Residential units seen doubling in 5 years

MANILA, Philippines - The supply of residential units in the country is seen to sharply rise, doubling over a period of five years on the back of continuous mergers of international hotel brands and Filipino property developers, a global hospitality consulting firm said.

Asia-based hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks’ latest study showed there are 11,000 residential units for a total of P158 billion worth of properties for sale in the Philippines.

“We’re looking at a minimum of 20 percent increase per annum,” C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett said in an interview.

Furthermore, Barnett sees a lot of opportunity in the luxury segment of the real estate sector industry particularly in Cebu, Davao, Palawan and Metro Manila.

“For me, it’s a market that is somewhat untouched, so we’ll see a lot of developments in this sector,” Barnett told The STAR.

More mergers are also expected to happen between international brands and local real estate developers next year. Barnett projected resort markets would grow faster while the urban luxury segment would increase in number.

“They look at what track record they have. The quality, reputation, and ability to deliver,” he said.

Meanwhile, majority of the Southeast Asian region is expected to see the biggest growth in the coming years particularly the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

“But the Philippines is unique in terms of the 10 million Filipinos working abroad. These are property buyers. This is unique compared to other countries in the Southeast Asian region,” Barnett noted.