8 things buyers and investors need to know

Electricity-cost pressure is becoming a property ownership issue, while MREIT’s results show why investors need to look beyond growth in total earnings. This edition combines current reporting with explicitly dated recent developments, including a proposal affecting condominium and subdivision costs, business tax relief, and regional developer activity; these did not all happen today.

1. ERC warns that power-bill relief has limits

The Energy Regulatory Commission is studying further ways to cushion electricity consumers from the weaker peso, but its chairman says the regulator has already deployed its available relief measures. Francis Saturnino Juan discussed the pressure on October 28 at Singapore International Energy Week; reports published that afternoon and on October 29 put the regulator’s constraints into sharper focus.

The important distinction is between generation and distribution. Foreign-exchange movements can feed into generation costs through fuel-adjustment provisions in power supply contracts. Distribution charges require separate rate proceedings. That does not establish a specific new increase in your next electricity bill.

There is also a difficult trade-off: allowing customers more time to pay can help households immediately, while putting pressure on utilities that still have to pay generators. Delaying collection does not remove the underlying cost.

My assessment: buyers comparing homes should give recurring electricity expenses more weight, especially where air-conditioning, lifts, pumps and shared facilities are significant. For landlords and small businesses, the issue is also contractual: who pays the electricity bill, and can higher operating costs actually be recovered?

Before committing, ask for available occupied-unit bills and the association’s utility budget. A lower purchase price can lose some of its advantage when the building is expensive to operate. Wait for the applicable utility’s published rate advisory before treating a projected increase as a confirmed charge. This is a fresh regulatory assessment of an ongoing cost problem, rather than a new tariff announcement.

Sources: Daily Tribune; BusinessMirror.

2. MREIT: income more than doubles, but the dividend per share rises 10%

Recent results: company release dated October 26. MREIT reported third-quarter distributable income of approximately ₱1.93 billion, up 106% year on year, and declared a ₱0.2762 dividend per share, up 10%. Those two growth rates answer different questions.

The company attributes the expansion to its Wave 4 and Wave 5 property infusions. Its portfolio now includes five shopping malls, among them Southwoods Mall in Laguna, alongside its established office assets. The move broadens its exposure beyond offices, but does not eliminate dependence on tenant demand, rental collection and the terms of future acquisitions.

The useful investor question is not simply, “How much bigger did the company become?” It is, “What did that expansion deliver for each share I own?” Total income can grow faster than per-share distributions as the asset and capital base changes. The difference deserves examination; it does not, by itself, prove that an acquisition was good or bad.

Sources: MREIT company release; Bilyonaryo.

3. A proposed common-area tax exemption raises a real ownership-cost debate

Policy watch: released October 22; bill filed October 21. Senator Chiz Escudero’s Senate Bill 2569 proposes exempting designated residential condominium and subdivision common areas from real property tax when they are not used for income-generating activities.

The intended benefit is lower carrying costs for residents who fund shared facilities through association dues. The counterquestion is how local governments would absorb the revenue effect and how any savings would reach homeowners.

This remains a proposal, not an exemption owners can already claim. Even if enacted, a tax saving would need to be reflected in the association’s actual budget before anyone could promise a particular reduction in dues.

Source: Senator Chiz Escudero’s official release.

4. BIR considers extending tax abatement to small taxpayers

Reported October 28–29. The Bureau of Internal Revenue is studying an expansion of its one-time tax abatement program to small taxpayers with annual gross sales of ₱3 million to below ₱20 million.

That could matter to qualifying property-related businesses and other small enterprises with unresolved tax liabilities. It is not a blanket tax holiday, nor evidence that every landlord qualifies.

The expansion is still under consideration. Business owners should check the applicable BIR issuance and their own classification before assuming eligibility or changing a payment decision. A news report about planned relief is not an approval of an individual taxpayer’s application.

Sources: The Philippine Star; Radyo Pilipinas.

5. BOI approvals reach ₱900 billion—watch execution, not just the headline

BOI figures released October 27. Approved investment pledges reached ₱900.06 billion for January–September, covering 207 projects, according to the agency’s announcement reported by GMA News. Electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply accounted for about 82% of the total.

That concentration matters: this is not evidence of an equally broad surge in housing demand or commercial leasing everywhere. Approvals are commitments, not money already spent or jobs already filled.

For a property investor following a growth corridor, the next evidence should be site works, utility connections, operating dates and actual hiring. Those developments help establish whether a national investment story is becoming local demand.

Source: GMA News, citing BOI.

6. TARI’s infrastructure progress is more useful than a distant jobs forecast

Developer progress report published October 28; works status dated October 10. Aboitiz Economic Estates reported that Phase 1 site development at TARI Estate in Tarlac was nearing completion, including roads, drainage, water and wastewater infrastructure.

The distinction is important for industrial investors and nearby property owners: infrastructure readiness can help factories move toward operations, but “nearing completion” does not mean every locator is already producing or employing workers.

Aboitiz’s own material describes integrated utilities and investor support. Treat those as the developer’s account and check the relevant plot’s actual readiness. Nearby rental or retail demand still needs evidence of operational facilities and workers, rather than projections alone.

Sources: Aboitiz Economic Estates; BusinessMirror developer update.

7. Panabo’s industrial expansion comes with disclosure gaps

Reported October 28. Damosa Land said Anflo Industrial Estate in Panabo, Davao del Norte, has attracted an estimated ₱8.5 billion in combined developer and locator investments. Planned additions include cold storage and a manufacturer expected to start operations toward yearend.

That investment figure is cumulative, not a fresh ₱8.5-billion commitment made this week. The report did not identify the incoming manufacturer or disclose the new projects’ investment costs and employment numbers.

Cold-chain and manufacturing activity can matter to warehouse users and local businesses. For nearby property investors, the missing operating and workforce details are precisely what must be established before forecasting tenants or rents.

Source: Context.ph, citing Damosa Land.

8. Cebu Landmasters’ Astra opening adds an operating retail component

Recent developer announcement: October 23, with further coverage October 28. Cebu Landmasters announced the grand opening of Astra Lifestyle Centre along A.S. Fortuna Street in Mandaue, Cebu, within its mixed-use Astra Centre development.

This is a retail opening, not a newly announced residential launch. It provides a concrete change to examine when assessing the development’s everyday convenience and tenant mix.

For a prospective resident or commercial tenant, visit during the hours that matter to you and check which businesses are actually operating. An opening announcement does not establish sustained foot traffic, a rental yield or a resale premium. The wider project’s components should also be assessed individually rather than assumed complete together.

Source: Cebu Landmasters’ official announcement.

For readers comparing regional growth stories with a home closer to Manila, my guide to eight locations near Metro Manila connects the location shortlist to commuting, access and household needs.

Pow’s Property Play

The scoreboard can show a bigger portfolio, a major investment pledge or a newly opened retail centre. Your scouting still has to establish what is producing income, what remains under construction and what you will pay to own it. I would put electricity and other recurring costs beside the purchase price, then test investment claims at the level of the individual property or share. A strong game plan leaves room for delays and higher expenses; it does not depend on every promised benefit arriving on time.

If rising ownership costs are changing your home search, share your target location and budget so we can discuss which recurring expenses to verify before shortlisting properties.

Pow Salud | Property Playmaker
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