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http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20100712-280732/High-end-Makati-lots-seen-hitting-P100ksqm

High-end Makati lots seen hitting P100k/sqm

By Daxim Lucas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: July 12, 2010

THE VALUE of high-end real estate in Metro Manila’s premier business district is expected to rise further in the
coming years amid positive investor sentiment brought by the smooth ascent to power of President Benigno Aqu ino
III.

More importantly, the optimistic outlook is expected to permeate through the rest of the Philippines with the total
value of economic output expected to grow by as much as 4.3 percent in 2010 from only 0.9 percent in the
previous year.

According to property consulting firm Cuervo Far East, land values in high-end subdivisions in Makati City are
expected to breach the P100,000-a-square-meter level as early as this year, after dipping to about P65,000/sqm in
2001 to 2003.

In a recently released study, Cuervo Far East pointed out that the renewed interest in the property sector was due
to the change in government as well as the perception of greater political stability following the recent electoral
exercise.

“With the steady recovery of the global economy, land values are expected to increase modestly between 5 and 10
percent from now until 2013, with an annual 10-percent increase for the two years thereafter,” the firm said.

Cuervo Far East examined the market for property inside posh villages in Makati City and looked at the land values
of choice cuts and less desirable or perimeter lots from 2005 to this year.

All villages covered in the study—Bel-Air, North and South Forbes, Dasmariñas, San Lorenzo, Urdaneta and
McKinley Hill—registered substantial increases in land values, with some villages outperforming their peer
significantly.

Among the subdivisions covered, the best performing was Bel-Air 1, 3 and 4, with land values increasing 125
percent from P40,000/sqm in 2005 to P90,000/sqm this year for choice cuts. The study attributed this to the so -
called “Rockwell phenomenon” as the village benefited from the development of the adjacent Rockwell Land
property.

The second best performer for the period was San Lorenzo Village with choice lots rising from P43,000/sqm in
2005 to P78,000 today, for an 81-percent increase.

Other prime Makati neighborhoods registered an increase of at least 25 percent over the last five years, with North
Forbes lots rising by 38 percent to P90,000/sqm.

Dasmariñas Village prices rose between 25 and 35 percent—or as high as P102,000/sqm —for premium lots, while
Urdaneta Village prices rose between 30 and 50 percent.

Cuervo Far East said its forecast for the next fi ve years was favorable for current owners and investors planning to
make aggressive moves, given the expected 40-percent upside in prices over the next five years.

The company’s view was reinforced by similar positions by brokerage firm Macquarie Securities and property
management firms Jones Lang LaSalle and Colliers International.

Macquarie, in particular, said that the administration of President Aquino “will usher in a fresh start for the
government” since it has the mandate “to institute reforms needed to enable the economy to grow by more than the
4-percent average of the past 10 years.”

For these reasons, average prime residential capital values are expected to reach as high as P104,000 next year.