CEBU is piquing the interest of property seekers and investors anew, according to industry experts.
Upmarket residential developments are now commanding high price points in Cebu as the pandemic reinvigorates demand nationwide for homes with bigger cuts.
The rise of transport infrastructure developments has also unlocked real estate values across Cebu.
“With more players getting into the market, projects have evolved and improved in Cebu. We have seen regional malls built as the consumer market and its spending power has increased,” Richard Raymundo, managing director of Colliers Philippines and a member of the independent judging panel of the 10th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards (PPA), said in a statement Friday.
Residential developments have also evolved from simple house-and-lot developments to luxury high-rise projects in the city and Mactan. Aside from the local market, it is also attracting investors from the VisMin region and even buyers from Metro Manila that are looking to diversify, Raymundo said.
Today, Cebu is the biggest real estate location outside Metro Manila, with more than 1.3 million square meters of leasable office space alone, according to data from Colliers Philippines. It is also the wealthiest province in the Philippines in both pure and net assets, according to a recent report from the Commission on Audit.
Transport infrastructure projects are poised to benefit the property sector in Cebu. The newly opened Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) is boosting interest in SRP (South Road Properties) with projects by PropertyGuru PPA-winning companies Ayala Land, SM, Filinvest, and Robinsons developing in the area.
Meanwhile, the modernizer international airport in Mactan has magnified capacity for domestic and international flights into Cebu province, leading to more investments in leisure developments.
Raymundo said: “Just like the experience in Metro Manila with infrastructure developments unlocking land values and property prices, the recently completed and planned infrastructure projects would bode well for the real estate industry in Cebu. The new Cebu-Cordova Expressway is unlocking values and easing traffic going in and out of the airport into Cebu City. Moving forward, you will see an increase in the critical mass in the area and greater variety in land uses.”
Condominium prices have risen from P132,000 per square meter in 2012 to more than P400,000 per square meter in some of the most expensive villas in Mactan, with several national developers already launching high-end projects in the popular resort destination, according to Colliers.
As a result of the high land values in Cebu, high-rise residential is also a familiar development in Cebu. This has attracted major developers like Ayala Land, Rockwell, Filinvest, Megaworld, Robinsons Land, ArthaLand, and HTLand to landbank and launch projects. Homegrown developers like Cebu Landmasters, Innoland, and BF Paray have also found their niche in the market.
Riding on such momentum of reinvigorated consumer sentiment, organizers of the PropertyGuru PPA are searching this year for properties that represent the “gold standard” of real estate in Metro Cebu and the wider Visayas region.
For its landmark 10th edition in 2022, the PropertyGuru PPA programme seeks to recognise the archipelago’s finest real estate companies and projects across 82 categories, including the sought-after title of Best Developer (Visayas). Other awards at stake include Best Luxury Condo Development (Metro Cebu), Best High End Condo Development (Metro Cebu), Best Affordable Condo Development (Metro Cebu), and Best Housing Development (Metro Cebu).
The programme is also looking for worthy contenders from Cebu and other world-class outsourcing destinations in the country for Best BPO Office Development.
“Cebu’s strategic location as an education hub in VisMin has meant a pool of talent that has attracted major BPOs and KPOs,” said Raymundo. “Aside from Cebu Business Park and IT Park, expect expansions in fringes and new mixed-use developments from national and homegrown developers.”
Cebu’s real estate and other major cities in the archipelago will be honored at the 10th PropertyGuru PPA on October 7, 2022 at the Fairmont Makati main ballroom. (CSL with PR)