Despite the condo slump in key Metro Manila districts, Colliers Philippines said leisure-focused developments and golf communities, which are typically outside the capital, continue to soar.
“At Colliers, one key recommendation that we have for investors is to choose projects in townships due to possible yield and price enhancement,” said Joey Bondoc, Colliers Philippines director for research.
Strong residential take-up
“We project strong rental and price increase potential for residential projects near or within golf communities, especially with the growing demand for green and more open spaces,” he said.
“We also see greater opportunities for similar residential developments given the strong rebound prospects for the country’s travel and tourism sector,” he added.
Golf was hot even before the pandemic
Developers are taking notice, and many are doubling down on this trend.
“Colliers data showed that these projects were already popular pre-Covid but the pandemic only highlighted the need for these leisure-themed residential enclaves,” Bondoc noted.
With take-up rates ranging from 60 percent to as much as 100 percent, these projects are commanding premium prices. These range from P214,000 to as much as P590,000 per square meter at the end of last year, data from Colliers Philippines showed.
Take note: these are relatively high-end investments
“These are among the most expensive in the market but are doing very well,” Bondoc said.
“These encouraging figures should entice firms to further test these leisure-led developments, including those that offer golf courses,” he added.
Some of the projects highlighted by Colliers are Villar City in Las Piñas, Lialto Beach and Golf Estates (Megaworld Corp.) in Batangas, and Anvaya Cove (Ayala Land) in Bataan.
Infrastructure improvements give further boost
“Improving infrastructure backbone will be an important consideration for developers especially those planning to launch residential properties located within or near a golf community. Even enthusiasts planning to visit the golf community will be enticed by the availability of game-changing infrastructure that will likely be completed in the near term,” Bondoc said.
“A golf community is not just a crowd-drawer but also something the property firms can leverage to showcase future residential projects to golf enthusiasts that are also a very good market for high-end residential developments,” he explained.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
