IT-BPM firms drive PH property sector to close at 1M sq.m.
The Philippine information technology business process management (IT-BPM) sector drove the country’s office space demand to strongly close at 975,000 sq.m., surpassing 2020’s and 2021’s combined demand of 929,000 sq.m.
According to Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) the IT-BPM accounted for 466,000 sq.m. of the office spaces despite the dominance of the hybrid set-up which allowed some employees to work from home and the rest, on-site.
“Up to mid-2022, it was difficult to visualize year-end demand hitting close to the 1 million sqm. mark,” Leechiu recalled. “The results have exceeded expectations but we can’t put our guard down just yet.” David Leechiu, LPC chief executive officer said in a virtual briefing.
From only 124k sq.m. in the first quarter of the year, office demand peaked during the third quarter at 313k sq.m.
LPC said take-up leveled off in the fourth quarter to 283k sq.m. but with growth likely to continue in 2023 given a notable live requirement of 352k sq.m.
“We thus will start the new year cautiously optimistic about the prospects of the real estate industry in the next 12 months,” said Leechiu.
He noted that sustained demand for office spaces is tempered by significant vacancies in some business districts and additional supply from new buildings to be completed in 2023.
Of the total 2022 office demand, Metro Manila accounted for 724k sq.m. or around 74 per cent with BGC taking up 232k sq.m. and Makati, 198k sq.m. Of the remaining 26% representing transactions outside of Metro Manila or 250k sq.m., Cebu City took up 92k sq.m., followed by Davao at 50k sq.m., and Clark at 49k sq.m.
