BIZ BUZZ: More eyeballs, more buyers?

There seemed to have been some anxiety surrounding the local real estate market earlier this year, especially with brokers flashing warning signs about how it would take years to clear the inventory in Metro Manila.

But the fears appear to have died down—or ease for a bit, at least—by the end of the first quarter.

Both Colliers Philippines and Leechiu Property Consultants Inc. saw some improvement in terms of take-up and remaining inventory.

Of course, it should come as no surprise that DMCI Homes, one of the country’s property giants, benefited from this.

The company has said that more prospective buyers have visited its project sites in the first five months of the year.

DMCI Homes’ client site visits during the period surged by 70 percent to 6,741. And this usually means more potential buyers despite what is perceived to be a property slump.

“A lot of people are still eager to buy, but I think affordability issues are out there and also because of the reported oversupply in condo units,” DMCI Homes president Alfredo Austria said.

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“What’s good is that there are a lot of RFO (ready-for-occupancy) units now and they can see for themselves the quality and value that each developer is offering,” he adds. “I think that is good because we’ve been focusing on improving quality and value for the customer.”

RFO units also accounted for 47 percent of DMCI Homes’ total condominium sales from January to May, a big jump from just 14 percent last year.

Is the local property market finally seeing the light? We hope so!