First of two parts
The Philippine economy’s expansion has been resulting in a more inclusive growth, benefiting a gamut of economic sectors including property. The impressive growth of our economy post-covid is proving to be beneficial for key areas outside of the national capital region (AONCR), resulting in a more aggressive expansion of masterplanned communities offering office, residential, leisure, retail, and industrial projects.
When looking for ideal property investment sites outside Metro Manila, key cities in central and western Visayas stand out. These cities’ competitiveness and attractiveness are supported by improving infrastructure network, sustained regional economic growth, rising purchasing power fueled by remittances from Filipinos working abroad, and continued upskilling of college graduates.
What’s important to note is that while we see some challenges for Metro Manila’s office and condominium segments, key cities outside of Metro Manila continue to perform well, helping offset the stifled demand within the capital region.
Central and Western Visayas’ thriving BPO attractiveness
Cebu, Bacolod, and Iloilo are pillars of BPO sector in the Visayas region. These localities continue to attract major outsourcing firms and developers continue to build office projects in these key cities to house outsourcing firms looking for viable sites outside of Metro Manila.
Outside of Metro Manila, Cebu remains as the major outsourcing hub. In 2024, we recorded the delivery of 4,100 sq metres (44,100 sq feet) of new office space in Cebu. From 2025 to 2027, we project the annual delivery of about 90,400 sq metres (972,700 sq feet) of new office space with Cebu Business Park and Reclamation Area cornering a combined 59% of the new supply. Among the notable transactions include spaces occupied by Foundever, Optum, XtendOps, ResultsCX, EMAPTA and Cloudstaff. In 2024, Metro Cebu accounted for nearly a third of office space deals closed outside of Metro Manila.
Iloilo accounted for 11% of the total transactions in areas outside national capital region (AONCR) in 2024. Some of the notable BPO locators in Iloilo include Teletech, IQor, Reed Elsevier, Concentrix, Hinduja Global Solutions, Telus, WNS, Carelon Global Solutions, Transcom, TDCX and Nearsol. In 2024, about 103,600 sq metres of new office space were completed in Iloilo with the delivery of SM Strata Tower 1, Atria Technohub 1, Robinsons Cybergate Iloilo Tower 3, Enterprise One and the International Corporate Plaza.
Meanwhile, Bacolod accounted for 8% of total office deals in AONCR in 2024 (17,000 sq meters). Some of the major BPOs that presently occupy space in Bacolod are Teleperformance, IQor, InteLogix, Transcom, Teletech, Ubiquity, and Panasiatic Solutions, major players in the industry. Office vacancy in Bacolod improved to 25.5% as of end-2024, from 26.4% in 2023.
Thriving residential hotspots
Colliers believes that residential demand in Cebu should be supported by regional economic growth, inflow of remittances, and sustained BPO investment. Developers should further explore opportunities in the market but these strategies should revolve around the continued offering of attractive promos and flexible payment schemes as well as exploration of alternative locations for residential development.
The BPO market in Cebu also continues to expand. Cebu continues to be one of most active provincial site in terms of BPO leasing. Colliers Philippines believes that the continued absorption from outsourcing and traditional tenants should sustain office leasing demand in Cebu.
Bacolod city is attracting national players, and we see this resulting in the development of more master-planned communities and a further expansion of the city’s residential stock. The entry of national developers is also raising the prices of vertical and horizontal projects, indicative of property firms’ confidence in the purchasing power of Bacolod city’s investors and end users.
Developers should further assess Bacolod market’s reception for upscale projects, especially in light of newly launched residential towers by national developers. In our view, property firms are likely to further test the market by introducing new investment products (i.e., condotels, commercial lots, serviced apartments.)
Meanwhile, Iloilo is one of the major residential hubs in the Visayas region. The city continues to attract outsourcing locators while the region as a whole is one of the major recipients of remittances from Filipinos working abroad, fueling investor and end-user appetite for residential developments. The city’s thriving business landscape continues to attract national developers, building more residential communities and banking on the city’s improving infrastructure.
Iloilo’s thriving business landscape is partly buoyed by a constantly expanding outsourcing sector which continues to attract national developers to launch more office and residential projects in the city. While residential condominium developments are concentrated in Mandurriao, Iloilo’s main business district, some developers are beginning to explore other districts in the city ripe for upscale and luxury residential developments.
To be continued.
* * *
For feedback, please email joey.bondoc@colliers.com
#PropertyReportFeature
#FeaturedStory
