Land values in major districts in the country exceeded pre-pandemic levels due to improving economic conditions, Leechiu Property Consultant said Wednesday.
LPC chief executive David Leechiu said in a news briefing transactions for commercial lots in Bonifacio Global City, Arca South and Filinvest City hit record highs this year.
He said prices of commercial lots that in BGC now range from P800,000 to P1.75 million per square meter.
Leechiu said given the improving economic conditions and declining COVID numbers, land values across business districts would keep rising in 2022 and speed up in the following years.
The accelerated vaccine rollout, along with easing quarantine and travel restrictions, also helped increase land values in provincial areas and major tourist spots across the country, he said.
Leechiu said that in the office space sector, demand in 2022 was expected to bounce back to 2016 levels but not yet the peak levels in 2019, as offshore gaming firms had not made significant comeback.
He said business process outsourcing firms would continue to be the largest single demand driver in the next few years.
Leechiu said outsourcing firms would account for 132,000 square meters of the 224,000 sq. m. live requirements that would likely be concluded in the first half of 2022.
“The breakthrough in digitization brought about by the pandemic has also benefitted many other firms now on expansion mode and contributing to demand,” Leechiu said.
Office demand in 2021 would likely hit 540,000 sq. m., up 39 percent from 389,000 recorded in 2020.
Office take-up surged by 74 percent in the fourth quarter to 160,000 sq. m. from 92,000 sq. m. posted in the third quarter. With two more weeks left until the end of the year, the 2021 full-year take-up would likely to surpass the 540,000 sq. m. and help the Philippines retain its standing as one of the world’s largest office markets in terms of transaction volume, Leechiu said.
Rental rates are also holding up on continued strong demand from BPOs and multinational companies, he said.