Manila among top property markets
International survey notes big leap in just 3 years
By Doris C. Dumlao
ONCE a laggard in the region, Manila is
rising to be one of Asia-Pacific’s most appealing property markets amid
escalating concerns over high property prices in China’s core markets.
Based on a research published by Urban
Land Institute (ULI) and PwC “Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2013,” Manila
ranked 12th out of 22 regional markets ranked in terms of investment prospects
and ninth in terms of development prospects, marking a rapid rise from near the
bottom of the rankings in previous years’ polls.
Manila was ranked 18th in the outlook for
2012 and 20th two years before that. This is the 7th edition of the trends and
forecasts publication, which is based on the opinions of more than 400
internationally renowned real estate professionals, investors and other
stakeholders.
Colin Galloway, principal author of the
report, said in a presentation Thursday night that he was surprised that the
Philippine did not rank even higher given the number of positive updates from
this market. But he said as it would usually take time for all recent
developments to be digested by the market, next year’s edition would likely show
even more favorable results, even catapulting the Philippines to a leading
position.
Manila has fared well in specific property
segments, specially in the secondary or rental apartment residential segment
where it ranked second to Jakarta. The ranking was based on the percentage of
“buy” recommendations of survey respondents as opposed to “hold” or “sell.”
Jakarta had a “buy” rating from 43.62 percent of respondents while Manila had
36.46 percent. The residential rental segment was where Manila got its best
rating in the report although it also ranked high in office (6th) and hotel
(8th) property segments.
Jakarta was named by the report as the top
property market in terms of investment prospects. Other cities that ranked
higher than Manila were Shanghai (2nd), Singapore (3rd), Sydney (4th), Kuala
Lumpur (5th), Bangkok (6th), Beijing (7th), China secondary cities (8th), Taipei
(9th), Melbourne (10th) and Hong Kong (11th).
On the other hand, the cities edged out by
Manila in terms of investment prospects were Tokyo, Seoul, Guangzhou, Shenzhen,
Auckland, Ho Chi Minh, Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi and Osaka.
“Markets in Manila have performed well in
the past couple of years as a result of the growing economy, a transparent and
business-friendly government and the country’s ongoing success—an eye-opener—in
attracting foreign corporate clients to its business process outsourcing (BPO)
facilities,” the report said.
“Bureaucracy has declined and transparency
has improved considerably over the past few years. As a result, Manila’s appeal
as an investment destination climbed from the near-bottom of the rankings in
previous years’ polls,” it said.
The report also noted that a large casino
development has provided impetus to property development and was expected to
boost tourist arrivals when completed in phases over coming years.
But while investment prospects appeared
bright, the report also noted that government regulations that bar foreigners
from holding majority landownership continued to deter international investment.
“What is more, local developers have
little incentive to partner with foreigners given the availability of ample
liquidity from domestic sources. Foreign opportunities, therefore, are likely to
remain restricted to the gaming and BPO sectors. Admittedly, both present large
opportunities, with the latter currently accounting for some 70 percent of new
office take-up in Manila,” the report said.
Judith Lopez, chair and senior partner at
Isla Lipana & Co., PwC member firm, commented: “Manila is in the midst of a
property boom. It’s the best that we’ve seen in decades—clearly a sign of the
increasing confidence in our economy.”
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