Online portal for qualified rent managers set up

A REALTOR has set up a rent management portal called rent.ph after he saw the need for more qualified rent managers in Cebu to complement the fast takeup of condominium units.

Anthony Leuterio, president and chief executive officer of Leuterio Realty Company , told Cebu Daily News that he set up the online portal, which provides clients with a choice of qualified rent managers to take care of their properties especially owners of condominiums for rent.

“Based on our company’s profile data of our buyers, about 70 percent to 80 percent of condominiums and other residential units sold in the last few years in Cebu are sold to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who are now very keen on investing  in the real estate properties as well as  foreign investors,” Leuterio said.

Only  a few condominium units are bought for personal purposes. The growth now, particularly in Cebu is driven by the investors’ confidence on Cebu’s economy and that the “rental” business is seen to be profitable here, he said.

“With all these investments coming into the market, the inavailability of rent managers may pose a threat to the growth especially from those investors,” he said.

For the new service, Leuterio said, they will be tapping the existing pool of real estate agents, whom the firm will train to also become rent managers using www.rent.ph as portal.

“Rent managers are licensed agents, either brokers or salesperson, but they have to train on this other dimension of the real estate business. In Cebu, we will have more than 10 thousand units of inventories in two years for condominiums alone. Owners of these units are mostly offering their properties for rent. They need to have good rent managers to manage their properties,” he said.

Growth Drivers

The country’s recent investment grade status from two global ratings organizations coupled by Cebu’s natural magnet for tourism will help sustain the growth in investments in Cebu which is considered a more preferred place for OFWs now to retire after years of working abroad, Leuterio said.

“Aside from the OFWs we are also looking at the expats or foreign nationals who would want to come here and rent a place to live. We expect more growth in the takeup of units in Cebu. Thus, we see an even growing demand for services like ours,” said Leuterio.

Leuterio said that real estate investments are the top investment choice for OFWs because unlike other investment options, such as the stock market, these investments are less risky and requires less monitoring.

Earlier this year, real estate analyst Enrique Soriano said that there was no threat of a real estate “burst” in Cebu, which was still a promising market fueled by the expansion of the middle income segment, who would have more disposable income for investments.

“This only means that real estate developments will continue to thrive in Cebu in the long term, while high-rise and condo-living style is seen to be more attractive for the buyers, and more profitable and attractive to developers,” said Leuterio.