Megaworld is No. 1 condo developer

January 25, 2012

Not one but two independent real estate research firms have named Megaworld Corporation as the number one developer of residential condominiums in Mega Manila, which covers the Makati CBD, Ortigas, Eastwood City, Bonifacio Global City and Alabang.

In a study conducted last December, Colliers International named Megaworld as the top developer of residential condominiums in terms of units that were completed at the end of 2010 and are to be completed from 2011 until 2016. Megaworld’s market share over the six-year period is 18 percent, four percent ahead of its nearest competitor.

In terms of the cumulative saleable area for projects to be completed from 2011 to 2016, Megaworld is still on top, with 16.5 percent of the market, accounting for 1.1 million square meters of units sold. This again is ahead by four percent over the second player. Colliers attributed this to Megaworld’s bigger unit sizes.

CBRE Philippines, meanwhile, conducted its study over a longer period. “Based on the findings, Megaworld Corporation, including [its subsidiaries] Empire East and Suntrust, launched the most residential condominium projects in terms of units and saleable area from 2000 to 2011,” CBRE concluded in their report’s executive summary.

With more than 40,000 condo units launched during the period, Megaworld cornered 16 percent of the market, with a three percent lead over the nearest competitor, according to CBRE. In terms of the total saleable area, Megaworld even widened its market share to 16.5 percent or 1.9 million square meters, a five percent gap over the second player in this category.

For this year, CBRE estimates that at least 14,000 units will be launched. It expects Megaworld’s market share to decrease slightly to 15 percent, but “still be first on the list of most units floated.” With more than 740,000 square meters of residential condominium units to be launched in the market this 2012, “Megaworld Corporation will still be leading with the highest total market share based on the total saleable area with approximately 15.5 percent.”

On the office portfolio front, Colliers Int'l. named Megaworld as the number one developer of office space with an eight percent market share as of end-2010, with a one percent lead over the nearest competitor.

“Megaworld, which has the biggest supply pipeline until 2015, will increase its market share by then to 11 percent if all office projects in the pipeline complete as scheduled,” Colliers stated. By then, its lead over the number two office developer will widen by three percent.

In a sub-category, the business process outsourcing (BPO) office supply, where Megaworld has perennially been at the top over the past decade, Colliers deemed that “Megaworld also has the biggest market share at 30 percent as of end-2010.” It cautioned though, “This will slightly decrease to 25 percent by end-2015 but it still has the biggest share by then.”

“We at Megaworld are proud to be declared as the top developer of residential and office condominiums in Mega Manila. We are set to launch 11 new residential condominium projects this year, and with more office developments in the pipeline over the next few years, we will continue to lead in these two important segments of the property industry,” Megaworld Chairman & CEO Andrew Tan said.

The urban township model, which combines residential, office and commercial aspects that Megaworld has adopted for its projects starting with Eastwood City in the late 1990’s, has proven to be a big hit for the developer in its core market. Among the projects the company launched last year in its urban townships are One Eastwood Ave. in Eastwood City; 101 Newport Boulevard and Belmont Luxury Hotel in Newport City across NAIA Terminal 3; Tower 1 of The Viceroy in McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio; Tower 2 of Manhattan Heights in Manhattan Garden City at the Araneta Center and One Uptown Residence in Uptown Bonifacio, Global City.

With residential and office condominiums set to rise in all its urban townships in Metro Manila, Megaworld is foreseen to solidify its lead in both property segments, as can be gleaned over the studies by CBRE Philis. and Colliers Int'l.