Lamudi Outlook Quarterly 2Q2022

2Q2022

in Numbers: Rentals

While the market for properties for sale remained stable over the last few quarters, the market for rentals has been growing rapidly. As several companies return to some form of onsite work and schools test re opening, demand for rentals has been steadily growing since 4Q 2021.

Lamudi looks into property search and demographic activity in this quarter to identify new rental trends and anticipate where the market is headed.

Lead Growth by Property Type

increase in leads

Condos for rent attracted the largest quarter-on-quarter increase in overall leads on Lamudi.

Lead Growth by Price Range

Properties priced 5K to 30K attracted the highest increase in leads.

Rental Supply by Property Type

Source: Lamudi com ph

Source: Lamudi com ph

Condos followed by commercial properties contributed the most rental supply on Lamudi overall.

Property Supply by Island Group

Plenty of commercial options are available within and outside Metro Manila.

Most Searched Locations by Island Group

Source: Lamudi com ph

Makati - Metro Manila’s financial district - attracted the most leads from prospective renters, while cities in Cebu continued to attract the most leads in Visayas.

Source: Lamudi com ph

Top Sources of Leads by Island Group

Quezon City and Manila were among the top sources of leads for rentals throughout the country.

Amenities

Comfort amenities (such as air-conditioning and balconies) as well as fitness amenities (swimming pool and gym) were the most popular amenities on Lamudi in 2Q 2022.

Source: Lamudi com ph

Quarterly Real Estate News Round-up

Stay up to date on the latest news on policies and reforms, new normal progress, local development, infrastructure, and responses to price fluctuations that happened this quarter Here are the highlights:

POLICIES AND REFORMS

How Will the Philippine Electric Vehicle Law Affect the Property Market?

The automobile industry is preparing to adopt electric vehicles as the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act has lapsed into law. With the increase in EV adoption, properties with EV charging points and maintenance facilities will likely be in demand. Space take up for charging infrastructure development and EV manufacturing hubs is also possible.

Property Valuation Reform to Boost Revenue Generation, DOF Says

The Department of Finance (DOF) urged the passing of the Real Property Valuation Reform Act, a measure that would help local governments raise revenue and strengthen the overall property market The reform would create a fair property valuation system and a single valuation base for taxes, potentially attracting more developers and increasing private investor confidence

Lifting of NCR Ecozone Ban Discussed Anew After Makati Bldg Designation

Former president Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No 1392, designating Circuit Corporate Center as a special economic zone information technology center The move prompted a discussion on the lifting of the moratorium on new ecozones in Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, PEZA is gearing up for more ecozone developments in different parts of the country.

Groups Team Up to Promote Legislation on Improved Internet Services

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry partners with Better Internet PH to push the passage of laws promoting better internet services The key bills they’re supporting include the Open Access in Data Transmission Act, Rural Wired Development Act, Satellite Liberalization Act, and Spectrum Management Act

THRIVING IN THE NEW NORMAL

PH Economy Set to Grow Above 6%

Despite the inflation, the Philippine economy is projected to grow by 6 3% in 2022 Private consumption and the pandemic recovery plans are among the main contributors to economic growth The real estate sector and digitalization also remain crucial in hastening the recovery from a health crisis

Batanes Tests Tourism Reopening

Batanes started its tourism reopening trial period last May 15, and will run until June 30. The province only accepts 50 people a week Tourists must book their trip in advance with tour operators, accommodations, and tour guides accredited by the tourism department Upon arrival, they are required to undergo health screening.

Retail Real Estate Set for Recovery

According to property consultant Colliers Philippines, revenge shopping and dining are fueling the swift recovery of retail spaces The firm also expects more physical retail developments to be completed from 2022 to 2025. Business districts in Metro Manila may cover over 50% of the new supply.

Huge Expansion Potential for Data Centers

The acceleration of internet adoption amid the pandemic is driving the demand for data centers in the Philippines. The country plans to become the next hyperscaler hub in the Asia Pacific, eager to attract large data driven companies like Facebook and Google. Metro Manila, Laguna, Batangas, and Cebu are among the areas contributing to the data center market expansion.

70-30 Hybrid Work Allowed for PEZAAccredited IT-BPO Firms

IT BPO firms accredited by PEZA can operate on a hybrid arrangement, with 70 percent on site and 30 percent on remote work until September 30. The date is the end of the state of national health emergency declaration of former President Duterte. It was on April 1 when companies returned to office to keep tax incentives

POLICIES AND REFORMS

PSA Named CALABARZON as the FastestGrowing Region in 2021

CALABARZON had an annual growth rate of 6 7% for 2021 and exceeded the national gross domestic product growth rate of 5.7% for the same period. Lamudi’s Hotspots Unwrapped report also showed that cities in CALABARZON, such as Antipolo, Bacoor, Calamba, Dasmariñas, and Imus, were some of the most popular property hotspots in 2020.

Bacolod to Capture Demand from Large Outsourcing Firms

Bacolod is projected to seize demand from large, international outsourcing companies as its business environment remains competitive Its robust talent pool and solid infrastructure makes it a "major outsourcing player outside Metro Manila," according to Colliers

Senate Approves Metro Baguio Devt Authority Bill

Senate approved in its third and final reading a bill seeking the creation of an agency that will oversee the development of Metro Baguio Baguio, along with nearby towns La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay will benefit from the development initiatives of the group The locations are expected to be more attractive to tourists and businesses.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS

Holy Week activities set the motion for Cebu’s property market recovery. A 75% celebration capacity has been allowed in the city since March 2022, which is a boon for owners of property rentals in the area Residential uptake and office leasing activities are also expected to increase due to Cebu’s improving infrastructure.

Inflation Hits Construction Material Prices, Logistics Cost

The wholesale price index for construction materials in Metro Manila reached 6.6% in March. It’s the highest price growth in over ten years, driven by local construction activities and supply chain constraints. The latter is considered linked to the transportation problems in the Philippines, emphasizing the need for continued infrastructure development

MRT3 Extends Libreng Sakay Program Until June 30

The DOTr extended MRT3's free ride program anew to June 30, until the end of the Duterte administration. The free ride program was initially from March 28 to April 30, but was extended to May 30 The move was to support commuters amid the rising prices of fuel and basic commodities.

More Renewable Projects Seen After Fuel Price Surge

In April, the fuel price surge continued due to the constricting import supply Some of the largest businesses in the country have already started renewable energy projects to hasten the transition to clean energy This year, SM Prime targets to increase renewable energy use by 50% and Ayala led AC Energy Corp aims to complete its 116 megawatt solar project in Pampanga

Cebu Property Market Bullish Amid Tourism Rebound, Infra Boom

BSP Hikes Interest Rates to Curb Inflation

On May 19, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised the key policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% to curb inflation. Inflation climbed to 4.9% in April, which is above the central bank’s forecast of two to four percent. More rate hikes are expected within the year

INFRASTRUCTURE

DOTr Signs P17.75B Deal for Metro Manila Subway Phase 1

On May 5, 2022, the transportation department signed a P17.75B deal that forms part of Metro Manila Subway Phase 1 The contract involves the construction of two underground stations and tunnels at Ortigas North and Ortigas South Tokyu Tobishima Megawide Joint Venture will spearhead the project.

PNR Lucena-San Pablo Resumes Operations

PNR Lucena San Pablo resumes operations in June 2022 The railway line has 10 trips per day, with two terminal stations and four flag stops along the route. Commuters enjoy faster travel time at one hour and 32 minutes The railway line ceased operations in 2013 after an abutment along the route collapsed

Panguil Bay Bridge, Mindanao's Longest Bridge, to be Finished in 2023

Mindanao’s longest bridge is expected to be completed in 2023. The Panguil Bay Bridge stretches 3 17 kilometers, linking Tubod, Lanao del Norte to Tangub City, Misamis Occidental In June, it was reported to be halfway done. The construction started in November 2018, but experienced delays when the pandemic struck in 2020.

Groundbreaking for Sangley Intl Airport Pegged at 4Q2022

Sangley Airport is expected to break ground in the fourth quarter of 2022 A consortium of local and foreign companies won original proponent status for the project, with a $10 9 billion proposal The foreign players were behind iconic landmarks abroad, including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Europe’s only five star aviation hub Munich Airport

In this section, Lamudi provides demand trends for rentals priced below PHP15K and properties for sale priced below PHP6M.

Affordable residential real estate continued to contribute to a sizeable share of leads on Lamudi in 2Q 2022, with listings in lower price segments attracting more than a third of total leads for both buy and rent markets Over half of all leads for residential properties for sale on Lamudi were for listings priced PHP6M and below. For residential rentals, two in every five leads on Lamudi were for properties priced PHP15K and below Demand for condos have continued to increase as more employees return to hybrid and onsite work With blended learning set ups being implemented nationwide, demand for studio unit rentals and other student priced accommodations are expected to pick up in preparation for the new school year.

PROPERTIES FOR RENT

Source: Lamudi.com.ph

Condos and apartments posted strong performance in 2Q 2022.

Apartments garnered the most leads among all residential rental property types in 2Q 2022. After condos, it was the most uploaded property type on Lamudi during that period.

Potential renters looking at listings within the price range appeared to be open to shared living arrangements, with ‘room’ followed by ‘bedspace’ being the apartment subcategories that attracted the most leads

Condos attracted the largest increase in leads in 2Q 2022.

Condo demand continued to increase in 2Q 2022, with properties within the PHP15,000 and below segment receiving 33% more inquiries this quarter

Studio units were the most inquired condo sub category within the PHP15K and below bracket an expected trend given its size and price.

Leads for condo rentals in much higher price brackets such as PHP60,000 and up were more concentrated in larger condo unit types, such as penthouse and loft units.

Geographic markets for each property type varied.

Leads for vertical developments for rent were most concentrated in metropolitan locations, while leads for houses were spread across provincial areas

Source:

Leads for condo and apartment rentals priced PHP15K and below were most concentrated in highly urbanized cities, while leads for houses for rent within the same price segment were concentrated in cities across provincial locations such as CALABARZON Leads for house rentals were split between ‘house and lot’ and ‘townhouse’ subcategories.

PROPERTIES FOR SALE

Source: Lamudi.com.ph

Houses followed by land attracted the most leads for residential properties for sale under PHP6M in 2Q 2022 Leads for houses for sale within that price segment were split between ‘house and lot’ and ‘townhouse’, with the former contributing the majority of leads.

‘House and lot’ and ‘townhouse’ were also the most popular subcategories for properties priced above PHP6M; however, seekers looking into higher priced properties were also interested in other property sub categories such as ‘beach house’

Cities across Luzon (outside Metro Manila) were some of the strongest property markets for affordable horizontal real estate for sale.

Leads for condo and apartment rentals priced PHP15,000 and below were most concentrated in highly urbanized cities, while leads for houses for rent within the same price segment were concentrated in cities across provincial locations such as CALABARZON Leads for house rentals were split between ‘house and lot’ and ‘townhouse’ subcategories.

Leads for horizontal development were most heavily concentrated in cities across Metro Manila and Luzon.

Source: Lamudi com ph

Last June, the Philippine Statistics Authority published that OFW remittances in April totaled USD2 39 billion in April, 3 9% higher than a year prior Coupled with the passage of amendments to the Foreign Investment Act, Foreign Investment Negatives List, Public Service Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the country is poised to receive more interest from overseas investors paving the way for positive developments in industries, including the real estate market.

Singapore based property seekers showed the most interest in condos and houses for sale out of all other seekers overseas.

The country remains to be an attractive destination for OFWs and local expats seeking work opportunities not too far from home

Singapore was the leading overseas source of inquiries for condos and houses for sale.

WRAP UP

The overseas locations most interested in commercial properties to rent in the Philippines in 2Q 2022 were the United States (US) followed by Australia some of the world’s largest service outsourcers, Other leading commercial rental seekers include Japan, an established source of industrial, retail and education interest in the country, and Singapore, which is home to both a vibrant start up scene and regional offices to global firms.

Overseas property seekers looking for commercial rentals were particularly interested in office and retail spaces

The leading sources of commercial rental pageviews were countries that officially spoke English.

Offices were the most viewed sub-category by overseas seekers looking for commercial properties to rent.

Source:

THE

QUARTERLY: A WRAP UP OF

Top Overseas Sources of CALABARZON Leads 2Q2022

Source: Lamudi com ph

CALABARZON contributed the largest number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) out of all other regions in the country in 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Seekers from cities in the Middle East Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi as well as Singapore sent in the most inquiries for CALABARZON properties in 2Q 2022

Roughly half of all OFWs are based in the Middle East according to 2020 PSA reports Singapore continues to be one of the most popular destinations for Filipinos seeking employment abroad given its proximity and status as a regional center to various multinational companies. As of 2021, Singapore hosted 2 14 million land based and sea based OFWs translating to about two Filipinos for every five Singaporean citizens, given Singapore’s population of 5.45 million that same year

Cities in the Middle East contributed the most overseas leads to properties in CALABARZON.

Property seekers in the Middle East showed strong interest in horizontal properties.

Source: Lamudi.com.ph

Leads from the Middle East were most concentrated in Metro Manila, followed by Cavite and Batangas.

Demand may be driven by CALABARZON born OFWs looking to purchase properties in their hometowns or invest in real estate in metropolitan areas nearby. Houses followed by land were the property types most viewed by Middle East based property seekers in 2Q 2022

East Asian property seekers were most drawn to highly urbanized cities in metropolitan areas.

Source: Lamudi com ph

Nearly half of all leads from East Asian property seekers were for properties located in Metro Manila Other metropolitan locations outside Metro Manila Cebu, Cavite, Laguna and Pampanga also contributed significant shares to total leads from East Asian property seekers.

Cebu Province, the second most inquired province by East Asian property seekers and home to Metro Cebu, has strong economic linkages to Japan with several Japanese firms locating in Cebu’s industrial parks Cebu is also a strong English as Second Language (ESL) service market, attracting hordes of students from countries such as South Korea to study and travel in Cebu.

Other than cities in Metro Manila, various provincial locations attracted significant volumes of inquiries from seekers from the Americas Mountainside vacation destinations such as Baguio and Tagaytay as well as the agricultural town of Naguilian, La Union and coastal Lapu lapu, Cebu were among the most inquired cities from seekers in North and South America

These trends may be driven by interest from overseas Filipinos and foreign nationals looking into retirement in the Philippines North & South America host 8 2% of all OFWs, while nearly half of all leads from North America were from seekers aged 45 to 54. Moreover, sub categories such as 'house and lot', 'townhouse', 'residential lot', 'beach house' and 'agricultural lot' attracted significant shares of total pageviews from seekers from North & South America.

Philippine leisure and retirement destinations may be attracting inquiries from seekers in North and South America.

Source: Lamudi com ph

University towns and business districts draw leads from South and Southeast Asia-based property seekers.

Source: Lamudi com ph

While leads were fairly distributed across the country, Metro Manila cities followed by cities in Cebu Province and Cavite attracted the most leads from South & Southeast Asian countries (excluding the Philippines) Taguig, Makati and Quezon City in particular were the top two most searched cities by property seekers from these regions, and condominiums attracted a third of all pageviews from South & Southeast Asian property seekers

Expats and students from the Philippines’ neighboring countries may be looking into housing as they take on new onsite work or start a new school year This may in part be driven by increased efforts by local universities to become more globally competitive. A number of medical schools across the country have been accredited by India’s National Medical Council, allowing students from India to complete their Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in the Philippines.

Most leads from property seekers in Europe went to cities in Metro Manila, Cebu and Cavite.

Makati was the most searched city by Europe based seekers looking into the Philippines. This may be driven by European expats and investors searching for accommodations as well as interest from the OFW population in some major European cities

Europe is home to 7 7% of all OFWs, and London and Milan are among the European locations with the highest OFW population. London is the most active European city looking into the Philippines

Source: Lamudi com ph

Most Inquired Locations by Property Seekers in Australia

Source: Lamudi com ph

While the highly urbanized cities of Quezon City, Cebu City and Makati attracted the most leads from Australia based property seekers, locations such as Baguio, Lapu lapu, Tagaytay, Dauis and Dumaguete also received inquiries from Australia based property seekers in 2Q 2022. According to Statista, Australia was the 10th largest source of foreign tourist arrivals to the Philippines in 2021. Other than residential properties, there were a few leads for agricultural lots from Australia based property seekers in 2Q 2022.

According to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, agriculture is one of the country's aid investment priorities Agricultural lots in the country may be commercially attractive to Australians and Filipinos residing in Australia looking at possible investments, as well as a desirable leisure and retirement investment.

Leisure destinations were among the most searched cities by Australia-based property seekers.