[ bworldonline.com ]
FLEXIBLE WORKING spaces in the Philippines are seen to grow by
10% annually over the next three years, as micro, small, and medium
enterprises (MSMEs), multinational companies, and outsourcing firms
continue to expand, Colliers International said.
In a statement, Colliers International noted competition among flexible working spaces is expected to tighten in the next years.
“For the Philippine property market in 2019, flexibility will be the
name of the game. The strong demand and evolving preference of tenants
is giving rise to flexible workspaces,” the real estate consultancy firm
said.
The continued public infrastructure push outside of Metro Manila will drive residential and office projects in these areas.
“Colliers sees infrastructure implementation dictating the strategies
of developers in and outside Metro Manila. We see a more pronounced
dispersal of office and residential developments outside of the
country’s capital in 2019,” it noted.
Colliers is seeing aggressive land acquisition by property developers
in Northern and Southern Luzon, particularly in Pampanga, Bulacan,
Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas. The expansion of developers in these areas
is driven by the rail, expressway, and toll road projects which will be
completed between 2020 and 2022.
These include the MRT-LRT Common Station, Manila Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT) 1, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway all ready by 2020, while Metro
Rail Transit 7, Light Rail Transit 1 Extension, Clark Railway, and
NLEX-SLEX Connector Road are targeted to be completed by 2021.
Specifically, Quezon City and North Luzon areas will strongly benefit from the completion of such railways.
“In 2019, Colliers recommends and expects more aggressive and
strategic land banking by developers around the first three stations in
Quezon City. This could even extend to key cities in Northern Luzon such
as San Jose del Monte in Bulacan which is likely to benefit from the
interconnection brought about by the MRT-7 due to be completed in 2021,”
Colliers added.
For office space, Colliers said demand will be driven by the
expansion of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) companies, as well as
Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
POGOs also are expected to continue expanding in Cebu, Laguna, and
Clark, Pampanga due to high supply of office space and residential units
in these areas, as well as proximity to airports.
By next year, Colliers said offshore gaming companies will have occupied 200,000 sq.m. to 300,000 sq.m. of office space.
In terms of residential condominiums, Manila Bay area is expected to
see 6,000 new condominiums next year, while prices are seen to break the
P300,000 per sq.m. mark as well.
Demand for luxury condominiums in Manila will remain strong, according to Colliers.
“This entices affluent locals and foreign investors to look for
similar developments in Metro Manila. In fact, the pent-up demand
encourages mid-income condominium developers to scale up and construct
high-end projects in emerging business districts such as the Manila Bay
Area,” Colliers added. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
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