Property consultancy firm Colliers said Monday the completion of condominium projects is expected to slow down this year amid elevated interest and mortgage rates and rising prices of construction materials.
Colliers said in a statement about 3,500 condominium units would likely be completed this year, or 61 percent lower than 8,970 units completed in 2022, with The Bay Area and Fort Bonifacio accounting for nearly half of the new supply.
Collier said developers were holding off new project launches because of the challenging business environment.
Colliers recorded the completion of 1,200 condominium units in the first quarter, down 70 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Colliers sees condominium completion bouncing back in 2024, with the delivery of more than 11,000 new condominium units across Metro Manila.
“We project the Bay Area dominating condominium supply across Metro Manila in 2024 as we see the business district overtaking Fort Bonifacio in terms of condominium stock,” said Colliers director of research Joey Roi Bondoc.
“By end-2024, the Bay Area will have about 44,200 condominium units versus Fort Bonifacio’s 43,800 units and the Makati CBD’s 29,700 units. By end-2024, the Bay Area is likely to account for 27 percent of Metro Manila’s condominium stock versus Fort Bonifacio’s 26 percent and Makati CBD’s 18 percent,” he said.
Colliers is also seeing improving demand for condominium units in the secondary market partially due increase take-up from local professionals and expatriates.
Rents and pre-setting take-up of condominium units in the first quarter of the year are expected to show improvement.
“With prevailing rental corrections in major business districts, Colliers believes that now is an opportune time for tenants to rent condominium units in key business hubs across Metro Manila,’ the property consultancy firm said.
It said lease rates for studio and one-bedroom residential units declined by more than 40 percent in the Bay Area amid dampened demand from local professionals and exodus of Chinese employees from the offshore gaming sector.