Russian homebuilder bullish on Philippine prospects

MANILA, Philippines — Demand for real estate units in Metro Manila will return to pre-pandemic levels once workplaces require their employees to report in office, Russian homebuilder PIK.

PIK head project manager for international developments Gasan Guseynov said the firm opted to build its first residential project in the Philippines this year to stay ahead of the competition for property buyers.

Guseynov said the trend wherein workers are moving outside the metropolitan areas would stay for now, but would be reversed once employers require their employees to report to office similar to what Moscow is experiencing.

“It’s quite similar to what is happening in Moscow. During the first year of pandemic, quite a lot of people have thought about moving to the provinces, and the market for real estate in the city has decreased in 2020,” Guseynov said.

“We think people in 2021 realized they still have jobs and offices that are located in the city. The travel time from the provinces to the city is quite difficult, that’s why I think the trends are coming back more on the urbanization and more people coming into the city,” he said.

PIK has started to construct One Sierra, its first condominium in the country, at the southbound side of EDSA in Mandaluyong City.

PIK country head for the Philippines Mai Yang said a studio-type unit of 31 square meters costs about P7 million, while a two-bedroom unit of 84 sqm may cost up to P16 million.

One Sierra is scheduled to be finished by 2024, and the handover of units will begin by the third quarter of that year.

The Moscow-based firm chose Mandaluyong as the location for its first project in the Philippines due to its proximity to the business districts and infrastructure projects in Metro Manila.

Further, PIK projects demand for quality homes in the nation’s capital to improve over time.

“We chose this time to launch our project because it shows in the market trends in 2020 that the demand for quality homes is rising in Manila and in the Philippines. We just think it will continue to grow and we want to be there to supply for this demand for quality homes,” Guseynov said.

Based on data from Leechiu Property Consultants, the pandemic failed to dampen the demand for premium units priced P4 million and above.

However, limited inventory and lack of access to funding reduced the requirement for lower and middle income units ranging between P1.4 million and P4 million.