IT-BPM remains ‘fundamental catalyst’ in PH real estate

The Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry in the Philippines remains to be the biggest contributor in the local real estate market, representing 31% of the total office demand in the first quarter of the year.
In the latest property market briefing by real estate consultancy firm Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), out of the 124,000 square meters (sq.m.) of leasing transactions recorded in Q1, 39,000 sq.m. were from IT-BPO firms.
LPC said that they are confident that the demand would further increase in the coming months as COVID-restrictions are now eased and the country’s borders are now opened for foreign industry players.
Meanwhile, about 358,000 sq.m. of live requirements will likely be completed in the next six months, higher than any quarter in the past year.
The IT-BPM sector will take up the majority of these requirements at 55% or 195,000 sq.m.
Among the major key cities in the country, the majority of office space requirements are located in Metro Manila at 67% while provincial cities are responsible for 33%.
As for property prices, LPC CEO David Leechiu said that it continues “to climb despite the slow down of transactions” in the start of the year.