PH office demand to increase by 39% in 2021
The Philippine office demand is expected to increase by 39% to over 540,000 square meters (sqm.) in 2021 from last year’s 389,000 sqm, according to a study by real estate company Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC).
The report stated that this figure ensures steady growth levels in 2022 and will help the country retain its position as one of the world’s largest office markets in terms of transaction volume.
During the last quarter of the year, office take-up went up by 74% to 160,000 sqm. from Q3’s 92,000 sqm.
One of the main drivers of this surge is the IT-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry, accounting for 81,000 sqm. of the demand.
LPC CEO David Leechiu predicts that the 2022 office market will “most likely bounce back to 2016 levels — prior to the hyper, POGO-driven years from 2017 to 2019.”
Meanwhile, despite the slight contraction increase in Q4 to 105,000 sqm., LPC Director For Commercial Leasing Mikko Barranda said this is still “a far cry” from last year’s 200,000 sqm. to 250,000 sqm. levels.
Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) accounted for 56,000 sqm of the fourth quarter vacancy total, while 15,000 sqm are for IT-BPM companies.
