|
By Cheryl M. Arcibal, Reporter
THE Philippine property boom,
mainly driven by the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, is
expected to continue this year, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), a Los
Angeles-headquartered property consultant, said Wednesday.
Joey Radovan, CBRE Philippines,
Inc., vice-chairman, said Grade A Makati office space vacancy fell
to 1.6 percent as of the end of the fourth quarter. Some of these
prime office buildings also reported zero vacancy for large or
contiguous floor space, even as rental rates rose 35 percent from
P550 a square meter in 2005 to P744 last year.
“Leasing rates in some prime
[areas] in Makati CBD [central business district] are at P800 per
square meter or above. And the tenants continue to queue to sign at
that level. Leasing rates are almost back to pre-crisis levels but
are not expected to go higher given alternative office buildings
located at emerging districts,” Radovan said.
For the next 12 months, no new
office supply would be ready for occupancy at the Makati CBD, he
said.
From this year to 2009, a total
of 668,514 square meters in office space are in the pipeline, with
most of the new supply coming from Bonifacio Global City and the Bay
Area in Pasay City.
Trent Frankum, CBRE Philippines
general manager, however, noted that the rental rates in the country
are five times cheaper than in neighboring countries, while yields
on investment are two to three times higher.
He added that CBRE had never been
so busy with meeting two to three times a week with big investors
who are interested in coming to the Philippines.
For 2007, 10 property auctions
are set, with seven of them involving banks with over P10-billion
worth of properties up for sale. These properties include
condominium units, house and lot packages in subdivisions and prime
residential and commercial properties located in Mega Manila and
Southern Luzon areas.
LandBank is expected to put on
the auction block P4 billion in assets in March, while Rizal
Commercial Banking Corp. will sell P1-billion worth of properties in
April.
CBRE has been appointed auction
manager for the two deals.
|
