The 7 Tips Entrepreneurs Need to Know Before Investing in Real Estate

Why should entrepreneurs invest in the first place? The answer is: to have enough money to live on when we no longer can or wish to work. To put that money aside, however, we have to accumulate enough to offset inflation and the taxes that erode our savings. And for that purpose, real estate is an excellent solution.

The great thing about real estate is that even in a bad economy, it will usually fare better than stocks. Land, after all, is a finite resource. People need a place to live, work, shop and play -- so real estate is really just a matter of supply and demand. 

What's more, real estate will continue to appreciate despite occasional slow-downs in the economy. In fact, it's proven to be the best way to create wealth, and an investor need not be a genius or a millionaire to succeed. Here are some tips, then, for entrepreneurs on getting started and succeeding in real estate investing:

1. Do -- plan your financial goals.

Before you buy that first property, or do your first analysis, determine what you expect from your investments. What are your financial goals?  We often discuss the “time vs. money” concept: The more you have of one, the less you need of the other to reach your financial goals. This means that you shouldn’t shy away from taking the time to understand your goals and make sure each investment is a step toward achieving them.  If you are unsure exactly how to create financial goals, meeting with a financial advisor is an excellent first step. 

2. Don't -- spend a fortune on books, tapes and seminars, then just put all that information on a shelf. 

You absolutely do need to learn some basics before venturing into investing. So, be sure to do some studying, but don’t let “buying and collecting” information become your endgame. Again, having goals in mind will make the process much more straightforward. It’s easy to get so tied up in the “research” phase that you never actually take action. Instead, write down specific questions you want answered or goals you want to meet before delving into the latest book/seminar/etc. 

3. Do -- look at plenty of properties. 

Don’t just grab the first property you look at. Too many investors buy properties because they “look nice,” or the investors don’t want to put the work in to look at what’s really out there. Remember, you won’t be living there, so don’t make your investment decision based on your personal preferences. While you shouldn’t fall into the trap of analysis paralysis, make sure you are thorough in looking through properties. Give yourself a wide range of options, then narrow them down based on the criteria (goals) you have set for yourself.

4. Don't -- postpone starting your investment program because you’re waiting for that perfect “unicorn” deal.

That’s the flip side to number 3, of course. Plenty of beginning investors suffer from “a-better-deal-may-be-just-around-the-corner” syndrome. This can backfire in a big way, and you could potentially let a great deal slip just because you’re holding out for something better. Your task may feel difficult if this is your first property, but you must realize that the “perfect deal” rarely (if ever) exists. Better to execute on a deal that meets most of your criteria than wait for another that may never come. 

5. Do -- a thorough financial analysis.

Be realistic. Look at different alternatives to determine which makes the most financial sense. And never buy property at a higher price or on less attractive terms than your analysis says made sense. Be wary of sellers that try to over-estimate the value of the property through pro-forma (estimated) data. While you can certainly use a pro-forma to start the conversation, make sure you know the real numbers before closing. Look at previous years’ tax returns, property-tax bills, maintenance records, etc. to get a good idea of the real income and expenses.

The most important figures you should know are: 

• Net income (income/expenses) 
• Cash flow (net income/debt financing payments) 
• Return on investment (cash flow/investment)
• Cap rate (net income/property price)
• Cash-on-cash return (cash flow/investment)
• Total ROI (total return/investment)

In each case, “investment” refers to how much you invest in the property. "Debt financing" refers to any loans you may have to take out to buy the property. And "total return" refers to cash flow, equity accrual (i.e., equity gained from your tenants paying their rents), appreciation and taxes.

Once you have understood these figures, you should have enough information to determine whether or not acquiring the property fits with your financial goals.

6. Don't -- try to buy property that the seller is not motivated to sell.

If the seller is motivated to sell, you’re not likely to get the price best aligned with your financial goals. So, how do you know if a seller is motivated? Look at the asking price. For example, If the property has been on the market for a year for, say, $200,000, with little-to-no price reduction, the seller is clearly not very motivated to move the property. However, if that same property has been on the market for a year and has had its price moved down considerably, the seller most likely wants to do whatever it takes to get the property off his or her hands. Of course, this raises the question of how to find motivated sellers. There are many approaches, and not all of these will work for you, depending on what property you want. But a few trusted methods include: 

• Attending open houses 
• Looking for vacant/unattractive properties that are for sale 
• Spreading the word about yourself and what properties you are looking for -- truly 
• Going the old-fashioned route and looking in the classifieds of your local paper 

These are just a few ways to find sellers, but there are potentially dozens of other methods, depending on what type of property you’re looking for.

7. Do -- know the difference between real estate investing and the business of real estate.

As an entrepreneur, you already have a business, and real estate investing is best used to support that business, not replace it -- unless that’s your intention. In other words, don’t get so caught up in executing transactions that your core business falters. If that happens, you’ll be facing a bumpy road to get back to stability. Unless your business is itself real estate, or you’re looking to get into the business full-time, always remember that pursuing these deals is a means to an end, not an end unto itself. 

So, if you’re interested in staying ahead of taxes and inflation while building security for the future, real estate investing may be for you. What are you waiting for?

Source : https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/248350 

BUY-SELL-RENT PROPERTIES visit www.PropertyDepot.PH

Affordable financing drives growth

“Housing demand is always determined by housing finance,” said Januario Jesus Gregorio Atencio, III, 8990 Holdings,Inc. president, in defending  developers’ need to have in-house financing for their projects. 

 Earlier, property consultant KMC-MAG expressed concern about the threat posed by developers’  focus on financing when their expertise is in construction. 

“When you build an econometric model for housing, on top of that is finance. The more accessible housing finance is, the more housing (projects) there will be,” said Atencio. 

“Finance is dictated by affordability. If housing finance is stopped, interest rates are high, entry requirements are high say at 20 percent down payment, then demand will be very small,” he added. 

Antton Nordberg, KMC MAG Group Inc.head of research, said apart from finance not being a core competency of developers, there is also no clear picture on the size of the in-house financing market which remains unregulated. 

“Overall, it’s been increasing quite fast,” he said, noting  the Central Bank’s policy to scale back bank’s lending activity may have also contributed to the rise of in-house financing. 

“Why this is a problem (is because) developers’ core expertise is not necessarily in the financing of products but rather in the development. So there might be some serious underestimate(ion) in the credit worthiness of the home buyer since (this is)  more of risk management than project development,” he added. 

Nordberg, however, was quick to point out that the risk is not an immediate threat. Still this could pose a problem should some external shocks arise. 

“It’s not really an issue right now but if there are some external shocks, it might cause some problem,” he said. 

Atencio said while developers should not be bankers, as KMC-MAG, they will undertake initiatives  to move housing forward. 

Atencio said state-housing fund Pag-IBIG had been successful in lowering the cost of housing for buyers through lower interest rate and lower premiums, making housing more affordable,” 

By ALBERT CASTRO/January 28, 2016/ http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/special-features/affordable-financing-drives-growth

Affordable housing finance remains a key in propelling the growth of the housing sector. 

9 trending local cities this year

Property analysts and experts forecast that developers will continue to pursue township developments in and outside Metro Manila in 2016. Now, where could these, and other types of developments be? Here are the nine likeliest urban locations:

1 Cavite. Colliers International Philippines cites three reasons Cavite is on developers’ maps:

• Cavite has been known as a suburban support area to Metro Manila. With its relatively cheaper housing costs, Cavite has drawn within its boundaries hundreds of thousands, who still commute daily to their workplaces within Metro Manila.
• Numerous infrastructure projects recently launched will allow Cavite to flourish. The LRT-1 extension project will end in Bacoor; the government has now started the bid for LRT-6 which will further extend the LRT line from Bacoor to Dasmariñas City. Furthermore, the 44-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) project will provide necessary access to growth areas in Cavite.
• With the completion of the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX), a toll road which connects the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) to Daang Hari, property values in the area are foreseen to escalate rapidly. The new toll road will spur rapid development in emerging master-planned communities such as Vista Land’s Vista City and Ayala Land’s Vermosa Estate, which have the potential to establish themselves as full-blown central business districts (CBDs).

Property portal Lamudi Philippines, in its 2016 top cities list, shares eight more locations that will benefit from real estate investments.

2 Quezon City. The population of Metro Manila’s largest city is projected to grow to more than 3.5 million by 2020, with many looking into relocating there. Quezon City properties are relatively more affordable compared to Makati and Taguig, and offers plenty of options to homebuyers.

3 Makati. The country’s foremost financial and business district won’t be outdone, even if the average rental rate in its CBD is expected to decrease 3.39 percent year-on-year by the third quarter of 2016, vacancies to increase to 10.19 percent across all condo grades. Fringe areas, however, are starting to see an uptick in real estate activity, particularly Barangay San Antonio, near Ayala Avenue. “Worsening traffic conditions in Metro Manila are making these areas attractive to renters and homebuyers,” said Lamudi.

4 Taguig. “Taguig’s population is projected to reach almost one million by 2020, which will make it the National Capital Region’s fourth more populous (after Quezon City, Caloocan and Manila) and the country’s 9th. The city’s real estate sector has been on an upswing ever since Fort Bonifacio was privatized,” noted Lamudi. It added that several projects now are underway: Megaworld’s McKinley West and Ayala Land’s Arca South. Access to and from the airport (particularly Terminals 1 and 2) and to Coastal Road will also improve when the flyover connecting CP Garcia Avenue to the Moonwalk Access Road and West Service Road is finally completed.

5 Pasay. This city is gaining prominence because of: 1) Bay City—the reclamation area along Manila Bay housing the Mall of Asia Complex, Entertainment City—and Aseana City; 2) The SM group has already incorporated office and residential components in the MOA complex; 3) Federal Land is set to complete its Six Senses Residences in 2016 and its first tower in the Palm Beach project in 2017; 4) Improved infrastructure when the Naia Expressway connecting the Metro Manila Skyway to the Manila-Cavite Expressway and Entertainment City, is finally completed.

6 Bacolod. In mid-2015, Lamudi data showed that Bacolod had become among the most popular cities among online property hunters. In fact, real estate giant Megaworld announced in late 2015 that it was building two integrated townships in the city (the 50-hectare Northill Gateway and the 34-hectare The Upper East), while Ayala Land has sealed an agreement with the provincial government of Negros Occidental to build the mixed-use Capitol Central.

7 Davao. Davao remains southern Philippines’ economic and business center, and one of the most searched cities in the Lamudi website in 2015. Its population is projected to balloon to 1.83 million by 2020. Davao is also consistently among the most searched by online property hunters, and the sixth and third most searched city by property hunters based in the United States and Saudi Arabia, respectively, according to Lamudi data.

8 Cebu. Cebu City is one of Tholons’ top 10 outsourcing destinations in the world (and second in the Philippines behind Metro Manila). According to CB Richard Ellis Philippines, exciting expansions and new developments are coming in over the next few years. In 2015 alone, two new large malls opened in the city, SM Seaside City Cebu and Robinsons Galleria Cebu. SM Seaside alone has an area of 10-15 hectares devoted to commercial development, similar to the E-com office towers in the MOA complex, while Robinsons Galleria will have entire floors dedicated to BPO offices.

9. Muntinlupa. The south of Metro Manila, specifically Muntinlupa, is also projected to perform well this year, with the launch of several high-profile projects from the country’s biggest developers, one of which is Avida’s South Park District, a mixed-use development sitting on the former Nestlé plant in Alabang, in addition to the established Filinvest and Madrigal business districts. Further, in anticipation of infrastructure projects expected to ease travel to the south, property developers, including Rockwell subsidiary Rockwell Primaries, and Vista Land are now eyeing Muntinlupa as their next focus area.

Source: By: Tessa R. Salazar / http://business.inquirer.net/206043/9-trending-local-cities-this-year

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.

Same thing with our real estate business. It is not a easy. I did not promise an easy task. But we are here to help you. We are working us a team.

We are just waiting for your call to ask HELP, call now SUCCESS hotline 09173236123.

Your SUCCESS is our SUCCESS.

We will guide you step by step, how you can use real estate business as your strategy or vehicle to make Money. And once you have money, you can now pursue your dream.

We all have dreams, what holding us to achieve it, is not having enough money to finance it.

Real Estate Business can HELP you. Trust me, we made it, we just want you to follow our proven and tested strategy.

RealtyOPTiONS,Inc is been in the real estate business for 8 years, we been helping several people improve their lives for good. And you will be the next real estate millionaire.

Call now SUCCESS hotline 09173236123, to join one of our Free Real Estate Orientation, who knows this is the answer of your financial problem.

To your SUCCESS and PROSPERITY. Make a change this year, consider real estate business.

Regards

Samuel Lao
RealtyOPTiONS,Inc

Http://propertydepot.ph
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

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/