DURING the second quarter of 2025, the Philippine office market delivered a strong performance, while the NCR residential market’s growth was flat. These were the trends reported by real estate brokerage firm Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) during its Q2 Property Market Report on July 10.
According to LPC Director of Commercial Leasing Mikko Barranda, demand for the office market reached 67 percent of total demand seen in 2024. He attributed a significant portion of it to the IT-BPM sector, which he described as the “backbone of the office market.” Within the last six months, the IT-BPM industry attained 86 percent of the 2024 annual total, showing accelerated growth.
“It’s critical that we continue to support and safeguard the industry. We need to ensure it has both stability and longevity, and we’re working alongside industry stakeholders to make that happen,” Barranda said. “With demand on an upward trajectory and office contractions tapering off, we’re on track to reach our projected net demand target of 490K sqm set in Q1. As of the first half of 2025, we’re already touching 55 percent of that number.”
Meanwhile, the residential condominium market in Metro Manila posted “mostly tempered growth this quarter,” said Roy Golez, LPC director of research and consultancy.
He described the growth of the residential market as “flattish.” Despite competitive terms and value-added features offered by developers, demand remained curtailed by “a softening appetite from passive investors and speculative buyers due to declining rental yields affected by the Philippine offshore gaming operators’ (POGO) exit and high availability of units for lease.”
Golez said that numbers, as far as demand drivers are concerned, were “more or less stable” and even “consistently strong,” but actual sales continue to lag.
In the second quarter, Metro Manila’s demand for condominium units rose by 2 percent, or an equivalent of 6,643 units. New launches were up by 31 percent or 1,781 units, compared with the first quarter.
This growth is attributed to “moderately improved developer confidence” and “improving financing conditions.” Buyer activity has held consistent over the last six consecutive quarters, Golez said, while more new launches are anticipated in the second half of 2025.
He gave this analysis: “The developer-buyer relationship has to evolve into a mutually beneficial arrangement and not just rely solely on price-based incentives.” To give buyers the confidence to invest, developers can “focus on income-enhancing and risk-reducing measures such as rent support programs and enhanced and sustained after-sales services.”
Golez noted the strong take-up for upscale high-end condominiums while forecasting recovery of the luxury segment. He attributed this to the major developers’ launch of more projects and the intrinsic resilience of the luxury segment market. In villages south of Metro Manila, he reported a “healthy take-up” due to improved accessibility provided by existing infrastructure projects, affordability, and well-planned townships.
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