The country’s leading organization of licensed real estate practitioners, Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines (REBAP), recently held its annual national convention themed “Ignite, Inspire, Innovate – Empowering Certified Real Estate Brokers,” in the prestigious Baguio Country Club.
Now on its 41st edition, REBAP invited prominent real estate experts to share their knowledge on what’s shaping the Philippines’ real estate industry.
Featured industry experts included Dennis Velasco, CEO of Prosperna, who discussed digital transformation of the Philippine real estate sector; PDP Architects founder Catherine Saldaña, who delved on sustainability in Philippine real estate; Alejandro Mañalac of Keller Williams Philippines, who shared his expertise on being a globally competitive real estate professional; and Pinnacle Real Estate president and managing director Michael Mabutol, who gave the delegates an overview of the Philippine real estate market and forecasts for the coming year.
“Real estate players are still building due to undersupply with overall absorption at 90% and further revamping their capital expenditures,” said Mabutol during his presentation.
According to Mabutol, record-breaking capital expenditures (CAPEX) of the country’s major players is an indicator of the country’s exuberant real estate market. “Ayala Land’s Php130 billion CAPEX is higher than 2018’s Php110.1 billion, 40 percent of which will go to residential development. SMDC, on the other hand, announced that they are planning to add some 15,000 to 20,000 residential units to its portfolio in 2019.”
For the commercial sector, aside from Chinese and Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese industry players are now starting to drive demand for office spaces. Mabutol adds: “Office occupancy is quite high thanks to demand from the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry.”
The office sector is foreseen to hit Php8 billion revenue, according to state-controlled Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). “BPOs will easily backfill the requirements should POGOs close,” Mabutol said. “The sound market continues its upward trajectory and we expect it to end well this year.
Aside from industry experts, key government officials also graced the convention, chief of whom is Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong who led the ribbon-cutting ceremony. REBAP’s organizing committee also invited Ofelia Binag, Chairman of Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service (PRBRES), to share an update on the current initiatives of the PRC board, and Director Angel Aguila (on behalf of HUDCC’s Eduardo del Rosario) as the event’s keynote speaker.
