In the last 12 months, property owners in the upscale village of Ayala Alabang have become 58-percent wealthier with the rapid appreciation in capital value of this asset despite the prolonged pandemic.
In 2021,the valuation of residences in Ayala Alabang based on actual deals surged to a range of P180,000 to P200,000 per square meter (sq m) compared with just P90,000 to P150,000/sq m in 2020, based on a report from Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC).
Among high-end gated villages in the metropolis, Alabang enjoyed the steepest increase in capital value in the past year versus 2020 levels.
San Lorenzo owners, on the other hand, enjoyed a 19-percent upside (to P300K-P350K/sq m), while Greenhills and Valle Verde appreciated by 14 percent (to P305K-P350K/sq m) and 13 percent (to P150K-P277K/sq m), respectively.
While the four most expensive villages also gained in value, they did so at a much slower pace last year.
Forbes Park’s capital value rose by 3.5 percent, while Dasmariñas added 1 percent. Bel-Air and Urdaneta gained 3 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
Also note that in terms of price per sq m, the highest deals were seen in Dasma (at P400K-P550K/sq m), not Forbes (P350K-P530K), but only because of the massive lot cuts in the latter that made them accessible to fewer folks.
“Forbes’ ticket sizes are too big, only for the 1 percent of 1 percent (richest in the country),” David Leechiu, president of LPC, explained to Biz Buzz.
The smallest available lot in Forbes has a footprint of about 1,250 sq m but most are within the 2,500 to 3,000 sq m range, Leechiu said. Then, there are a few “giant” lots that span 5,000 to 10,000 sq m, he added.
In Dasma, one can still find a lot as small as 600 sq m to as big as 2,000 sq m, he noted.
Similarly, smaller transaction values in Alabang and its accessibility via Skyway resulted in the hefty price upswing in 2021, Leechiu reckoned.
For the affluent folks who prefer vertical developments, the LPC report showed that these are some of the priciest residential condominium buildings: Shang Properties’ Horizon Homes (P599K-P786K/sq m); SMDC and Federal Land’s The Estate along Ayala Avenue, Makati (P526K-P670K/sq m); Robinsons Land and Shang Properties’ Aurelia Residences in BGC (P405K-P657K/sq m); and, Ayala Land Premier’s Park Central Towers in Makati (P418K-P562K/sq m).
Of these condos, the LPC report showed that Aurelia had the biggest windfall in 2021 with 18-percent hike in capital values, followed by Park Central, which gained 12 percent. Horizon Homes and The Estate appreciated by 5 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
PSA fine print
Lawmakers may have finalized a bill allowing full foreign ownership in critical sectors such as telecommunications and transportation, but it appears politics—and we mean the sitting President himself (or herself)—would have the final say.
The ratified version amending the Public Service Act (PSA), which is now awaiting President Duterte’s signature, gives the commander-in-chief the power to “suspend or prohibit” any merger or transaction passing on control to a foreigner or foreign corporation within a 60-day review period.
The version, seen by the Biz Buzz, explained this was in the interest of national security.
Moreover, the Philippine Competition Commission may be consulted on all matters relating to mergers and acquisitions, it said.
The passage of the law was expected by lawmakers to open the floodgates to billions of dollars in fresh foreign investments.
The telecommunications sector appears particularly attractive given its massive spending requirements that only a few local families and business groups could sustain.
While established telcos PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom, which have their respective foreign backers, downplayed the PSA amendments, new entrant DITO Telecommunity is open, according to its chief administrative officer Adel Tamano.
Dito would need to tap other foreign sources apart from its strategic shareholder China Telecom, a state-owned entity that holds 40 percent.
According to the amended PSA, foreign governments or foreign state-owned enterprise are “prohibited from owning any capital” in a public utility or critical infrastructure.
But this only applies to investments made after the effectivity of the law, meaning China Telecom is capped at 40 percent.
However, the PSA amendment allows sovereign wealth funds and presumably independent pension funds of each state to collectively own up to 30 percent of the capital of such public services.
Foreign government entities or state-owned enterprises were also barred from making any kind of data or information disclosure, extend assistance, support or cooperate with any foreign government or its agents.
We do hope local companies in bed with Beijing strictly comply with this key provision of the Philippine law… instead of Chinese laws that require these very same firms to cooperate with the Chinese government.