PROPERTY developers anticipate that 2025 will be a vibrant year for the industry, supported by strong overseas remittances and declining interest rates.
Carson Choa, chief operating officer of Wee Community Developers Inc., (Weecomm) said the Manila-based company commits to build more residential projects not only in Manila but also in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.
“We have developments in Iloilo, Davao and Cagayan de Oro City and we also have plans to penetrate Bacolod and eventually Cebu,” said Choa at the sidelines of the National Real Estate Convention 2024 hosted by Cebu-based Filipino Homes on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024.
Choa said they are focused on building projects that are priced from P2 million to P5 million, while also complying with the government’s mandate of building socialized housing for every project.
“We think that the mid-income market is the widest and safest of all market segments,” he said.
Weecomm together with the other top 30 developers that attended the convention pledged to help the government address the ballooning 6.5 million housing backlog.
Weecomm is Filipino Homes’ second-biggest developer in terms of sales next to listed-property firm Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI). The company was recognized during the opening of the two-day national convention.
Ramon Carlo Yap, president of Priland Development Corp. expects a vibrant real estate sector in 2025.
Yap said despite the stiff competition in the market, there remains to be a big need for more housing developments across the country.
He cited the declining interest rates as playing a big factor in attracting more developers to build residential projects and buyers acquiring homes.
The Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas had recently cut the interest rates by 25 basis points from 6.25 percent to six percent during its monetary policy meeting on Oct. 16.
Yap expects interest rates to continue dropping to reach the pre-pandemic level of four percent.
Filipino Homes founder Anthony Gerard Leuterio stressed that real estate remains a thriving industry despite economic challenges.
He highlighted the sector’s significant multiplier effect, noting that a single home can support up to 60 families through the various jobs and services it generates.
“We will continue to see a ‘super healthy’ market,” Leuterio said, emphasizing that while demand will remain strong, the industry is facing a shortage of projects to meet the growing number of buyers. “The supply, especially in Cebu, is significantly lacking,” he added.
He said the rising deployment of overseas Filipinos will continue to support the industry with 30 to 40 percent of their remittances channeled to real estate investments.
Money sent home by overseas Filipinos increased by three percent to US$24.74 billion in the first eight months of the year from US$24.01 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Celebration of success
Meanwhile, Leuterio described the annual convention as a celebration of the successes achieved by both partner developers and real estate agents. He emphasized that the event serves as a collaborative platform where industry stakeholders can come together to exchange ideas to create new real estate products.
Leuterio emphasized that for developers to succeed in the face of stiff competition, they must focus on creating market-driven products tailored to current consumer needs and demands.
He said that developers can tap into Filipino Homes’ expansive network of 100 offices across the country to access valuable, on-the-ground market data, enabling them to make more informed decisions and stay competitive.
He added that the organization is committed to continuously upskilling its 11,000 partner real estate agents, ensuring they guide buyers in making informed decisions while also protecting them from potential scams.
Moreover, Leuterio said tackling the housing backlog should be a collective priority.
CLI chairman Jose Soberano III urged his fellow developers to go beyond merely complying with government regulations like the Balanced Housing Act, which requires socialized housing for both horizontal and vertical projects. He encouraged them to also address the needs of those who truly cannot afford to own homes.
“If you are to measure the growth of the economy it’s not possible to leave behind a particular sector that continues to suffer,” he said.
CLI currently has a housing project in partnership with the Cebu City Government. The medium-rise building in Barangay Lorega is a donation from CLI in compliance with the balanced housing program of the National Government and is part of Cebu City’s socialized housing program which aims to provide affordable housing to informal settlers and city residents. / KOC