ONE sector immediately affected by the recent destructive typhoons, which flooded at least two-thirds of Metro Manila, was the real-estate industry.

As soon as the floodwaters receded, “For Sale” signs suddenly cropped up in many places that were inundated, the occupants apparently driven by panic. Some properties, originally acquired for P15 million, were being offered for P5 million, but there were no takers.

It’s understandable. Many of the middle-income and even high-end subdivisions were never touched by floodwaters, until the typhoons, particularly Ondoy, dumped in nine hours the equivalent of more than 30 days of average rainfall in the Philippines.

Seeing your home where you have lived for many years disappear under water, forcing you to climb to the roof, cold and helpless for several hours, was surely an unforgettable, traumatic experience. Suddenly, what used to be a dream home became an unwanted asset that had to be disposed as soon as possible.

But Filipinos are a resilient people. In many places, where the ground has dried, life is back to normal. Homes are again sanctuaries for parents back from a tiring workday, and for children spent from school and play.

One of the factors behind our resilience is the fact that calamities are not new to us. Ondoy was new only because it brought an excessive amount of rain, aggravated by the release of water from dams. We are, generally, used to calamities. Typhoons are expected every year, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are not totally unexpected.

Based on my own experience as a long-time player in the real-estate industry, I believe the decline in property prices is a temporary consequence of the calamities, and that values in many places that were affected by Ondoy and Pepeng will recover in time.

While I don’t expect a long-term decline in prices, I see a shifting in preferences: Some areas will be preferred more than others. “Flood-free” may become part of the marketing promotions for housing projects.

There will also be changes in structures, as part of the lessons drawn from the disasters. For example, a prospective homeowner in a low-lying area may prefer a two-story or even a multi-story building rather than a bungalow.

We may see new homes having access stairs to the roof, and homeowners preferring to have flatter roofs—where people can sit or even lay down—than the steep designs that we see in many development projects.

Even now, many people in areas affected by the floods are modifying their homes to allow easy access to roofs.

The recent disasters also became a positive factor for condominium projects, particularly those with aboveground parking lots and access to the urban essentials like hospitals, supermarkets and even malls.

For the real-estate industry, I am optimistic that 2009 will continue to show growth. The floods may have suspended construction work, but development projects will continue because the demand remains.

For office spaces, the property industry continues to benefit from the growth of the business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry. According to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, the BPO industry is expected to grow by 23 percent this year in terms of revenues and number of people employed.

Revenues are projected to reach $7.2 billion to $7.5 billion in 2009 compared to $6 billion last year. With 380,000 to 400,000 BPO employees as of end-2008, the industry may breach the half-million mark this year, with the entry of new players and the expansion of existing BPO companies.

For residential projects, overseas Filipino workers (OFW) continue to be an important driver. Remittances are projected to increase by at least 4 percent this year to breach the $17-billion mark.

Even the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which earlier projected a decline in OFW remittances as a result of the global recession, are now upbeat because Filipino workers who are hard-working, skillful and English-proficient continue to find jobs in many countries.

The low-inflation environment will also keep real-estate prices stable. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects inflation to fall within or below the official targets this year (between 2.5 and 4.5 percent) and in 2010 (between 3.5 and 5.5 percent).

Annual inflation settled at 0.7 percent in September, slightly higher than the 0.1 percent in August, which was a 22-year low.

The positive performance of the real-estate industry, a traditional driver for the construction industry, is also benefiting some export-oriented companies that have suffered from the slump in the foreign markets.

I am referring in particular to exporters of furniture and furnishings, which are now focusing on the domestic market, condominiums, hotels, resorts and other real-estate projects, which have defied the slowdown in the major economies.

Ondoy and Pepeng may have disrupted the daily routine of many people and many businesses for a while, but for all of us and our economy, life goes on, and the real-estate industry will remain on the growth track, at least for the foreseeable future.

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