COVID-19 Real Estate Developer Sentiment Survey Second Edition

The imposition of stricter quarantine measures along with the re-imposed limitations on travel and business operations have yet again stalled the anticipated economic recovery and highlighted the vulnerability of the country to sudden spikes of COVID-19 infections. In Q1 2021, the economy remained on a contraction by 3.9% YoY – the fifth consecutive quarter of negative YoY GDP growth rate – resonated by the slump in consumer spending, which also contracted by 4.7% YoY. In Q2 2021, however, the Philippines finally breaks free of the pandemic-induced recession after registering a double-digit growth of 11.8% YoY, with a massive rebound in gross capital formation which grew by 75.5% YoY while the consumer spending modestly grew by 7.2% YoY. 

Whilst the government-led inoculation program has already commenced, the limited supply of vaccines has influenced the rate of the nationwide rollout.  The availability of vaccines has instilled a sense of positivity, but the rather slow rollout of the inoculation drive amidst the spread of the highly-contagious and newly-discovered variants puts the economy as a whole and the industry sectors in a fragile state. The real estate sector is not safe from this vulnerability. Having had enough financial pressures as operations remain constrained, and as investor and consumer confidence continue to be clouded, real estate developers can only anticipate a better business environment in the medium-term. 

The COVID-19 Real Estate Developer Sentiment Survey Second Edition seeks to gauge the changes in the real estate developers’ viewpoint on the recovery prospects of the economy and the real estate sector as uncertainties remain, more than a year after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines when the first issue of the survey was released. Click here to download the report.