‘Property firms still strong amid crisis, typhoons’

MANILA , Philippines – The country’s real estate companies maintained strong sales throughout the year despite the effects of the economic crisis and recent typhoons, according to property consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

“Major (real estate) companies defied the global economic slowdown. A lot of them explored BPOs (business process outsourcing), retail projects…and ended with better-than-expected profits so far this year,” CBRE chairman Rick Santos said.

“We thought that 2009 would be an extremely rough year for the industry, but it showed a lot of positive signs. Everyone’s optimistic now about 2010,” he added.

CBRE director of research Victor Asuncion said retail projects showed the most resilience, including SM hypermarkets, Waltermart, PureGold, and Robinsons supermarkets.

“Most developers are identifying pockets of growth outside Manila to capture a different market and identify niches. Retail for convenience has become the thrust in Metro Manila this year. Outside Metro Manila, it’s the traditional type malls and department stores,” Asuncion noted.

For his part, CBRE vice chairman Joey Radovan said even typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” (international code names Ketsana and Parma, respectively) hardly put a dent in real estate sales, particularly condominium sales.

Radovan said prospects are brighter next year as demand continues to rise. –Michelle Orosa, ABS-CBN News