Recent Lamudi data show upscale condo rentals in popular central business districts (CBDs) flexed double-digit growth in leads.
In Makati, for instance, the leads for condo rentals priced between P60,000 to P100,000 surged by almost 90 percent from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, the largest spike out of all other price segments.
In Taguig, the leads for condo rentals with a price range of P200,000 to P500,000 doubled in the same period.
The top sources of leads for rentals in Makati, Pasig and Taguig were roughly split between property seekers within and outside Metro Manila.
Four out of the top 10 sources of leads for each city with a CBD were cities located outside the National Capital Region (NCR).
Six out of the top 10 sources of inquiries for Makati, Pasig and Taguig were from cities within Metro Manila, with Quezon City and the City of Manila contributing the most leads in each. The remaining four in each CBD assessed varied.
At least two cities from Mega Manila, such as Angeles, Antipolo, Bacoor, Calamba, and Lipa, were among the top sources of leads in each of the CBDs assessed.
Property seekers from the CALABA cities are likely to be looking at renting in the CBDs for work. Pull factors such as the comparably larger number of job opportunities at the several information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) companies and large corporate headquarters based in Metro Manila CBDs continue to be a major driver of rentals.
Lamudi data also show the majority of inquiries from seekers from Bacoor, Calamba and Lipa looking for rentals in CBDs were for rooms to rent, bed spaces and studio units – smaller spaces that point to seekers wishing to rent solo or share spaces with roommates, as opposed to renting as a family.
Seekers from these cities are also younger, with all leads coming from seekers aged 18 to 34. Inquiries from Metro Manila-based seekers were mostly for one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and studio units.
Leads from Metro Manila- based seekers were also heavily concentrated in condominium units whereas leads from Luzon-based seekers outside NCR were more evenly distributed between apartments and condominium units.
Employees of IT-BPM firms, an industry employing roughly 1.3 million Filipinos, were affected by Fiscal Incentives Review Board calls for ecozone locators to return to full office operations by April 1 in order to avail of tax incentives.
The mandate coincides with spikes in residential rental inquiries for CBD listings on Lamudi in the first quarter from both inside and outside Metro Manila – possibly driven by employees returning from their hometowns and seeking rentals nearer to their office.
“While this offers promising opportunities for real estate players, it also presents challenges, primarily in making commercial spaces appealing to employees who have become used to working from home,” said Kenneth Stern, Lamudi chief executive officer.
