand in the country, largely driven by BPO at 11.3 percent.

Industry sources see the outsourcing sector to generate $25 billion in total revenues by end of the year.

Given the top figure, the BPO industry is projected to soon overtake dollar remittances by overseas Filipino workers, most likely in two years, according to an HSBC economist in a recent briefing. Job-wise, it is targeted to hit 1.3 million full-time employees in 2016, which translates to 5.2-million-sq-m office requirement.

Hence, the industry is now gearing up the “Next 10 Cities,” such as Baguio, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Lipa, Metro Bulacan (Baliuag, Calumpit, Malolos City, Marilao and Meycauayan City), Metro Cavite (Bacoor City, Dasmariñas City and Imus City), Metro Laguna (Calamba City, Los Baños and Sta. Rosa City), Metro Naga (Naga City and Pili), and Metro Rizal (Antipolo City, Cainta and Taytay).

Investment opportunities

AT the start of the new year, many of those planning to move to a new home or considering buying a property must be wondering what 2016 could bring to them.

In view of this, Lamudi Philippines takes a look at what are potentially good real-estate investment deals in the market today.

For one, Strata-titled offices are a good take, according to the real-estate portal.

Contrary to the BPO office towers constructed and rented out by property developers to outsourcing firms, they can be purchased by individual investors and buyers to lease to companies.

For those who want to diversify their investment portfolios, this property type makes a good business sense since there is a lack of supply of office space in the metropolis, particularly in major CBDs, placing an upward pressure on rental fees.

What’s more, the decreasing land-bank options in Makati City, BGC and Ortigas Center are also raising capital values of office buildings, based on Colliers International’s third quarter 2015 report.

Some of the strata-titled developments now available in the market are Alveo Financial Center along Ayala Avenue, which has 363 units and sells on average P223,000 per sq m; The Stiles in Circuit Makati (also of Alveo Land), with 283 units for P198,000 per sq m; Century Spire in Century City (Century Properties), with 283 units for P203,000 per sq m; Capital House in BGC (Avida Land), with 222 units for P142,000 per sq m; One World Place in BGC (Dai-ichi Properties), with 283 units for P136,000 per sq m; and Parkway Corporate Center in Alabang (Filinvest Land), with 390 units for P168,000 per sq m.

Apartments and townhouses are also worth investing in as they are two of the most searched property types by Filipinos at present.

Location-wise, suburban areas like Quezon City, Parañaque and Las Piñas are a top choice among the would-be investors.

Such properties are very in demand among renters, most especially for starting families, since they provide bigger spaces than condos yet they are cheaper than standalone houses.

A three-bedroom door apartment in Parañaque, for instance, averagely costs P3.5 million to P4 million, or charges P18,000 to P25,000 as monthly rent.

Because land values in Metro Manila are costly and constantly rising, real-estate developers are setting their sights outside for their next big-ticket township projects.

Among these developments include the Azure North in San Fernando, Pampanga, where Century Properties plans to duplicate the success of the same project in Parañaque; and Ayala Land’s Alviera in Porac, Pampanga; and Vermosa in Laguna and Cavite.

These developers are banking on their previous success to push these projects forward and all look to perform well in 2016, according to Lamudi Philippines.

Residential lots in subdivisions are also highly sought after given their rapid value appreciation.

Property values in the 62-hectare township called Alabang West of Global-Estate Resorts Inc., to wit, increased from P47,000 per sq m to P56,000 per sq m, or 19 percent  in the 11 months since its launch.

Around 80 percent of the 788 residential lots in this project have been already taken up.

While there is a bit slide in the mid-condo market due to massive supply, high-end vertical housing developments, especially larger ones, are projected to perform well both in capital appreciation and rental rates.

Colliers said that vacancy level is lowest for upscale condos in Makati City, which is expected at 5 percent to the third quarter of 2016.

This could be attributed to Metro Manila’s leasing market, driven primarily by expatriates and the BPO sector.

JLL reported that luxury condo rents in the metropolis keep on growing, though modestly, due to strong demand also from expatriate employees of multinational corporations.

Source: by Roderick Abad – January 4, 2016 http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/residential-office-markets-expected-to-continue-stellar-performance-in-16/

SM Prime plans to continue developing SM North Edsa

MALL operator SM Prime Inc. said it will continue to develop its first mall in the country—SM City North Edsa in Quezon City—as it continues to be its flagship mall despite building other bigger shopping malls in the country.

SM Prime Holdings President Hans Sy said the retail landscape in the last 30 years “has become more global and competitive where technology has forever changed the way we live and do things.”

“They said that SM City [North Edsa] would not succeed, but the mall was an instant success,” Sy said.

From a footprint of only 125,000 square meters on opening in 1985, it has grown in size to almost 498,000 sq m. 

From its original shoe-box design, the mall now draws an average foot traffic of 420,000 shoppers a day.

The company said its 30-year-old mall, which is also one of its biggest malls in terms of gross leasable area, will continue to grow “like a vibrant city as it adds more office spaces and a hospitality complex, a unique combination of high-end retail, dining and green spaces, highlighted by a series of five office towers connected by pedestrian sky bridges.”

The mall has gone through several redevelopments which began with the Car Park Plaza in 1988, the SM Annex in 1989, the Block in 2006, The Annex and Interior Zone in 2008, the Sky Garden in 2009 and Northlink in 2010.

In the past years, SM Prime also built new spaces for various concepts such as for business-process outsourcing (BPOs) companies and other private offices to further feed traffic into its malls, especially during weekdays. 

The North Link is a six-story building, while SM Cyber West Avenue is a 15-story building. Both buildings are meant for the BPOs, and are linked via bridge way to the mall.

It also built Grass Residences, a five-tower residential condominium building which stands on a 5-hectare property within the SM City North Edsa Complex.

“We have changed the Filipino lifestyle forever. Our malls are indeed as they are called—cities, places where families and friends gather to shop, eat out, have fun, and even do their business transactions and hear Mass. We have become part of the lives of millions of Filipinos,” Sy said.

Source: by BusinessMirror  / http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/sm-prime-plans-to-continue-developing-sm-north-edsa/

Gaisano to set up P2-B condotel in Albay

LEGAZPI CITY—A P2-billion investment for a condo hotel will be set up in Legazpi City by the Gaisano Group, as a P1.2-billion new mall owned by the Ayala Group is set to open here next week, Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda said.

The Albay governor said the P2-billion condominium-hotel project is in answer to the pressing demand for more hotel rooms in the province.

Albay is targeting 5,000 more hotel rooms by the year 2020.

The new P1.2-billion mall right at the Legazpi business center is owned by the Ayala Group, in partnership with the local Liberty Commercial Center (LCC), Salceda said.

LCC is the Bicol mall-business pioneer since the early 1950s. It started as a grocery in Tabaco City, owned by the local Tan family. It is now operating the LCC Metro in Legazpi and LCC Metro in Naga City.

The site for the fresh Gaisano P2-billion investment, which would house between 600 rooms and 900 rooms, will be at the Gaisano-owned sprawling Landco Business Park right at the back of the Gaisano integrated shopping mall beside the Legazpi terminal.

Gaisano became the first and biggest mall in the Bicol region in 2002, next to the local and oldest LCC mall in the cities of Tabaco and Legazpi in Albay.

Legazpi is the regional center with the Bicol region’s lone five-star Mayon Imperial Hotel built during the early 1970s by the late Highways Minister Baltazar Aquino. It has been reaquired by at least three owners and was renamed the Mayon International hotel. It is now known as The Oriental Hotel operated by the Oriental Hotel Group.

Salceda said that, with the operation of the Bicol International Hotel in Albay, he’s hoping the province’s target of 5,000 more hotel rooms by 2020 from both local and international property developers would be realized. He said he has been in talks with three international investors to build the hotels.

Among the known local developers is the Sunwest Group of companies, owned by Rizaldy Co, who owns the Embarcadero Mall on the Legazpi bayside; the St. Ellis Hotel; and the Misibis Beach Resort and Spa in Bacacay town, one of the 10 outstanding resorts in the world, according to the Philippine Tourism Authority.

Salceda said the province needs more quality hotels and resorts to absorb the growing number of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.

The Albay governor narrated that during a recent convention held in the province, 5,000 local guests could not be accommodated in all Albay hotels. He then tapped participants from Albay to accommodate in their residence participants from outside the province.

Salceda said that by the end of 2015, Albay will reach close to 1.1 million tourist arrivals, a 14-percent increase from last year. Hopefully, he said, by 2016, the P4-billion Bicol International Airport will be operational. President Aquino envisioned this airport to operate 24/7 as direct flights would be available.

Eric Tan, Gaisano properties-development manager, said the P2-billion condo-hotel investment will feature a three-building condotel with 10 storys each. He said the condotel would have condominium units available to own.

Source: by Manly Ugalde /  http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/gaisano-to-set-up-p2-b-condotel-in-albay/

SM,AYALA TO COMPLETE CEBU PROJECT IN 5 YEARS

The SM and Ayala Groups are set to complete the joint development of a 26-hectare Cebu property in five years instead of 10, the head of SM Prime Holdings Inc. said.

Hans Sy, SM Prime president, told reporters last week that completing the mixed-use development with Ayala Land Inc. would span only five years, considering the small size of the project.

“For that I should give it a good five years,” said Sy.

“That is a very small property which you may be referring to. It is on the adjoining property which we have a tie up with Ayala, because it is about the same size [where SM Seaside City Cebu is]. They will do their share we will do our share… It will be faster,” he added.

Developers usually take 10 years to develop a 20-hectare property.

Separately, SM Prime has a 30-hectare development in the Cebu South Road Properties, where the 450,000 square-meter SM Seaside City is located.

On the 26-hectare joint development with Ayala Land, Sy noted the project components are yet to be finalized with the master plan as the prime and sole blueprint to guide both developers.

“As a matter of fact, [we’re] not necessarily waiting for the masterplan to be ready. Our first agreement covers the division of the land. From there, we should see how the development would unfold. In the division of land, you see a lot of development already going on,” Sy noted.

The joint development would accommodate an arena and a convention center to be constructed by SM Prime in a 3.5 hectare portion of the property, which would cost P3 billion to P4 billion.

The SM-ALI Group won the bid for the 26-hectare property—a portion of the 300-hectare South Road Properties—last June. The consortium consists of SM Prime, Ayala Land, and Ayala affiliate Cebu Holdings Inc.

It was the third parcel of land out of the 300-hectare South Road Properties that was awarded by the Cebu government. The other two were already bagged by SM Prime for SM Seaside Cebu and by Filinvest Land Inc. for its 50-hectare City Di Mare township.

Source: by KRISTYN NIKA M. LAZO / http://www.manilatimes.net/sm-ayala-to-complete-cebu-project-in-5-yrs/231825/