By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (The Philippine Star) Updated May 03, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Villar-led property holdings group Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. is further expanding its geographic footprint with plans to penetrate 16 new areas across the country in the next 12 months.
In a statement issued yesterday, Vista Land said among the new sites identified for near-term expansion are Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Bicol, Batangas, Quezon, Bataan, Pampanga, Davao, Butuan, Agusan del Sur and Zamboanga.
Benjamarie Therese N. Serrano, chief executive officer of Vista Land, said the company’s entry into these new locations is anchored on the strength of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) market. Around 60 percent of Vista Land’s reservation sales come from OFWs, particularly those based in Europe, Middle East and Asia.
“The majority of our OFWs hail from the provinces and there is strong preference for house and lot in their hometown or province of origin which they intend to live in with their families,. As the runaway leader in horizontal housing, we intend to further cement our hold in this market with the country-wide expansion,” Serrano said.
OFW remittances remain strong, rising 6.9 percent in the first two months of the year. For this year, remittances are seen to grow eight percent from last year’s figure of $18.8 billion.
The company currently has projects in 20 provinces, 47 cities and municipalities around the country. It operates under five brands – Brittany which sells house-and-lot units for as much as P9 million each; Crown Asia with units in the P3.5-million to P9-million range; Camella Homes with units for P3.5 million and below; Communities Philippines that sells Camella Homes in the provinces; and condominium arm Vista Residences.
A typical subdivision project usually covers an area of at least 10 hectares and is strategically located, within easy access to commercial developments. Buyers have a myriad of house models to choose from and can look forward to living in themed, masterplanned communities.
Vista Land has earmarked P45 billion for its capital expenditures over a three- year period or until 2013.
The company earlier launched Lessandra, its affordable/low-cost housing brand, with around 12 billion worth of projects to rise within the Greater Manila area and in the regions. Lessandra was initially developed in 2007 as a Camella townhome in the series in response to the need for affordability in the low-cost housing segment. It has then gained strong market acceptance and its growing patronage has helped it to carve out its own niche where it is now the acknowledged market leader.
Future Vista Land developments include vertical projects, commercial space, BPO office buildings and more residential properties.
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