Posted on 10:16 PM, August 09, 2010 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
LISTED PROPERTY giants Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. and Robinsons Land Corp. continue to be in expansion mode in anticipation of higher demand from their target markets.
In particular, Vista Land, the holding firm of Senator Manuel B. Villar, will tap 18 new provinces for residential projects for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“Vista Land is doubling its reach to 37 provinces by expanding into 18 more provinces,” the firm said in a statement yesterday.
Target areas include Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija, Batangas City, Lucena in Quezon, Ormoc in Leyte, and Butuan in Agusan del Norte.
The company’s strategy of building “vertical residences” and provincial expansion is suited to OFWs, which account for 60% of annual revenues, Vista Land President Benjamarie N. Serrano said.
“There was no slowdown in the market for homes among OFWs despite the global economic crisis, since the majority of them were not adversely affected,” Ms. Serrano said.
She noted that the company’s 33-year-old affordable housing brand Camella attracted OFWs during the downturn.
Vista Land operates under five brands -- Brittany that sells house-and-lot units for as much as P9 million each, Crown Asia for homes priced P3.5 million to P9 million, Camella Homes for homes priced P3.5 million and below, Communities Philippines that sells Camella Homes in the provinces, and condominium arm Vista Residences.
The company is aiming for around P3 billion in profits this year, up from P2.6 billion last year. Shares in Vista Land, whose profits rose by a tenth to P694 million in the first quarter amid higher sales, fell to P2.38 each yesterday from P2.41 each on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land has launched a new high-end residential townhouse in Parañaque that can generate a minimum P1.172 billion in sales.
The three-hectare Woodsville Residences will allot 1.5 hectares for open spaces and amenities, and will have a total of 226 townhouse units.
“We expect to start construction late this year. The first units will be delivered by December 2014,” Mybelle Aragon-GoBio, vice-president for business development of Robinsons Land, said in a briefing.
Woodsville Residences is adjacent to Woodsville Mansions that has about 100 units per floor.
The property developer wants to attract “start-up” families with a combined household income of P150,000 a month.
The price of a 68.30-square-meter unit is P5.19 million. A 106.34-sq.-m. unit is priced P6.32 million.
Shares in Robinsons Land, whose profits dropped by 2.78% to P926.92 million in the first quarter, increased to P14.68 each yesterday from P14.66 each on Friday. -- Neil Jerome C. Morales
_______________________________________________________________
