Megaworld says Cebu tower nearly sold out amid rising expat demand

Megaworld Corp. has nearly sold out units at its La Victoria Global Residences in Cebu, with property prices increasing by 71% since the project's launch in 2018.

- By Charmaine A. Tadalan

The 20-story building, located within Megaworld's Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, is now being offered at an average price of P300,000 per square meter, up from the initial average price of P175,000. The company attributed the increase to developments within the township reaching advanced stages and to a growing number of foreigners seeking to settle in Cebu.

The price appreciation is “because of the completion of a lot of developments... that made this township very mature,” Megaworld Vice-President and Head for Public Relations and Media Affairs Harold Brian C. Geronimo said at a June briefing during a media tour of La Victoria.

Around 95% of the 181-unit tower has already been sold, Mr. Geronimo said, adding that Megaworld will begin turnover to unit owners within the year.

“We've almost sold out the units, [yet] there's still a demand, very strong demand for units here in Mactan Newtown, on this side of Cebu,” he said.

“In Lapu-Lapu City, there is still a spike in demand not just from locals, but more importantly, from foreigners who want to settle here in Cebu.”

Mr. Geronimo linked the foreign demand to the development of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, which is about 15 minutes from the township, and to the rise in direct international flights to Cebu.

“The airport is serving more flights [and] more passengers every year, compared to when the airport was small,” he said.

“There has been an influx of a lot of tourists coming to Cebu, not to Manila.” Among the countries that have direct flights to Cebu are Singapore, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Data from the Cebu provincial government showed that more than 5.1 million tourists visited the island province in 2024, of whom 1.9 million were foreign visitors.