Lapu-Lapu City among most searched by property buyers
Lapu-Lapu City emerged as one of the most searched locations for properties in the Visayas, a latest survey by global online property guide and service provider Lamudi Philippines revealed.
Interested buyers who are surfing online for properties are mostly looking for houses or house and lot packages, and condominiums located in LapuLapu City, either for rent or for sale, the survey indicated.
For the first quarter of this year, combined search volumes for houses and condos within the Lapu-Lapu City area increased by 21 percent
In addition, the survey found out that looking at compound average growth rate (CAGR) using search data from the first six months of 2016, condos for sale and condos for rent have the highest growth rate in search volume, at 9.69 percent and 10.91 percent, respectively.
Lapu-Lapu City is closely followed by Cebu City as most searched locations in Central Visayas for the first couple of months this year.
This historic resort City grew an average 2.94 percent from 2010 to 2015, according to data from the Philippine Statistical Authority, and now stands at 408,112, according to the 2015 Census.
The survey also projected that over the next few years, the city will see the opening of more BPO offices, mixed-use townships, and resort-oriented developments, which will bring in more employment opportunities to the citizens of the City.
Likewise, Lamudi also included the presence of international resort chains on the island, which lured people to own a property within the vicinity.
It mentioned the Punta Engaño section and neighboring areas, a peninsula jutting out from Mactan Island’s northeastern corner. This area is where many of the city’s most upscale resorts and developments are located, including Discovery Bay Resorts and Residences, Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa, Mövenpick Hotel, and Megaworld Corporation’s Mactan Newtown, and the upcoming Sheraton Residences.
These new developments are perhaps one reason why many consider relocating to Lapu-Lapu City, as shown by data from Lamudi for the first six months of 2016.
Most of searches for Lapu-Lapu properties are not coming from LapuLapu itself, but from other places.
Data from Lamudi shows that 35 percent of search volume for Lapu-Lapu properties originated from neighboring Cebu City, while 8.2 percent and 5.5 percent of searches came from Quezon City and Makati, respectively.
In addition, and although still small, 1.24 percent, 1.02 percent, and 0.88 percent of the total search volume for Lapu-Lapu City originated from online property-hunters based in Dubai, Singapore, and Sydney, respectively.
"This shows that real estate in Lapu-Lapu, particularly houses and condos, are becoming popular not only among Cebu-based property-hunters but also among those based in Metro Manila and in other countries. Whether this will continue into the future remains to be seen, but highly likely given how progressive Lapu-Lapu City is becoming," the survey stated.