Booming Office Sector Spurs Growth of Cebu’s Residential Sector, CBRE Shares

Cebu, Philippines – Leading real estate services and advisory firm CB Richard Ellis Philippines (CBRE) is bullish on growth prospects for Metro Cebu’s real estate sector.  Based on recent findings by CBRE, developments in the office sector—particularly with the growth of the outsourcing & off-shoring industry in Cebu, provided impetus for residential investments. 

“Cebu is fast emerging as the preferred BPO and IT destination not only in the country, but also in Asia. This favourable business environment provides immense opportunities for growth in the residential market, and a synergy of opportunities across Cebu’s real estate sector,” said CBRE Philippines CEO and Chairman Rick Santos.   

This uptrend is seen to be sustained as Cebu has one of the lowest rental rates in the Asia Pacific Region and with approximately 103,146 square meters of gross leasable area of office spaces in the pipeline. 

This expansion in the office market is further driving residential condominium developments in Cebu. The influx of expatriates working in BPOs, business tourism, and subsequently, local demand has whetted the market’s appetite for high-rise dwellings and are observed to be moving closer from the fringe areas to Cebu’s business centers. The entry of major developers such as Ayala Land, Federal Land, Filinvest Land and Robinsons Land to in the Queen City of the South also reflects this strong demand. Increase in tourist arrivals and OFW remittances are seen to further support this demand for residential spaces.

There are 8,082 residential condominium units for turnover in Metro Cebu in 2011, which is thrice the number of units in the previous year. The profitable high-rise residential market drove the costs of units up, with prices ranging from PhP70,000 to PhP 105,000 per square meter in Asiatown IT Park district and at least PhP94,000 per square meter with certain three bedroom units breaching PhP150,000 per square meter at the Cebu Business Park area


www.cbre.com.ph

Megaworld launching 11 condo projects in first half

Megaworld Corp., the second-biggest property company in the country, plans to launch 11 residential projects in the first six months of the year in a bid to maintain its leadership as the country’s leading condominium builder.

“We at Megaworld aim to open the year 2012 on a strong note. We are set to launch 11 residential projects in the first half of 2012,” Megaworld senior vice president Francis Canuto in a statement said. Megaworld, meanwhile, has been ranked as the country’s top residential condominium developer, based on the latest study of CBRE Philippines.

The study cited the developer had cornered a 16-percent share of the market, which translates into more than 40,000 condominium units. In addition, the overall volume of units launched by Megaworld in the same 12-year period accounted an estimated total aggregate saleable area of about 1.9 million square meters, or 17 percent of the market. Colliers International earlier cited Megaworld as the no.1 residential developer based on the number of residential units completed and to be completed until 2016 and the total aggregate saleable area. Both CBRE Philippines and Colliers International are global companies that provide a roster of real estate services.

(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on 2012/January/3.)

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/2012/01/03/megaworld-launching-11-condo-projects-in-first-half/