Real estate business slows down in Davao
An unfinished condominium in Matina, Davao City. MindaNews Photo
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/Apr 11) – The city’s “unpredictable business climate” has slowed down a bit the selling of real estate for residential and commercial use, an official from the Chamber of Real Estate Builders Association-Davao Chapter (CREBA) said.
Diosdado Mahipus Sr., CREBA Davao Chapter chair, said some real estate prices declined due to the “declining business climate which is not happening exclusively in Davao City, but in most areas in the world.”
Mahipus did not elaborate on the business climate issue except to say that the tariffs being imposed by the United States under the Trump administration on its trading partners around the world “have yet to affect the country as of now.”
Asked if the real estate market was affected by the political conflict President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Duterte family, Mahipus said that such conflict is not the reason for the decline in sales.
“Political conflict is not the problem, the entire world is experiencing an economic crash… We are not immune to that,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Hukad Business Forum at Abreeza Ayala Malls, Friday morning.
He explained that the real estate market in the city, particularly renting and selling of condominiums, is already saturated.
He said that despite the excess in mid-rise and high-rise condominiums in the city, real estate properties, especially affordable ones, are still in shortage.
But the sales of condominiums also slowed down due to the earthquake scare among residents, affecting several high-rise and mid-rise buildings in 2023, particularly Verdon Parc in Barangay Maa.
The government encouraged real estate developers to build more mid-rise housing so that more people could afford, Mahipus said.
He, however, noted that low-cost housing might be “less profitable” for developers because of the skyrocketing costs of raw lands for residential use.
“Davao is expensive because it is a commercial hub, all businesses are here. We cannot really avoid an increase in prices, but still we notice lately that air BNBs have become cheaper because of competition,” he said.
He said that from as high as P3,500 per day one can now rent a studio-type room in a condominium for as low as P1,000 to P1,500 per day due to the saturated market.
He said Davao’s selling price is at P50,000 to P75,000 per square meter for residential lots, while commercial spaces can be as expensive as P300,000 per square meter, especially near the city hall.
Back in 2023, real estate services and investment management firm Colliers Philippines reported that the upcoming infrastructure projects in Davao City could raise the value of land and property within five years.
The firm said the city is seeing major infrastructure developments, including the ongoing Davao City Bypass Road (expected to be finished by 2027) and the Davao Coastal Road (possibly completed as early as 2026).
Other key projects include the Mindanao Railway (set for completion by 2032), the expansion of Davao International Airport (targeted for 2028), and the modernization of the Davao Sasa Port which is expected to be completed by 2028. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)