Leechiu: Apartments for ultra-rich in Philippines coming soon

MANILA, Philippines — A new real estate market is taking shape in the Philippines, one that could solidify if demand firms up, so says Leechiu Property Consultants. 

“A hyper luxury market is emerging,” said David Leechiu, CEO of the private real estate brokerage.

That was the assessment of LPC in its briefing on Wednesday. Leechiu reckoned that there are already two to three developments swirling around the market. 

While details were sparse, he explained that this new residential real estate market will feature units that span 500 square meters. This marks a stark difference from the usual 300-400 sqm units common in upscale developments. 

Leechiu noted these units will space themselves out in development by having only 50 units or less inside a building.

These hyper luxury units will populate a building floor by seeing only one or two units

For Leechiu, these properties will be considerably cheaper than buying a piece of real estate in prime villages in Metro Manila.

Data provided by LPC showed that a square meter of real estate in one of Metro Manila’s premiere villages could cost anywhere between P199,000 to P554,000. The most expensive is in Dasmarinas Village while the “cheapest” would be found in Ayala Alabang. 

These prices trended up in recent years, accelerating towards the tail-end of 2010. 

Leechiu explained that these units of hyper luxury real estate will cost prospective buyers a fraction of what they were eyeing to buy in those exclusive subdivisions. 

“The luxury apartment that will cost you P300 million will look reasonable,” he added. — Ramon Royandoyan