Developer turns over units of condo project

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu developer Nexus Real Estate Corp is bullish on the condo market as it turns over the first tower of its maiden condominium development in Talisay City.

Last Saturday, the company turned over the Tower 1 units of its Antara development in Barangay Lawaan III, Talisay City in south Cebu.

The five-tower project is the first vertical building venture of the Cebu-based developer after more than 10 years of developing horizontal projects all over Cebu.

Tower 1 is an eight-storey building that has 158 condominium units.

Company officials announced the groundbreaking of the project’s Tower 2 and construction of the retail strip are set to start sooner together with other components of the project.

The three other towers will be 12 storeys high and will be designed for mixed-use purposes.

The project is under Nexus Prime Residences Corp, NREC's high-end residential arm.

Antara is master-planned project and sits on a 2.9-hectare lot.

The entire development will have residential, commercial, and recreational spaces

It is composed of 5 towers for residential, hospitality and office/industrial units, a unique recreational-adventure park, a 3-storey commercial strip, and a wellness and leisure centre.

Property consultancy firm Colliers International had noted in its previous report that demand for condominiums in Cebu was seeing an uptick given their proximity to the business center and increased affordability.

Dinbo Macaranas, senior research manager at Colliers Philippines, had noted take-up of horizontal and vertical developments is expected to remain at a healthy level looking ahead, with a slight bias on condominiums considering the business activity in Metro Cebu.

End-user demand in the property market will continue to come from employees of multinational companies, manufacturing firms and business process outsourcing entities.

Colliers had recommended that developers cater to the affordable and mid-income segments by developing projects with price points between P1.7 million (USD34,000) and below P6 million (USD120,000) TCP threshold where demand is strongest.

Furthermore, location will be key given the worsening traffic situation in Cebu.

Supported by a steadily growing business center in Cebu City, Colliers expects property demand to continue, particularly for affordable and mid-income segments. (FREEMAN)