Real Estate Projects to Watch Out for in 2016

Despite posting a slower growth of 5.3 percent in gross revenue in the second quarter of 2015, Philippine real estate remained the top employer among all industries, based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s sectoral Quarterly Economic Indices for Q2 2015.

This same bullish outlook is shared by the country’s largest property developers, many of whom have unveiled ambitious projects that will keep them busy over the next few years. Online property portal Lamudi Philippines takes a closer look at some of the big-ticket projects we can expect to hear more from in 2016.

1. Alviera, Ayala Land

This 1,100-hectare large-scale, mixed-use development in Porac, Pampanga, is perhaps one of Ayala Land’s most ambitious projects to date. In fact, the company has earmarked Php90 billion for the project, significantly more than the company is planning to invest in its Arca South project in Taguig. The project’s Phase 1 development—which includes industrial park, a country club, three residential communities, and two academic institutions spread over 207 hectares of land—is already well underway.

2. E-com Center Projects, SM Prime

With the opening of FiveE-com Center this year, and three more office towers in the works until 2019, SM Prime’s Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex is poised to become a business district in its own right. The country’s largest mall developer already has two condo projects in the complex, three office towers, the country’s third largest mall, a convention center, and an indoor arena.

3. Westside City Resort, Megaworld Corp.

Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. recently announced that it will infuse Php65 million for its integrated resort project in the Bay City in Paranaque. Dubbed Westside City (previously called Bayshore City Resorts World), the property developer’s 20th township will have a residential component boasting more than 1,230 units, in addition to a 3,000-seat opera house, shopping mall, and casino in keeping with the Bay City’s entertainment concept.

4. Federal Land and Alveo Land’s Binan Project

Early this year GT Capital Holdings through its real estate arm Federal Land and Ayala upscale subsidiary Alveo Land entered into a joint venture to develop a 45-hectare township project in Binan, Laguna. Both companies are jointly allocating a capital expenditure of Php1.9 billion for the yet-unnamed project. According to GT Capital, the project will be a few kilometers away from the planned Laguna Blvd interchange of the Cavite–Laguna Expressway and will be close to Nuvali and Ayala Westgrove Heights.

5. Clark Green City, Filinvest

In September, Andrew Gotianum’s Filinvest Land bagged the contract to develop 288 hectares of prime land in the Clark Green City, a project master-planned by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). The BCDA has already teamed up with the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) to build 2,000 affordable mixed-income housing units for the future employees working in the Clark Green City. Additionally, in August, the BCDA and the University of the Philippines signed an agreement to establish UP Clark Green City Campus in a 70-hectare area.

What Can We Expect from PH Real Estate in 2016

The Philippine economy grew at a slower rate of 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015, and 5.6 percent in the second, causing experts to lower their end-of-2015 forecast to around 6 percent. However, despite the turn to less impressive numbers, the local real estate market continues to thrive, and investing in real estate remains safe and ideal for the remainder of the year and for the foreseeable future.

Property portal Lamudi Philippines has listed some of the trends that are forecast for 2016.

1. Continued Growth of the BPO Sector

Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies continue to buoy Metro Manila’s commercial real estate. In fact, 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.

Apart from the BPO companies’ direct need for real estate, investors can also look to benefit via renting out to traditional offices and commercial and retail establishments looking to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the market comprised of BPO employees. BPOs have also increased the demand in residential properties, especially high-end condos in the major business districts. With the BPO sector workforce also expected to double in 2016 and revenue from the industry to surpass remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW), now is a better time than any to invest in rental properties in the cities where these companies are based.

2. Continuous Appreciation of Land Values in Metro Manila

Despite slower gross domestic product growth in 2015, land values still continue to appreciate, albeit at a slower pace. According to Colliers International, growth rates of land values in Metro Manila accelerated in the second quarter of 2015. In addition, land values in the Makati central business district, 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 Php452,704 per sqm. Values similarly rose in the business districts of Fort Bonifacio and Ortigas Center, increasing at 1.97 and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Metro Manila’s skyrocketing land prices (fueled mainly by lack of supply) drive real estate developers to look further afield for their future projects. We are already seeing a number of big-ticket projects outside the capital, such as Megaworld’s Southwoods project in Cavite and Laguna and Ayala Land’s Alviera in Porac, Pampanga.

3. Growth in Rural–Urban Fringe Areas

As a direct effect of tight supply of land in Metro Manila, rural–urban fringe areas, otherwise known as outskirts, are best described as the locations where the urban and rural transitions into each other. Developers have begun exploring rural–urban fringe for development, embarking on mixed-use projects in these areas in 2015, which will continue into 2016.

The growth in these fringe areas is projected to constitute more than a third of the annual new office supply on average for the next three years alone, indicative of the increased importance these locations have for local real estate, and making them very beneficial to those investing now or in the next year.

How Many Years Filipinos Need to Work in Order to Afford a Home in 32 Cities and Municipalities

Ever wondered how far your income could go when planning to purchase a home?

A salaried Filipino with more than 20 years of work experience may need 128 years’ worth of his salary in order to afford a house in Makati, the Philippines’ most expensive housing market, according to global property website Lamudi Philippines (www.lamudi.com.ph).

On the other hand, this same salaried worker only needs 4.16 months’ worth of his salary in order to afford a home in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, one of the country’s most affordable markets based on average home price.

Lamudi Philippines Reports 2015 Growth

Data shows that the Lamudi PH website is now the most visited real estate platform in the Philippines.

MANILA, September 3, 2015: Lamudi Philippines (www.lamudi.com.ph) is now officially the most visited real estate website in the Philippines. Citing its own data and that from web analytics platform SimilarWeb, Lamudi reported that visits to its platform for the first six months of 2015 is 34 percent higher than those recorded for the entire 2014. In addition, at 320,000 monthly visits, Lamudi’s site visits via desktop are now at least 28 percent higher than its nearest competitor.

2015 was also a year of milestones for Lamudi. In February, the company secured $18 million in funding to boost its operations in Asia and Latin America. In May, Lamudi acquired competitor MyProperty.ph to further cement its position as the Philippines’ number one property website.

A first in Philippine real estate, Lamudi Philippines is also harnessing its massive online and listings data to generate reports and other content for Filipino homebuyers and property investors. For example, Lamudi analyzes data from its listings and regularly publishes content on condo, house, and commercial property price data.

The company’s onsite search data also provides a picture of online property-hunters’ behaviors and preferences. Lamudi found that most Filipino homebuyers still prefer houses over condos, despite Metro Manila’s condo boom, and that Quezon City is the most searched city in the Philippines for properties. Furthermore, Lamudi found that U.S.-based house-hunters are looking for houses more than half of the time (57.8 percent) and that after Quezon City, Makati, and Manila, Tagaytay and Baguio are the fourth and fifth most searched cities by Filipino-Americans.

According to Lamudi Philippines managing director Jacqueline van den Ende, these reports generated from the platform’s data provide sellers, brokers, and property developers much-needed insight to inform their marketing strategies.

“For a while, we’ve known that Filipinos are rapidly moving online to inform their purchase—from clothes, gadgets, and even real estate. But most sellers of real estate still have no idea as to how homebuyers behave online. Our data provides these sellers with data on buyers’ preferences, from location, price range, size, type, and even amenities.”

To tap into mobile-first consumers, the Lamudi Philippines app is now available for both iOS and Android devices, while the website itself has a mobile version. van den Ende said the importance of being available on mobile cannot be overemphasized. In the first half of 2015 alone, 32 and 15 percent of Lamudi’s traffic came from mobile and tablet users. Swedish ICT provider Ericsson also reported in June that mobile penetration in the Philippines will reach 40 percent by the end of this year, thanks to the popularity of more affordable smartphones.

ENDS.


ABOUT LAMUDI
Launched in 2013, Lamudi is a global property portal focusing exclusively on emerging markets. The fast-growing platform is currently available in 32 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, with more than 900,000 real estate listings across its global network. The leading real estate marketplace offers sellers, buyers, landlords and renters a secure and easy-to-use platform to find or list properties online. For more information, please visit http://www.lamudi.com.ph

ABOUT MYPROPERTY.PH
Established in September 2010, MyProperty.ph is one of the leading Philippine real estate online and print brand that brings property buyers and sellers together. The website’s main offerings are listings of pre-selling properties and properties for sale and for rent. Both website and magazine also provide relevant and updated industry news and information for its clients and consumers. And with the release of its mobile version, finding or selling a home is made even easier. Visit www.property.ph