Provincial hubs step into the property spotlight
Colliers Philippines believes geographic diversification is highly important given current property market dynamics.
While certain sub-locations in Metro Manila are facing challenges in office absorption and ready-for-occupancy (RFO) condominium take-up, property firms are countering these by launching new projects outside the capital region.
Over the past few years—even priori to the pandemic—developers have actively explored high growth areas for residential development, including key localities in Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin).
Priming Negros Occidental’s horizontal
Colliers Philippines believes that Negros Occidental will remain a dynamic property hub in VisMin.
Property prices continue to increase, indicating a growing appetite for real estate projects in the province. Negros Occidental also continues to corner interest from national developers planning to further expand their residential, office, retail, and hotel footprint in Visayas.
Negros Occidental enjoys tremendous economic opportunities, and these should be complemented by the implementation of game-changing public projects such as a railway system, bridges, and highways.
Among the projects we believe will further raise land and property prices in Negros Occidental is the P188-billion Panay–Guimaras–Negros Inter-Island Link Bridge; the P70-billion Panay Railway System, which will cover the reconstruction of the existing 117-km railway line and integration with the new 141-km railway line passing through the cities of Iloilo, Capiz, and Aklan; and the P8-billion Bacolod-Negros Occidental Economic Highway.
These projects are also seen to support sustained activity in the residential market.
The province’s horizontal segment, in particular, remains buoyant. From 2024 to 2025, about 3,000 house-and-lot (H&L) units were sold in the province, up 2 percent from the take-up recorded from 2022 to 2023. This is supported by our observation that investors in key residential hubs outside Metro Manila continue to seek open spaces, a preference highlighted by the pandemic.
While Bacolod City remains the primary site for residential development, developers and investors are now exploring other sites including Talisay.
In 2025, Talisay accounted for a tenth of the total H&L take-up in Negros Occidental. According to Colliers data, the city’s H&L developments also recorded a 7 percent average price appreciation annually from 2016 to 2025.
What’s notable is that national property firms have established their presence in Talisay not by merely developing standalone residential projects but also through expansive integrated communities.
These include Megaworld’s The Sugartown. The 97-hectare development will feature residential projects by both Megaworld Corp. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Suntrust Properties. The residential communities will be complemented by commercial, retail, and leisure spaces.
Cagayan de Oro: An emerging property hub
In Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro’s property market is also attracting interest from national players.
Colliers Philippines saw recent activity in the city’s office market, while national players continue to launch residential towers and horizontal communities. Northern Mindanao is also emerging as a tourism corridor, with Cagayan de Oro leading efforts to attract foreign hotel brands.
Colliers Philippines believes that Cagayan de Oro’s competitiveness as an investment hub makes the city one of the most ideal business locations in Mindanao. The city is also on the radar of outsourcing firms, making it an ideal location for residential end-use.
The Laguindingan Airport will also be expanded and modernized as it is being primed as another international gateway. Colliers believes this should further entice national and homegrown property firms to launch more residential projects in the city.
At present, the mid-income market (P3.6 million to P12 million) is the most attractive segment in CDO’s condominium market, accounting for 97 percent of total take-up in the city in 2025.
The entry of national developers is also raising the prices of vertical projects in Cagayan de Oro. The most expensive condominium projects in the city are priced from P146,000 to P233,000 per sqm.
For CDO’s H&L market, the economic projects (P580,000 to P2.5 million a unit) are well-received among end-users. From 2016 to 2025, H&L projects here recorded an average annual price appreciation of 6 percent.
