Property devt expert: Recent rains, flooding stoked demand for high-rise units

Widespread flooding and enhanced monsoon rains in recent weeks stoked demand for high-rise residential units in Metro Manila, an official of property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle said Friday.   Damage to life and property and the accompanying emotional stress affect the decision to go for high-rise, said Claro Cordero Jr., head of Research, Consulting & Valuation Advisory for Jones Lang LaSalle in the Philippines.   "As high-rise accommodation presents a better housing alternative for urban dwellers, the developers are also looking for locations that are less prone to flooding," Cordero said in hi research blog “The Rise (of Flood) In Metro Manila: Lessons and Opportunities.”   Over 142,000 brand new condominium units would be available in the next three year, Cordero said, citing research data as of August 2012.  "This has led to an observed increase in real estate values in certain areas, where new communities could be established," he added.   Enhanced monsoon rains inundated many parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, in recent weeks with the amount of rain and flooding unseen since Tropical Storm Ondoy devastated large areas of Metro Manila and nearby provinces in September 2009.   “Ondoy” reshaped urban development trends and impacted on real estate values, according to the Jones Lang LaSalle research chief.   However, Cordero is calling for a balanced and holistic approach to urban development. "The infrastructure [including adequate drainage] and support facilities and services should be sufficient to provide a more sustainable growth of these high-density developments/precincts," he said.   Indiscriminate development and disregard for social and environmental impact could not only lead to degradation of community and quality of environment but imbalanced sprawl and artificially-inflated real estate values as well, which could have far more damaging repercussions to lives and property, Cordero noted.   "… [T]his… presents a new venue to review and look at how other neighboring countries have resolved the issue of balanced development in providing affordable and safe accommodation, especially for the low- and middle-market segments," he said.   Flood-prone places may not be the most practical areas to rebuild and build on, "but new technologies and measures to minimize the adverse impact of frequent and damaging flooding on property developments should be introduced in the process," Cordero noted.   With a more conscious commitment toward balanced urban and property development, "the movement of real estate values is sure to follow a steady, long-term growth path, while the inefficiencies that may be brought forth by indiscriminate building will also be minimized," he added. — VS, GMA News