PROSPECTS OF PH REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY REMAINS ROSY, SAYS PROPERTY CONSULTANCY FIRM

Property consultancy firm Santos Knight Frank remains bullish in the prospects of the real estate sector this year, citing the continued growth of the information technology and business process outsourcing industry.

In a briefing on Thursday, chair and CEO Rick Santos noted the rosy outlook this year of the sector, particularly office space, which relies on the growth of the IT- BPO firms.

He said the country remained the “most attractive inbound investment destination” in the region for IT- BPO firms that were after the Philippine demographics, currency exchange, competitive labor cost, and continuous infrastructure development.

“We expect the IT- BPO sector to sustain its upward trajectory especially as the gov- ernment paves more growth opportunities in areas such as Clark, Cebu and Iloilo through an aggressive infrastructure program,” he said.

He stopped short of noting how the office space sub- sector would be affected by the Duterte administration’s first package of the comprehensive tax reform bill, which would trim the tax perks being enjoyed by the IT- BPO firms.

Given the economic importance of the industry, however, he said the government and the private sector should continue to dialogue “to create a win- win environment in light of all of this.”

In the first quarter of the year, Santos Knight Frank Senior director John Corpus said BPOs accounted for 80 to 90 percent of office space demand.

He said there were over 74, 600 square meters of new stock with occupancy rate of 98.43 percent.