Passed In: Why a Quarter of Metro Manila's Weekend Auction Lots Failed to Sell

Fourteen properties across Metro Manila went under the hammer last Saturday, July 4, and three of them came home unsold — a passed-in rate that property insiders say signals something the headline transaction numbers have been obscuring for months. Vendors, many of them holding lots acquired during the 2021-to-2023 boom, are still pricing for a market that no longer exists.

The timing matters. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has held its key rate at 5.75 percent since March, and while that has given mortgage borrowers some breathing room compared to the 2024 peak of 6.50 percent, banks remain cautious on property valuations. BDO Unibank's residential lending desk tightened appraisal margins again in June, according to internal guidance circulated to accredited brokers. Buyers who show up at auction with pre-approved financing are finding the bank's assessed value landing 8 to 12 percent below what the vendor's reserve price demands. That gap is exactly why lots pass in.

Where the Deals Stalled

Two of Saturday's three passed-in lots were in Quezon City — a 120-square-meter townhouse on Examiner Street in the Quezon City Circle district, and a commercial stall inside the Nepa Q-Mart complex along Roosevelt Avenue. The third was a 65-square-meter condominium unit on the 18th floor of a tower within the Arca South development in Taguig, listed by Filinvest Land as a foreclosed asset with a floor reserve of ₱6.8 million. Bidding on the Taguig unit reached ₱6.1 million before the auctioneer withdrew it — a ₱700,000 shortfall that illustrates the problem neatly.

The Examiner Street townhouse had a more complicated story. The owner, through broker Leechiu Property Consultants, had set a reserve of ₱9.2 million based on 2024 comparable sales in the Diliman corridor. But three registered bidders at Saturday's session in Mandaluyong's EDSA Shangri-La function room — the venue used by auction house Remates at Compañía — topped out at ₱8.4 million. The Nepa Q-Mart stall drew only one bidder, whose single offer of ₱2.1 million sat well below the ₱3.3 million reserve, and proceedings closed in under four minutes.

The Reserve Price Problem

Property auction clearance rates in Metro Manila averaged 81 percent across the first quarter of 2026, according to tracking data compiled by Colliers Philippines. Saturday's 74 percent drags the rolling quarterly figure down and continues a softening trend that began in February. The Colliers data covers scheduled public auctions only and excludes private treaty sales and bank-administered foreclosure disposals, which means the real clearance picture across all distressed and voluntary sales is likely softer still.

Industry observers point to a structural issue: appraisers accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission are required under PRC Resolution No. 2023-1189 to use sales comparables no older than 12 months, but sellers often anchor their reserves to transactions from 2022 or 2023 — years when Bonifacio Global City condominium prices were regularly clearing ₱200,000 per square meter and beyond. BGC tower units in mid-2026 are transacting closer to ₱165,000 to ₱180,000 per square meter on average, a correction of 10 to 20 percent depending on the building and floor level.

For prospective buyers, the advice from active brokers is straightforward: passed-in lots frequently return to market within 30 to 60 days at a revised reserve, and motivated vendors — particularly banks clearing non-performing loan portfolios under Bangko Sentral rules — tend to move faster the second time. The Taguig Arca South unit, for instance, is already being remarked by Filinvest's distressed assets team and is expected to appear in the August auction calendar with a lower floor. Buyers who registered at Saturday's session and left contact details will get first notification. That is the window worth watching.