Real estate trends, outlook for 2017

The growth of the real estate industry is expected to be sustained this year, on the back of a robust Philippine economy.

And this robustness will be largely driven by the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals, the growing knowledge process outsourcing  industry, aggressive infrastructure spending by the incumbent Duterte administration, and the sustained private sector confidence.

For those in the real estate industry, this may be a good time to tap the opportunities presented by a strong local economy. In order to do so, one must need to know which sectors to target and how to effectively market and sell your projects.

Target markets

Among the segments you might want to look are the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the so-called millennials.

Currently, only 10 percent of the OFW market has so far been tapped. With the current financial literacy programs conducted here and abroad, we can expect the percentage to go up and we are here to help our OFWs in their investment choices.

Meanwhile, the millennials continue to dictate retail spending in the country since they have high disposable incomes and have overtaken the baby boomers in terms of demographic size.

Property developers should thus consider the millennials’ needs and wants as they build condominiums for this segment, which is said to be very selective in terms of products and services that they patronize. Many of those falling under this market segment are first time real estate buyers.

Hence, communicating to them effectively will be key to a successful sale.

Major considerations

Apart from identifying your target market, you must also look into what buyers now look for in projects.

Considering the number of players in the market, affordability will be a major consideration for buyers.  Thus, house-and-lot packages ranging anywhere from P2.5 million to P3.5 million will move because of the relatively smaller monthly amortization that will still allow buyers to use a portion of their resources and funds for other family needs.

Of course, also being considered are the different features and amenities that a development can offer, as well as the payment schemes offered.

One of our projects—Palo Alto Leisure & Residential Estates in Baras, Rizal—offers a wide range of property types to choose from, namely a residential lot, a farm lot or a prime commercial lot within the 250-hectare master planned community.

Another project, the East Bel-air Residences along Felix Avenue in Rizal, meanwhile offers residential condominiums and the most innovative form in real estate today—the condotels.

Purchasing a condotel unit allows the buyer or investor to recoup his or her investment slowly without selling the property. Under this scheme, buyers will be allowed to use a fully fitted hotel room and get a chance to earn from the hotel operations.

Investors looking for projects at the eastern part of Metro Manila should consider these two prime developments. Our investment consultants are ready to assist them even on weekends.

Bobby S. Gonzales is a licensed real estate broker and currently the president of MegaEast Properties Inc., the marketing arm of Sta. Lucia Land Inc.