Cebu’s livability should be the main attraction in promoting the province as a retirement and a second home destination.
“Our main attraction should be the livability of Cebu which will also offer a very wide range of living facilities from condominiums, full-service apartments, townhouses, and stand-alone houses,” said Joel Mari Yu, Cebu Investments Promottion Center managing director.
He said targets markets should include overseas Filipino workers, retirees in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, balikbayans and, affluent Filipinos outside Cebu.
“Cebu has the right combination to become the best investment destination for second home owners, all we need to do is market it more especially to the OFWs, affluent families from other provinces in the country and retirees from other countries in Asia,” said Yu.
He also cited the growing infrastructure requirements needed for the undertaking especially in the real estate.
Yu said that real estate take up in Cebu has grown over the years with a year-on-year growth rate of 25 percent as of last year based on the Cebu Real Estate Market Update report by Colliers International.
7,000 condo units
“Across Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu cities, close to 7,000 condominium units were launched last year, a 35 percent year-on-year growth. The increase in units launched was mainly driven by projects from both local and major developers. As launches improved, the number of take-ups likewise registered a 25 percent year-on-year growth to over 4,700 units,” the report said.
The report further indicated that the Cebu market is similar to the Metro Manila market with buyers generally drawn to a broader category of smaller-sized units, particularly the studio and one-bedroom units with a demand between 60 percent to 70 percent.
This year, there at least 3,859 condominium units will be added to Cebu, 3,281 in 2014 and 4,562 by 2015.
With additional supply, Yu said Cebu would have available units for second home owners.
population
He also proposed that Cebu increase its population through immigration from other provinces to achieve the ideal population size in Metro Cebu to spur more economic activities and encourage more investments.
“Based on a study by the United Nations (UN), the ideal population size of a metropolis is from 2.5 million to 4 million and as of now there is about 4.2 million people in the whole Cebu province and about 2 million in Metro Cebu. We need to grow that further,” Yu said.
Based on latest UN data, Tokyo in Japan has the biggest population for a metropolis with about 32.45 million, followed by Seoul in South Korea with 20.5 million people. Metro Manila currently have about 16.3 million people and is currently where most investments both from domestic and foreign investors.
In a previous interview, Gerry Sta. Ana, Board of Investment governor and CIPC chairman, said that he had received many inquiries from investors about the possibility of developing a retiree community in Cebu and possible investments on medical and wellness facilities.
megaworld project
One investment which has already dedicated condominium units for active Japanese retirees is the Megaworld Corporation’s Mactan Newtown Center project in Mactan.
Three towers of the four-tower 8 Newtown Boulevard condominium cluster in the 20-hectare township development in Cebu are dedicated to Japanese retirees.
Sta. Ana said that they are expecting more developments to start looking at this segment as their market for their projects here in Cebu.
“Cebu is more preferred by these retirees because we have a lot to offer and everything here is nearer to the beach, the mountains and all other places they would want to offer. We also have hospitals that have been offering treatments to medical tourists as well,” Sta. Ana said.
Yu said the OFWs were also becoming wiser and instead of building their houses in their home province, they look for investment options in areas where they know the value of their property will appreciate which includes Cebu and Metro Manila.
“They prefer Cebu more because Manila is too congested,” said Yu.
Given the right support infrastructure and enough push, Yu said that Cebu can be well marketed as a second home destination which will have a domino effect on the rest of the critical areas for Cebu’s economic growth.