Land values in MM continue rising in Q2

MANILA, Philippines - Land values in Metro Manila continued to increase in the second quarter, while office vacancy rates drop amid sustained strong demand, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday.

The central bank, citing data from the Colliers International, said implied land values in the Makati central business district rose 20.4 percent to P366,425 per square meter (sqm.) in the second quarter from the same period a year ago. The latest figure was also 3.6 percent higher than the first quarter rate.

At the same time, implied land values in Ortigas Center amounted to P149,365 per sqm. in the second quarter, up 7.9 percent from year-ago levels and higher by two percent from the first quarter.

“Land values in the Makati CBD are presently at about 86.2 percent of their 1997 levels in nominal terms, but only about 38.4 percent of their 1997 levels in real terms,” the BSP said.

 “Likewise, land values in the Ortigas Center were lower than their comparable levels in 1997 in both nominal and real terms by about 76.6 percent and 34.2 percent, respectively,” it said.

Nominal figures refer to the actual price in 1997, while real terms are nominal values adjusted for inflation.

Meanwhile, the office vacancy rate in the Makati CBD fell to 2.1 percent in the second quarter from the 3.5 percent recorded a year ago and the 4.2 percent seen in the first quarter.

 “(This is) due to continued strong office demand amid limited office supply in the Makati CBD,” the BSP said.

Looking at the residential vacancy rate in Makati CBD, the BSP report showed it settled at 10.4 percent in the second quarter, up from 9.6 percent last year but lower than the 10.9 percent in the first quarter.