Cebu Emerges As Next Growth Engine For Philippines’ Exciting Property Market
The real estate scene in the Philippines continues on its growth trajectory and the next boom town appears to be in the central region of the country. Cebu, located some 570 kilometres from the capital Manila, is being touted as the local property market’s next growth engine with freshly built infrastructure getting unveiled and construction activities on the rise.
According to Property Report, the Central Visayas province is witnessing a boom in the real estate and construction sectors, adding 2018 could very well be the year that the region will “be noticed on the global scene.”
“Construction of several acclaimed projects in the residential and commercial segments are underway in Metro Cebu and nearby provincial locations,” the report said.
Boom Indicators
Strongly supporting Cebu’s steady climb is the recently opened Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) that boasts of 65,000 square-metre space and passenger handling capacity of 4.5 million (domestic and international) per day.
With the facility in full operational status, it is forecasted that Cebu’s property market will become more attractive to investors and buyers alike, both in near- and long-term. Specifically, the “Metro Cebu is expected to increasingly become an alternative option to Manila among condominium seekers in the Philippines,” per the same report.
In Cebu City alone, it is estimated that over 150 condominium developments are currently underway and developers are actively marketing these projects, indicating of the high confidence they hold on the flourishing local market.
More similar vertical projects are in the pipeline, which have been envisioned to cater to “the high-end and affordable segments,” of the Cebu market. For instance, the Dusit Princess/Grand Tower Cebu is being built to mostly serve the business travellers that frequent the region.
Inarguably, Cebu’s enhanced connectivity with the rest of the Philippines is serving the design to further fire up not only the province’s property sector but also its expanding economy.
Government Support
Likewise, it’s quite obvious that Cebu’s growth is due in large part to the support extended by both the national and local government. The MCIA Terminal 2 is a project that was started by the previous administration of President Benigno Aquino and continued by the country’s new leader – President Rodrigo Duterte.
In terms of support in the local level, Cebu found an ally on the city’s chief executive, Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who recently eased the regulations on high-rise construction projects.
“I have lifted the ban on high rise construction. We will release the order out but they have to follow the new rules of the building code which I still think makes it unsafe. But at this point, I don’t want to stop the development,” the local executive was reported by the Cebu Daily News as saying.
The city government, however, was clear on one thing – that condominium developers must remain in strict compliance of the local building code, specifically of the safety requirements during and after the construction period.
