Residential Market Remains Vibrant

Pueblo de Oro remains bullish of the Philippine real estate market despite some Asian economies having slightly slowed down as a result of the US-China trade war. With the approval of the 2020 national budget, the falling interest rates, the 6.2% forecasted GDP in 2020 and the general macroeconomic conditions, we see a vibrant and sustained growth in the near term for the real estate industry.

This optimism is shared by Colliers International in its Asia Market Outlook 2020 for the Philippines. This is further supported by the research arm of Morgan Stanley where it forecasted double digit in pre-sales and profit of the real estate industry in 2020.

We believe that the country’s “Build, Build, Build” program and its success to improve the country’s infrastructure backbone will further boost the growth of the real estate industry and greatly stimulate development outside of Manila. The provinces that would directly benefit from the government’s infrastructure plan would be Pampanga, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao and Bulacan. Relatedly, this would boost land development opportunities to nearby provinces and cities such as Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and Batangas.

We took great consideration in aligning our real estate plans with the Build-Build-Build program as this govenment project will have an enormous impact on the direction of real estate development in the coming years. Construction of diversion roads, railways, airports and seaports outside of Metro Manila is a major advantage for Pueblo de Oro considering that two of our project sites, Pampanga and Cebu, are already beneficiaries of this program.

In Cebu province, the Talisay-Minganilla-Naga and MandaueConsolacion-Liloan bypass roads, and the Cebu-Cordova Bridge are expected to be completed in 2021. Moreover, the 74-kilometer Metro Cebu Expressway that will span from Naga City in the south to Danao City in the north of Cebu province is expected to be completed in 2022. These government projects should further unlock the growth potential of our properties in Lapu-Lapu City. Moreover, in Pampanga, the Pampanga Skyway 3 in 2020, the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road in 2021, the SubicClark Cargo Railway in 2022, and the Manila-Clark Passenger Railway in 2022 are all expected to further boost the demand of our communities in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Complementing the government’s development program and addressing the growing demand for quality, affordable, and value-packed homes, Pueblo de Oro will continue venturing into residential projects, especially in second-tier and third-tier cities where the demand primarily comes from end-user buyers. These cities may be smaller compared to cities in Metro Manila, but they are more stable when it comes to end user housing demand.

True to our mission and commitment of creating a unique mix of residential communities, we will continue to housing projects and commercial hubs that will breath life to an active and booming community.

Ronald Allan A. Uy

VP and General Manager – Visayas