FLEXIBLE WORKING spaces in the Philippines are seen to grow by 10% annually over the next three years, as micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), multinational companies, and outsourcing firms continue to expand, Colliers International said.
In a statement, Colliers International noted competition among flexible working spaces is expected to tighten in the next years.
“For the Philippine property market in 2019, flexibility will be the name of the game. The strong demand and evolving preference of tenants is giving rise to flexible workspaces,” the real estate consultancy firm said.
The continued public infrastructure push outside of Metro Manila will drive residential and office projects in these areas.
“Colliers sees infrastructure implementation dictating the strategies of developers in and outside Metro Manila. We see a more pronounced dispersal of office and residential developments outside of the country’s capital in 2019,” it noted.
Colliers is seeing aggressive land acquisition by property developers in Northern and Southern Luzon, particularly in Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas. The expansion of developers in these areas is driven by the rail, expressway, and toll road projects which will be completed between 2020 and 2022.
These include the MRT-LRT Common Station, Manila Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) 1, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway all ready by 2020, while Metro Rail Transit 7, Light Rail Transit 1 Extension, Clark Railway, and NLEX-SLEX Connector Road are targeted to be completed by 2021.
Specifically, Quezon City and North Luzon areas will strongly benefit from the completion of such railways.
“In 2019, Colliers recommends and expects more aggressive and strategic land banking by developers around the first three stations in Quezon City. This could even extend to key cities in Northern Luzon such as San Jose del Monte in Bulacan which is likely to benefit from the interconnection brought about by the MRT-7 due to be completed in 2021,” Colliers added.
For office space, Colliers said demand will be driven by the expansion of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) companies, as well as Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
POGOs also are expected to continue expanding in Cebu, Laguna, and Clark, Pampanga due to high supply of office space and residential units in these areas, as well as proximity to airports.
By next year, Colliers said offshore gaming companies will have occupied 200,000 sq.m. to 300,000 sq.m. of office space.
In terms of residential condominiums, Manila Bay area is expected to see 6,000 new condominiums next year, while prices are seen to break the P300,000 per sq.m. mark as well.
Demand for luxury condominiums in Manila will remain strong, according to Colliers.
“This entices affluent locals and foreign investors to look for similar developments in Metro Manila. In fact, the pent-up demand encourages mid-income condominium developers to scale up and construct high-end projects in emerging business districts such as the Manila Bay Area,” Colliers added. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

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