Office space demand from ESL, offshore gaming firms rises
Outsourcing and offshore gaming firms are the top occupiers of office space in Cebu, while demand from English as a Second Language (ESL) tutorial centers is rising, according to Colliers International Philippines. The property advisory company, in its Cebu Office Report, revealed that Cebu Business Park and Cebu IT Park remain the top areas where office demand is highest. The two locations saw vacancies of only 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively, despite the entire metro area witnessing vacancies of 6.5% in Q4 2018, lower than the 9.7% recorded in the same period of 2017. About 82,500 sq.m. of new office space was delivered in 2018, 67% of which was in the Cebu IT Park and 18% at Cebu Business Park, bringing last year’s total office stock in Metro Cebu to 1.052 million sq.m., up 9% year-on-year. The report showed that developers prefer to construct office towers in the main business districts as spaces in these areas are quickly absorbed by outsourcing companies, with ESL tutorial centers poised to become one of the key office demand drivers.
