GOTIANUN-LED Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) is eyeing more office space leasing deals with government agencies to boost its commercial segment.
“We’re starting to tap into more government office requirements since they have the budget. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get more this year because there is demand,” FLI President and Chief Executive Officer Tristaneil D. Las Marias told reporters on the sidelines of a media event in Taguig City last week.
FLI recently leased office space in Makati City to the Department of Trade and Industry. It also bagged the contract for office space leasing in Pasay City with the National Bureau of Investigation.
Mr. Las Marias said that FLI has maintained its office space occupancy rate and added more office spaces to meet demand.
“There are many opportunities. Most of our buildings are of grade A quality. If people are moving out of their old offices to upgrade at friendlier rates, then I think we’ll be able to capture that,” he said.
On the residential segment, Mr. Las Marias said FLI is optimistic about its growth prospects despite the oversupply of condominium units in Metro Manila, citing its interest rates and its diversified portfolio.
“We have a lot of projects in the pipeline… I think we’re very optimistic,” he said.
“I think our diversified portfolio and the locations have more or less allowed us to be more resilient given this oversupply in select areas. We remain very confident,” he added.
Property consultancy firm Colliers Philippines said that unsold condo inventory in Metro Manila reached 75,300 units as of the third quarter of 2024.
Colliers added that it could take around 5.8 years to fully sell the units, about five times longer than in the pre-pandemic period.
“Historically, we’re kind of 50-50. If you talk about our National Capital Region and Luzon portfolio compared to the Visayas and Mindanao portfolios, we’re somewhere there. We’re kind of balanced,” Mr. Las Marias said.
Mr. Las Marias said easing interest rates and a stronger dollar would benefit its residential segment.
“Particularly for the residential market, with the interest rate going down, the borrowing rate of home mortgages becomes more affordable. That’s good for us,” he said.
“When the dollar is up, you have more purchasing power. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) tend to look at investment as the first priority to put in their mind. At least around 30% of our sales come from OFWs,” he added.
FLI shares were last traded on Jan. 28 at 73 centavos apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
