Philippine property developers are unfazed by the restiveness at the political front, especially with the coming midterm elections, as they are focused on infrastructure being built and pro-business policies recently implemented by the government which will help the industry boost sales and leases.
Colliers Philippines Director and Research Head Joey Roi Bondoc said developers are tuning out political noise and are more concerned with relevant legislation such as the National Land Use Bill or the Right of Way Acquisition Act.
“I think developers, investors, buyers, and businessmen were able to isolate this political bias from the usual daily business,” Bondoc said at the company’s briefing.
He also noted that, with the mid-term elections coming in May, local government units are ramping up the completion of infrastructure projects to beat the election ban.
“As we always say, when you look at these infrastructure projects, they have the potential to raise the prices of property, of land that you own,” Bondoc said, noting that the last national elections had a positive impact on real estate sales, especially 12 months after the election of a new president.
He also pointed out that “The government, not just the current administration, but even the previous administration implemented a lot of crucial reforms,” and the liberalization of the economy had a positive impact on retail space absorption and office space take up.
Bondoc noted that the country’s removal from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) also had a positive impact on the country’s real estate sector.
“It reduces the transaction cost for a lot of Filipinos working abroad, therefore, allowing them to send more money to the Philippines and as you saw the residential purchases or money being allocated to residential leasing,” he said, adding that this means more money will also be funneled into the real estate sector.