Demand for residential property picking up

MANILA – The demand for residential property has continued to pick up since last year’s dip as more investors take advantage of promotional payment terms in anticipation of market recovery from the pandemic, a property expert said.

During the virtual The ViCon event Thursday, Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) chief executive officer David Leechiu said the demand rebounded for the second quarter this year in a row, with overseas Filipino workers (OFW) remittances showing “great influence” in the movement of the residential real estate price index (RREPI).

“Capital values were modestly affected, thanks to developers who were quick to pivot and maintain market velocity,” he said.

Leechiu said the pandemic has affected residential condominium sales in Metro Manila last year, prompting developers to delay launches till the second half of 2020 and offering unprecedented payment terms.

Unit sales are up by 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2021 from the fourth quarter last year.

“Recovery in the upper-middle to luxury segment is strong with the rest of the segments expected to follow suit,” he added.

Leechiu said the softening of rental rates is seen as temporary and is expected to stabilize once quarantine restrictions ease, vaccine rollout speeds up, and office operations return.

Meanwhile, the Villar Group kicked off the two-day The ViCon, the country’s first and biggest virtual property exposition that would showcase its complete real property offerings from various price points.

It has partnered with banks and an institution in providing affordable home financing to Filipino families, such as AllBank, Banco de Oro, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), UnionBank, and PAG-IBIG Fund that are taking part in The ViCon.

“We felt the need to open a digital window so that we can continue reaching and serving our clients since the pandemic seemed to shut the physical doors for us. The ViCon is just one of the many digital initiatives that we will be unfolding in the future,” chairman Manuel Villar Jr. said in a statement.