by Jenniffer B. Austria
[ manilastandardtoday.com ] April 27, 2010
SM Development Corp., the property company of retail tycoon Henry Sy, plans to sell homes worth P1.1 million and below to help address the country’s housing backlog.
SM Development vice chairman Henry Sy Jr. said in a press conference Monday following an annual stockholders’ meeting that the company had chosen its recently acquired one-hectare lot in Quezon City, the site of the former Danarra Hotel, as the first of such housing venture.
Sy said the new project, under the brand name My Place, would be launched next month. It will contain four 20-story buildings offering as much as 2,000 units.
“We believe this product will be another success and it’s our move towards alleviating the housing demand in the Philippines. This product will be selling P1.1 million and below at good locations,” Sy said.
Units under the My Place brand will occupy 20 square meters each with a monthly amortization of as low as P6,000.
Sy said project would target call center agents and investors interested in leasing the units.
Ayala Land Inc., the property unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., earlier ventured into economic housing projects with units costing between P600,000 and P1.1 million each.
SM Development, meanwhile, is launching four new residential projects this year—two in Quezon City and one each in Manila and Ortigas district. It said the four projects could cost a combined P8 billion at the most.
“Our cost will still be in the vicinity of the P1 billion to P2 billion per project,” SM Development said.
SM Development reported a 51-percent increase in its first- quarter net income on strong real estate sales from projects launched last year.
Net income rose to P632 million from P419 million year-on-year as real estate operations grew 48 percent to P628 million from P425 million a year ago.
Consolidated revenues in the three-month period stood at P2 billion, up 48 percent on year as realized revenues rose 45 percent to P1.9 billion from P1.3 billion in 2009.
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