Published : Wednesday, July 20, 2011 00:00
Written by : KRISTA ANGELA M. MONTEALEGRE
Data presented in last month’s JP Morgan Asia Pacific Equity Conference and Credit Suisse Non-deal Road show showed that ALI had launched 6,193 units worth P16 billion in the first five months of the year, bulk of which was under its affordable and middle-income brands Amaia and Avida.
These comprised 31 percent of the more than 20,000-units worth more than P80 billion that the property giant intends to launch for the full year.
About 61 percent of the unit launches involved horizontal products, with 63 percent rolled out outside Metro Manila.
“We do expect that things will continue to be sustained. The market continues to be good relative to sales take-up. I think that is still very positive at this point,” Antonino Aquino, ALI president, said in a recent interview.
In the same presentation uploaded on its website, ALI said it plans on further expanding its product offerings, revealing an ongoing study for the creation of a fifth brand for the socialized housing segment or housing products priced below P500,000.
Its venture into socialized housing would enable the property company to tap the larger D and E segments, which account for 59 percent of the market.
ALI has four residential brands: luxury brand Ayala Land Premier with price points ranging from P7 million to P20 million; high-end brand Alveo, from P3.5 million to P7 million; middle-income brand Avida, from P1.2 million to P3.5 million; and economic housing brand Amaia, from P600,000 to P1.2 million.
Ayala Land Premier in May launched the third phase of Santierra in Nuvali, Laguna where 147 of 167 lots were taken up in a week. At its Garden Bridge in One Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, 81 percent was taken up upon launch.
Early this year, Alveo rolled out Sedona Parc in Cebu, with more than half of the available units taken up in three months.
ALI said the rising housing backlog supported by stable floor of remittances from overseas Filipinos, increasing product affordability, and record levels of domestic liquidity have driven the robust residential market.
These resulted in the acceleration of home building and the growing trend for “halfway houses” with increased demand for condominiums and in-city developments.
ALI has set a record capital expenditure of P33 billion this year, 65 percent higher than the P20 billion spent in 2010, to take advantage of the continued strong demand for residential, office and tourism developments.
Its earnings grew 36 percent to P1.6 billion in the first three months on higher real estate sales.
ALI shares were unchanged at P16.32 each on Tuesday.
___________________________________________________________
