Affordable condos gain foothold in metro

Will we see more condominiums than house and lots in 2012? What specific locations would condominiums gain a dominant foothold of? Property analysts believe condos will take over the metropolitan areas, while subdivisions will stake their claim in the provinces.

Colliers’ International claims it has been observing this trend for some time now.

Paul Vincent Chua, associate director for valuation and advisory services and head of consultancy and research of Colliers International, a leading global real estate services company, says his team had noticed since 2009 the abundance of affordable, smaller condominium units with stretched payment terms; their growth fueled primarily by the BPO industry, which has spurred the demand for condominium housing in Metro Manila.

“However, the traditional house and lot remains to be preferred, as expected, in provincial cities. Only in key cities are condominiums being preferred over house and lot developments. These are, mainly, Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao. We also saw a decline in HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board) licenses to sell for horizontal developments, and a huge increase for vertical developments. It won’t take long until we see former bedroom communities accept condo-living as a substitute,” Chua says.

Enrique Soriano, professor at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and senior adviser at Wong+Bernstein Business Advisory, says this particular asset class will likely be sustained in 2012. Just last week, Soriano called the condominium take-over in the metropolis a “construction frenzy” of mid-income condominium developments.

This trend (vertical developments in key cities), he added, would also be likely seen in Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro as well as leisure destinations like Boracay and Baguio City.

Alejandro S. Mañalac, National Real Estate Association chair, says subdivisions and housing, especially those targeting first-home buyers, will always enjoy high demand as long as friendly financing continues to be available.

“In fact, that is where the real shortage is. Affordable, family-oriented condominiums will also be very popular next year. You will be seeing a lot of these types of developments in Quezon City and in the fringes of CBDs next year. The good thing about this is that buyers of these types of projects are real end-users,” Mañalac explains.

Leading condo developers

Four months ago, property giant Ayala Land Inc., through its Alveo Land, launched its first mid-rise condominium in Angeles City called the Marquee Residences. Last month, ALI announced its foray in vertical developments through Amaia’s condominium projects with prices ranging from P1.1 to P1.3 million per unit.

Robinsons Land and Federal Land also recently launched the Axis Residences, 150 meters away from the MRT Boni Avenue station. Located on Pioneer Street in Mandaluyong City. Axis Residences stands within the compound of Robinsons Forum (Pioneer Mall) and Robinsons Gateway Residential and Office Condominium Complex. Located not only near a mass-transit system, it lies in the center of the three major business districts: Makati CBD, Ortigas Business District and Bonifacio Global City.

For its part, Megaworld subsidiary Empire East’s mid-income projects include Pioneer Woodlands, which stands just across the Boni MRT Station, and the San Lorenzo Place, at the corner of Chino Roces Avenue and Edsa, just beside the Magallanes MRT station. The Little Baguio Terraces in Greenhills, New Manila offers convenient access to the MRT/LRT2 for residents to gain easy access to any point in the metro. Megaworld also launched Manhattan Garden City in Araneta Center in 2006.

On Sept. 30, SM Development Corp. announced in its website that it has sold the most number of Metro Manila residential condominium units and reached highest sales volumes during the first half of 2011.

Other leading developers of affordable condominiums have been DMCI, which showcases natural lighting and ventilation in its projects; Phinma, which boasts some of the most reasonably priced units between Sucat and Alabang, and First Homes, which is offering the Aurora Heights at the LRT terminal in Quezon City in a relatively low-pollution environment.