Consolacion eyed as growth area for real estate industry

CEBU, Philippines — Priland Development Corporation is set to build 196 houses in Consolacion town, which the company deems a potential growth area for real estate development.

Company officials announced yesterday the property developer is investing some P266 million for the Belize North project in Nangka, Consolacion in northern Cebu.

The 2.2-hectare project is set to start land development by November this year and is set to be completed in two years.

Irvin Pastoriza, company sales manager, said Consolacion is one of  the growth areas in northern Cebu for real estate, saying it's the second logical destination for property projects after Mandaue City.

Belize North is the third project launched by the company this year as part of the company’s plan to build 10 projects in the next three years in Cebu. 

Company president Ramon Carlo Yap also announced the company will soon launch another project in Consolacion, which is a mixed-use development.

This will be a 42-hectare project in Barangay Hogan in the town.

Yap said the first phase of  the project will be launched by end of  2019 or first quarter of 2020.

He said this is a four phase project which is currently in the planning stage.

The official also cited the developer is also looking to launch another housing project in Barangay Pardo in Cebu City.

Marcelino Relampagos, general manager, said the market for real estate projects is still in northern Cebu although the southern part has also seen an increasing number of property developments particularly in the town of Minglanilla and cities of Naga and Talisay. 

Pastoriza also said the company has to expand outside Cebu City considering the saturation of projects in the city center.

"We need to spread to other areas such as Balamban, Lapu-Lapu City and other areas," he said.

Priland Development Corporation is part of a group of companies that also owns Prifood, Pricon, Da Vinci’s Pizza, Conceptology Worx, and formerly ThreeSixty Pharmacy. The company’s real estate portfolio includes Northwoods Residences in Mandaue City and the Breeza series in Lapu-Lapu City.

Based on Colliers International's Cebu residential report as of second quarter of 2017, given relatively reasonable land prices outside the capital, developers are more willing to build house and lots in locations outside Cebu City.

Lapu-Lapu has the majority of  the share with 14,300 units or 55 percent of Cebu’s horizontal stock. Cebu City has only 36 percent while Mandaue has 9 percent.

The noted decline in take-up has been minimal and Colliers expects demand to rise with new launches given that Cebu remains as a major business hub outside of Metro Manila.

The activity in the Cebu residential market has also seen a shift from a largely leisure play, to one that also offers opportunity for end-users, according to Colliers.

Today, new projects are available alongside the leisure options which cater primarily to investors.

Despite the slowdown in the number of condo launches, Colliers still expects over 17,000 units to be completed between now and 2020.

"These will further expand the options for buyers in the major Visayan province that has seen more demand from end-users," it said.

Moreover, continuous development of  Cebu Business Park and Cebu IT Park has also been noticeable.

Consequently, end-user demand will continue to come from employees of  multinational companies, manufacturing firms and business process outsourcing entities. (FREEMAN)