Residential demand in Cebu is expected to increase this year with lower real estate prices and key infrastructure projects driving the market forward. The city has been the preferred investment destination outside of Metro Manila and that trend will continue in 2021.
“Colliers projects a potential rebound in residential demand in 2021 (in Cebu) and thus sees a faster pace of price increase from 2021 to 2022 to reflect a stronger residential market,” Joey Bondoc, Colliers Philippines Senior Research Manager explained to the Philippine News Agency.
He continued, “The residential sector of the area is at a discount as compared to projects located within the country’s capital. The proliferation of both local and national developers in Cebu has raised land and property values.”
Research from Colliers Philippines found that new project launches and take up both fell in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the consultancy believes both will recover this year on the back of strong residential demand in Cebu.
What’s driving residential demand in Cebu?
Two key factors have been responsible for driving residential demand in Cebu over the past ten years. Firstly, home prices are significantly less than those in Metro Manila which is appealing to buyers. Secondly, a number infrastructure projects will improve the region’s connectivity and boost property prices in the future.
“Over the past few years, we have observed the transformation of Cebu’s skyline with large-scale residential, commercial, retail and hotel developments. The property boom in Cebu offers an alternative metropolitan-paced business lifestyle at a discount to Metro Manila,” Bondoc stated.
Several key infrastructure projects remain the pipeline and these could support the growth of the Cebu and Davao property markets. In Cebu, the Cebu-Cordova expressway, Cebu bus rapid transit, Cebu monorail and Metro Cebu expressway are a few of the possible improvements.