HOUSING developers in Central Visayas remain optimistic and confident heading to the last quarter of the year as remittances from overseas workers increase and business process outsourcing (BPO) in Cebu continues to grow.
Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc. (SHDA) governor for the Visayas Rey Ralota said the housing industry might exceed its earlier projection of 15 to 20 percent housing delivery growth this year. He credited the performance to the remittances of Filipino workers abroad and the city’s positioning as a tourism and information technology (IT) hub.
“The strong inflows of remittances and the emergence of the BPO industry in the city has helped support the housing industry.
Developers now see the need to build more residential projects, knowing that people from the neighboring provinces have come to Cebu for work. Overseas Filipino workers, on the other hand, buy houses as investments,” Ralota said last Monday.
He told Sun.Star Cebu that member developers of SHDA 7 enjoyed an average of 18 percent growth in the first half of the year.
“In fact, the 7.9 percent growth in the second quarter did not come as a surprise to us. We have always been optimistic that the real estate industry in the country and in Cebu will continue to fuel growth in the local economy. This year will be a banner year for the industry and we might even exceed the target for the year,” said Ralota, who is also the president of Ramman Realty.
He said the positive outlook of the industry is also buoyed by the huge housing backlog of Cebu, which now stands at 50,000 units.
Untapped
“There are still many untapped areas in Cebu that are viable for residential developments,” he said. He cited areas in Kalunasan in Guadalupe that can be attractive locations for residential development if roads are developed there.
Ralota said more developers will also expand their projects following the construction of the Tayud Coastal Road in the north and the South Road Properties (SRP).
“Developers have actually started expanding their projects. But we see more developments going south starting this year onwards, with the development of the SRP,” he said.
SHDA will be conducting a Visayas housing fair this October. The event will feature 50 exhibitors.