Buyers from mainland China now dominate residential sales in PHL —real estate firm

Buyers from mainland China now dominate residential sales in the country, effectively taking the top spot previously held by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), real estate services firm Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) said Monday.

According to LPC Chief Executive Officer David Leechiu, demand residential projects in select areas connected to Filipino-Chinese communities are currently experiencing "brisk" take-ups of 12 units a month.

"Assuming a constant aggregate take-up of 7,757 units, the remaining inventory in projects preferred by mainland Chinese buyers will be depleted in three months," said Leechiu.

Among such areas are the Bay Area, Makati, Manila, Ortigas, Quezon City, and other areas near Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) locations, as well as existing Filipino-Chinese communities.

With this, rental units in the Bay area have climbed by 80 percent in the last three years, with tenants now fitting four people in one-bedroom units, and eight people in two-bedroom units.

In the same event, Leechiu said the demand for office space from the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) sector is also expected to grow faster for the rest of the year to reach a take-up of 450,000 square meters (sq.m),

As of March 2019, demand for office space from the IT-BPM sector has already hit 102,000 sq.m.

"We expect for it to grow at a faster pace and reach the forecasted 450,000 sq.m. take up in 2019 should there be more PEZA spaces available in the market," said Leechiu.

Attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is tasked to grant incentives to business operations of investors in export-oriented manufacturing and service facilities inside select areas across the country.

Leechiu, however, cited the need for the rollout of more PEZA spaces given the limited supply and the high demand.

"It looks like we only have 216,000 sq.m. of accredited space coming onstream this year," he said.

"We expect transaction values to keep climbing this year not only in the office market but also in the residential and industrial arenas... provided there is a continuous stream of PEZA-accredited spaces," added Leechiu.

In Davao, take-up of PEZA-accredited space was recorded at 6,000 sq.m as of March, followed by Clark and Tarlac with 5,000 sq.m. each.

Demand from the offshore gaming industry, centered in Metro Manila, likewise registered a take-up of 36,000 sq.m in the first quarter. —KBK, GMA News