FEW BUMPS ON THE ROAD FOR CEBU’S PROPERTY SECTOR

While stakeholders are bullish about the sector’s growth in 2019, some issues such as the hike in interest rates and the slow approval of licenses to sell could dampen the rosy outlook

Amid the challenges the country faced in 2018, the property sector remained resilient and is expected to reap even more opportunities this year.

Industry stakeholders reported a healthy performance in 2018.

But despite the rosy outlook, they also pointed out some challenges this year, including the hike in interest rates, which could affect the buying momentum, or the decision to ramp up the expansion activities of developers.

“Rising interest rates could dampen low to mid-income residential demand over the next 12 to 24 months. We believe that a volatile interest rate environment could entice local developers to be more open to partnering with foreign firms,” said property consulting firm Colliers International Philippines, in a statement.

Scarcity of construction workers is another big challenge in the property market.

“(There is) increasing scarcity of skilled labor as real estate competes for the same labor requirements as Build Build Build and those going to work abroad. This puts pressure on the cost structure, as continuing problems on increasing land prices, and access to reasonably priced land still subsist,” said Marcelino Mendoza, president of Organization of Socialized and Economic Housing Developers of the Philippines.

The shortage of skilled labor has compelled Mandani Bay to invest in technology to assist them in some stages of construction.

Jeffrey Lun, project advisor of Mandani Bay, said they will use precast technology to make construction more efficient and less dependent on people.

“By next year, we will be needing 3,000 to 4,000 construction workers but as soon as we adopt to precast technology, the headcount might be around 3,500,” said Lun, adding that this is their strategy to lessen their dependence on human resources.

“With all the construction going on, everybody is fighting over these skilled workers,” he said.

Colliers, on the other hand, sees continued private construction delays due to the acute shortage of skilled workers and ramped up implementation of public infrastructure projects.

The speedy issuance of license to sell (LTS) is another area developers want to see progress this year.

“On the government side, the challenge is on how they could fast track the release of permits,” said Mandani Bay project director Gilbert Ang.

According to property marketer Anthony Gerard, about 90 percent of the projects for 2018 were not unveiled to the market because some developers were not able to meet some of the re-

With all the construction going on, everybody is fighting over skilled workers. JEFFREY LUN

Mandani Bay project advisor