Optimizing Ortigas Center’s luster

As I stressed in a previous column, Metro Manila’s luxury condominium market is making a comeback. And among the business districts that cornered demand from the affluent market in 2022 was Ortigas Center.

With new and quality office spaces, Colliers Philippines believes that Ortigas is likely to attract large multinational firms as tenants and we see expatriates and local executives partly driving the demand for luxury residential units. Discerning local investors are also likely to gravitate towards Ortigas Center given the business hub’s stock of upscale and luxury residential projects.

Developers are responding to investors’ demand by improving the amenities of their projects and highlighting the advantages of working and living in one of Metro Manila’s busiest addresses. Ortigas Center has always been a witness to the reinvigoration of Metro Manila’s skyline. We are thus likely to see a more pronounced redevelopment moving forward given the office, residential, and leisure projects lined up for completion in the business hub.

Office, luxury residential markets roaring back

Latest data from Colliers Philippines reveal that demand in the luxury condominium segment rebounded in 2022. During the period, luxury units (P8 million and above) accounted for 34 percent of total take-up, much higher from the only 5 percent share recorded in 2021. Demand in 2022 was driven by projects located in major central business districts (CBDs) including Ortigas Center.

Colliers is optimistic that this trend will continue in the near to medium term especially with demand coming from a discerning and affluent segment of the economy.

Colliers Philippines believes that Ortigas Center will continue to corner office space deals in Metro Manila. After all, the CBD is still among the most preferred business hubs in the capital region, plus the market is recovering and tenants are looking for quality, expansive office spaces. In our view, Ortigas Center will attract more locators that are implementing flight-to-value measures.

Infrastructure to stoke Ortigas Center’s attractiveness

Colliers Philippines believes that Ortigas Center’s attractiveness as a business hub is likely to be stoked further by the completion of crucial infrastructure projects that will connect it with other districts across Metro Manila.

One these projects is the 1.48 km BGC-Ortigas Link Bridge which became operational in October 2021. This P1.8 billion project, which improved connectivity between Fort Bonifacio and Ortigas Center, is likely to reduce congestion in the country’s main thoroughfares such as Edsa and C-5.

Other projects we see peripherally benefitting Ortigas Center are MRT 4, Skyway, Pasig River Expressway, and the Metro Manila subway. The latter is one of the biggest infrastructure projects approved by the Philippine government for implementation and will definitely help improve mass transportation within the capital region.

In our view, this massive public project is also likely to raise land and property prices. This is one of the most awaited projects in Metro Manila and both investors and end-users are excited to see its completion. We see Ortigas CBD benefiting from the current administration’s thrust of building more infrastructure projects and promise of easing commuters’ traffic concerns.

Economic growth to benefit Ortigas

We remain optimistic that the government’s forecast of a sustained economic expansion will have a spillover impact on condominium leasing and sales in the capital region.

Government agencies and credit rating firms are projecting an economic growth ranging from 5 percent to 7 percent in 2023 and this should be complemented by a revival of traditional and outsourcing business activities in Metro Manila. These should help prop up residential take up by foreign and local employees and investors.

In our view, the demand for office spaces and residential units in key business districts in Metro Manila should be supported by a rebounding economy. There is so much optimism in the market and this is resonating through all property sectors—office, residential, retail, and leisure. Colliers Philippines is optimistic that Ortigas Center is well-positioned to benefit from this property upside.

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