RENTAL remains a thriving business amid the pandemic as more people look for properties with multi-use functions with easier to navigate locations during lockdowns.
In the residential space for instance, Filipino Homes founder Anthony Gerard Leuterio said people are looking for rental spaces near their workplaces to avoid the long commute while some wanted to stay in integrated communities where essential shops are a walking distance.
Others also look for bigger spaces where they can integrate their workspaces or businesses. Leuterio said some rent two-story apartments to make the ground level their business space.
Leuterio said Filipino Homes’ Rent.ph, a website that covers rental listings across the country from rooms to land properties, saw an increase in rental activities by 40 to 50 percent since January this year. He said the increase can be attributed to low rental rates and the hybrid work arrangement now adopted by companies.
Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are renting smaller warehouses in strategic locations to still continue doing business even during community quarantines.
Leuterio said the challenge of moving around or transporting goods, especially during enhanced community quarantine, prompted business owners to move their storage facilities closer to consumers to provide seamless flow and on-time delivery of goods and services.
He added the upcoming May 2022 elections is also expected to drive demand for rental spaces as political candidates and organizations will open campaign satellite offices across the country.
“There’s a good opportunity now for the rental business,” said Leuterio, adding that rental rates have also gone down by as much as 50 percent.
Rentees also have a wider selection of properties up for rent to choose from. Rental rates differ depending on the location. But property owners, Leuterio said, are very much open for negotiations now.
“The differentiating factor now is your location and the amenities that you have because while buyers will be price conscious, they will put a premium on their safety as well, especially during this time,” Leuterio said. (KOC)