Cavite and why it’s at the center of property gravity
Cavite has seen tremendous growth in recent years, fueled by its position within the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas (Calaba) corridor, one of the most dynamic areas in the Philippines.
More than just a manufacturing powerhouse, Cavite is a vital link in one of the most active property development corridors outside Metro Manila, benefiting from the region’s swift evolution and expanding property landscape.
As part of Region IV-A, Cavite contributes to one of the country’s most progressive economies. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Region IV-A grew by 5.6 percent in 2024, the third fastest in Luzon and nearly matching the national growth rate of 5.7 percent.
The region also accounted for 15 percent of national output, second only to the National Capital Region (NCR). Services accounted for 47 percent of this economy, while Industry contributed 49 percent, driven in part by Cavite’s brisk manufacturing sector, anchored by its large industrial parks and modern warehouse facilities.
Enhancing connectivity
There’s no doubt that the improvement of road networks in South Luzon enabled Cavite to come to its own as an urban center.
We see Cavite’s continued development as a major property investment destination given the key infrastructure projects launched over the past years, and developers’ aggressive launch of massive masterplanned communities.
In our opinion, the completion of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension should boost residential and leisure-related developments in the province. Once operational, it is expected to cut travel time between Baclaran and Bacoor to 25 minutes from the current 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Other projects in the pipeline include the 45-km Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) which aims to reduce travel time between Cavite and Laguna from 2 hours to 45 minutes, and the 32 km Bataan-Cavite Interlink bridge, which will also cut travel between Bataan and Cavite from 5 hours to just 30 minutes.
Remittance inflows driving residential take-up
Horizontal projects remain attractive, especially those in Calaba.
As of end 2024, lot-only projects in Cavite posted take-up ranging from 50 percent to 100 percent, with upscale to luxury projects (P4 million and above per unit) accounting for more than half of the total take-up. Average lot prices in Cavite hit P19,000 per sqm in 2024, appreciating by 7 percent annually since 2016.
The steady inflow of remittances also ensures stable demand for residential end-use. It helps that South Luzon covered close to a fifth of deployed Filipinos for overseas employment in 2023, according to the PSA.
The appetite for lot-only projects is strong and we believe that demand is coming from end-users planning to build their houses in the future, and investors banking on these projects’ price appreciation potential once resold to the secondary market.
Colliers believes that the sustained take up for lot-only projects is due to sustained price appreciation; greater push for sustainability; rising demand for bigger and more open space space; and improving road network to and from Metro Manila.
Upside for commercial lots
Aside from the usual office, residential lot-only, house and lot, and condominium projects, we expect more firms to launch expansive commercial lots to cater to the expansion plans of businesses in South Luzon.
We see bullish economic prospects for the region, and these—complemented by residents’ growing purchasing power, improving infrastructure connectivity, expanding industrial activities, and rising demand for commercial and institutional facilities such as schools and hospitals—should drive stronger demand for commercial lots.
