• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Megaworld Corp. will continue to elevate real estate development in Bacolod City even as several of its projects in the 34-hectare The Upper East township won awards at the recent 12th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards in Manila.
“We’re very happy and proud that The Upper East is among the townships that garnered the most number of awards in the 2024 Property Awards several days ago,” Harold Geronimo, vice president and head of Megaworld’s Public Relations and Media Affairs, said Sept. 27.
The first master-planned, mixed-use community in Bacolod bagged the “Highly Commended” award for Best Township Development in the Philippines. The No. 1 Upper East Avenue was also “Highly Commended” in the Best Office Architectural Design; Kingsford Hotel Bacolod, Best Hotel Interior Design; and The Upper East House, Best Sales Gallery Architectural Design.
The PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, presented by global brand Kohler, is the most respected and sought-after real estate industry awards event, and part of the Asia Property Awards series, considered the gold standard in real estate.
Megaworld won as Best Developer for Visayas, and also bagged the Sustainable Design, Energy Efficiency, and Portfolio awards, among others.
Geronimo, meanwhile, said that ongoing construction at The Upper East are several residential condos, like One Manhattan, Two Regis, and the Herald Parksuites. The company will also soon announce the tenants and locators at the No. 1 Upper East Avenue.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to offer Bacolod something different, with so much spaces for people to stroll around,” he said, adding this is part of the property giant’s commitment to sustainability, a community where people can walk around safely, be able to gather, and talk to each other.
Geronimo said that since their Bacolod township started in 2018, their property prices have already increased by almost 150 percent.
Joey Roi Bondoc, research director for Colliers Philippines, in his “Bacolod Property Market Updates” presentation, said he is “seeing a sustained increase of price appreciation”, whether lot-only, house and lot, or condominium projects in the highly-urbanized city, and across Western Visayas.
He said one reason is the stable demand for housing units by overseas Filipino workers. “There is sustained inflow of remittances and a portion of that will definitely fuel the demand for residential units.”
Geronimo said that aside from OFWs, there are Filipinos living abroad, who have seen the potential of having a property when they come back to the Philippines.
There are also entrepreneurs, who buy multiple units in every condominium. “We’ve seen demand from a lot of businessmen, perhaps they’d seen the potential of the price appreciation,” he said as he encouraged others to consider investing as early as possible.
“When all other developments will be completed, property prices could go up to even 200 percent,” Geronimo said. | CGC
