Philippine real estate companies must recalibrate their product offerings, particularly in office spaces and residential markets, in order to remain viable amid changing preferences among consumers.
Colliers Philippines Research Director Joey Bondoc said this recommendation is based on the results of their latest webinar poll in August where more than 300 participants responded to survey questions.
“A majority of our respondents chose malls as ideal locations for flexible workspaces. Half of our respondents prefer free parking space bundled with their flexible workspace lease while more than a third chose F&B vouchers,” he said.
About 40 percent of respondents said that malls are viable locations for flexible workspaces followed by hotels (20 percent) and cafes and restaurants (19 percent).
“In our view, flexible workspace operators may consider occupying space in transit-oriented retail developments to entice more mallgoers to take-up flexible workspace,” Bondoc said.
Meanwhile, hotel operators may also consider adding flexible workspaces to complement the accommodation and dining packages that hotels offer to business travelers.
Residential towers are also proving to be attractive locations for flexible workspaces. Developers with new launches should start offering these to potential buyers. Property firms with existing projects should consider allocating flexible space to residents.
Bondoc added that “given the precarious pre-selling condominium market in Metro Manila, it appears that developers need to continue offering flexible and extended payment terms to drum up interest in Metro Manila’s primary market.”
With the subdued demand in the pre-selling market at the height of the pandemic, developers offered attractive promos and discounts to attract potential buyers and investors, including extended and flexible payment terms.
“In our view, developers should continue to be aggressive in offering innovative and attractive promos to re-ignite interest in the Metro Manila pre-selling market," said Bondoc.
“At present, the remaining inventory life (RIL) is nearly five years, much worse than the RIL of about a year annually from 2017 to 2019... With lackluster demand, it is imperative for developers to be more creative and flexible with their downpayment and early move-in promos,” he added.
Bondoc also noted that nearly 30 percent of respondents still opt for a condominium unit within a central business district (CBD) as their next residential investment.
Outside of the capital region, more than half opted for a beachfront property and lot only unit.
About 28 percent of respondents chose beachfront properties as their next residential investment. Some property firms are ramping up their differentiation strategy by developing leisure or resort-themed projects.
Colliers data showed that these projects were already popular pre-Covid but the pandemic only highlighted the strong take-up for these leisure-centric residential enclaves.
Some of these leisure-oriented projects are dispersed across Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Cebu, Davao. The demand for these projects should also get a boost from the recovery of the country’s travel and tourism sector,” Bondoc said.