By Othel V. Campos | May. 27, 2015 at
10:50pm [ manilastandardtoday.com ]
More business process outsourcing
companies have started introducing new services, driving the growth of the
property sector higher in the first quarter of 2015, real estate consultancy
firm CBRE Philippines Inc. said Wednesday.
“There is no let-up in the growth of
the property sector. The supply and demand across the office, residential,
retail and industrial markets remain positive, especially with the upcoming
Asean integration,” CBRE Philippines founder and chief executive Rick Santos
said in a briefing at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City.
BPO revenues in 2014 grew 18.7 percent
from 2013, resulting in strong office take-up at the start of year 2015.
The consultancy firm expects domestic
demand to increase further in 2015 after a 4.1-percent and 10.3-percent
expansion in 2014 and 2013, respectively.
The office market is expected to
maintain an upward movement with the projected introduction of about 780,000
square meters of office spaces in the next few quarters.
Lease rates in the central business
district of Makati inched up 0.8 percent, while overall vacancy rating rating
rose 4.73 percentage points to 5 percent.
The dearth in office supply within the
CBD is seen to fuel rental rates in the coming quarters and vacancies are seen
to contract with the completion of new office buildings by 2017.
Fort Bonifacio absorbed more office
spaces in the first quarter, while demand for office space in Ortigas increased
with the expansion of BPOs.
Vacancy rates dropped from 3.97
percent to 3.34 percent quarter-on-quarter.
CBRE Philippines noted that office
space activities in other areas like Alabang, Eastwood City and the upcoming
Bay City remained slow but steady.
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