Office space demand in Cebu to rise by Q4

CEBU, Philippines —  Demand for office spaces in Cebu is forecasted to rise towards the fourth quarter, as companies in Metro Manila are setting up satellite offices in other urban cities and regions.

In a webinar hosted by JLL Philippines yesterday on Cebu’s real estate market—an overview on pandemic era and beyond, the company’s head for research and consultancy Janlo de los Reyes, said that Cebu’s promising infrastructure build, good reputation of talent pool, and other positive attributes, make it the top pick location for companies’ decentralization program under the new normal environment.

From a dismal rental or leasing activity performance in the last few months due to lockdown and continuous work-from-home arrangement by companies, office rental activities are expected to move up towards the end of the year, as companies which are headquartered in Metro Manila are looking at Cebu as attractive and strategic location for satellite offices.

Instead of maintaining a centralized operation in one location, the new normal era dictates companies to disperse operational set-up, and satellite offices going to be on trend for long term, added Reyes.

In the third quarter 2020, Cebu captured only one percent of the total transaction activities in the entire country. This is way below than what it gained in the second quarter amid the lockdown restrictions.

Office leasing transactions in the third quarter is driven by renewal of rentals and new (office) space releases.

At present, Cebu’s total office space is 90 percent located at the Cebu IT Park and Cebu Business Park, both are developed by Ayala-led companies.

Moreover, De los Reyes mentioned that Cebu has gotten a lot of inquiries in the third quarter of the year. These inquiries are coming from diverse corporation Metro Manila, as well as Cebu-based businesses.

Creating satellite offices are vital in the new normal times, as companies are trying to set up offices near their employees’ residential locations.