CEBU continues to stand out as one of the country’s premier destinations for real estate investment, supported by strong end-user demand, disciplined homeownership and its role as the commercial and services hub of the Visayas and Mindanao, a top official of Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) said.
Speaking at Cebu International Investments Summit last week, CLI chief operating officer Jose Franco Soberano said Cebu’s property market is fundamentally different from more speculative urban centers, noting that demand is driven largely by buyers acquiring homes for long-term use rather than short-term trading.
“Cebu is not an oversupplied market. This is an end-user market where people buy homes to live in and protect as long-term investments,” Soberano said, citing consistently low cancellation and delinquency rates across CLI’s residential portfolio. Several housing projects, he added, have recorded near-zero delinquency, reflecting strong payment discipline among homeowners.
Cebu’s position as a regional hub for employment, education, logistics and trade continues to underpin real estate demand across residential, office, retail and hospitality segments. Soberano said office occupancy has improved with the return of business process outsourcing operations, while retail space remains near full occupancy, supported by rising household incomes and consumer spending in the region.
Against this backdrop, CLI is planning to develop 10,000 homes, largely focused on affordable and mid-market segments, as part of efforts to address housing demand rather than add excess supply. He said the housing shortage remains most pronounced in the socialized and economic segments, reinforcing the need for sustained development in these price points.
Soberano said Cebu has long served as CLI’s testing ground for products, planning and execution, with strategies refined in the province later rolled out to other cities in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Cebu is where we learn what works. What succeeds here can be scaled elsewhere,” he said.
While continued investment in infrastructure and utilities remains critical, Soberano said Cebu’s fundamentals — end-user demand, regional connectivity, and a growing urban economy — position it as a resilient and attractive location for long-term real estate investment. / KOC