Eyeing emerging corridors developer earmarks P2 billion for Cebu’s next property boom

CEBU, Philippines — Pueblo de Oro Development Corp is betting P2 billion on Cebu’s next property boom, targeting emerging corridors such as Carcar as rising prices in established urban centers push homebuyers further out in search of affordability.

The property developer recorded a 324 percent increase in reservation sales in Cebu in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, reaching 423 percent of its 2025 level.

The sharp increase has strengthened Pueblo de Oro’s conviction that Cebu remains one of its most important growth markets outside Metro Manila, despite a more challenging economic environment.

The developer plans to spend about P2 billion in Cebu from 2026 to 2029, with roughly half allocated to its existing project pipeline and the remainder earmarked for expansion, including potential land acquisitions and new developments.

“The demand is still there,” said John Paul Escario, Pueblo de Oro’s vice-president for operations for the Visayas, although he acknowledged that developers faced the challenge of maintaining affordability amid higher land, construction and other costs.

The company’s strategy is increasingly centered on the changing geography of Cebu’s housing market.

For years, much of the province’s residential development has been concentrated around the Cebu City-Mandaue-Lapu-Lapu corridor. But escalating land and housing costs are encouraging buyers to consider locations farther from the metropolitan core.

Carcar, a city about 40km south of Cebu City, has emerged as a key test of that strategy.

Pueblo de Oro’s P1.2 billion Townhomes Carcar project covers about 10 hectares in Barangay Can-asujan and will offer roughly 900 townhouse units, with completion targeted for 2029. The project generated more than 200mn in reservation sales in the first half of 2026, making it one of the strongest contributors to the company’s Cebu portfolio.

The development was formally launched early this year, reinforcing Pueblo de Oro’s push into Cebu’s emerging residential corridors. Publicly available project information puts the current offering at about 910 townhouses.

The early take-up is significant because it suggests that affordability is beginning to outweigh proximity to Cebu’s traditional economic centres for a growing segment of buyers.

“The traditional Cebu market has become increasingly expensive,” Escario said, adding that buyers were increasingly willing to move outside Metro Cebu if they could obtain more space, better value and a quality community environment.

OFW money becomes increasingly important

The developer is also seeing a greater contribution from overseas-funded purchases.

According to Escario about 55.1 percent of its Cebu sales in 2025 were funded from abroad. That share rose to about 68 percent in the first half of 2026.

He said buyers were becoming more deliberate, looking beyond headline prices to location, accessibility, payment terms, amenities and the potential long-term value of their property.

The shift towards emerging areas could give developers greater room to serve Cebu’s large affordable and mid-income market, particularly first-time homeowners and working families.

Research by Colliers has previously identified opportunities outside the traditional Cebu-Lapu-Lapu-Mandaue corridor, noting that fringe areas including Carcar, Balamban, Toledo and Consolacion accounted for 77 percent of house-and-lot launches in Cebu in 2023.

For Pueblo de Oro, the opportunity is not simply to sell cheaper houses. It is to create master-planned communities in locations where land costs remain compatible with household purchasing power.

Its Carcar homes are priced at about P2.5mn, while units at its Park Place II development range from roughly P8mn to P16mn.

The developer said it was seeking to preserve structural quality, functionality and community amenities despite higher construction costs, rather than simply shrinking units or reducing specifications.

“Affordability is not achieved through price alone,” he said. “It starts with how we plan and design the community.”

From horizontal homes to higher-density development

Horizontal housing will remain at the center of Pueblo de Oro’s Cebu strategy, particularly for affordable and mid-income buyers.

But rising land values in established areas are also forcing developers to consider higher-density formats.

Pueblo de Oro is exploring a mid-rise residential project in Lapu-Lapu City, which would provide a more space-efficient housing product within an established urban market.

The company expects its future Cebu portfolio to combine horizontal, vertical and potentially mixed-use developments depending on location and target market.

That could give the developer greater flexibility as Cebu’s residential market matures: lower-density projects in emerging corridors such as Carcar, alongside higher-density developments in established urban areas.

A cautious bet on Cebu

Pueblo de Oro remains cautious about the second half of 2026, pointing to geopolitical tensions, domestic political and economic uncertainty and continuing cost pressures.

Yet the company believes Cebu’s underlying housing demand remains resilient, supported by population growth, employment, infrastructure development and remittance flows.

The first-half performance provides an early vote of confidence in that thesis.

The more important question for the developer is whether the surge in sales can be sustained as buyers move further south in search of affordability.

If Carcar continues to attract buyers, it could signal a shift in Cebu’s residential map — from a market dominated by the metropolitan core to one in which emerging cities along the province’s growth corridors become increasingly important to the next phase of housing development.

For Pueblo de Oro, the P2 billion investment program represents a bet that Cebu’s next generation of homeowners will increasingly trade proximity for value. — (FREEMAN)