Office supply gap seen in Davao

October 27, 2020 | 12:05 am [ bworldonline.com ]

LEAN S. DAVAL JR

By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter

NO NEW OFFICE space will be added to Davao City’s supply for at least three years, property consultancy firm JLL Philippines said.

In a recent briefing on its Davao real estate market overview, JLL Philippines said there is a projected gap in new office supply until 2024, giving property developers an opportunity by expediting ongoing projects.

“Beyond 2020, there’s an absence of supply for the next three years. Most of the office developments that we’ve seen are estimated to complete post-2023. That’s around 155,000 square meters of office projects in total, and that’s certainly going to create a bit of dearth,” JLL Philippines Head of Research Janlo de los Reyes said.

“It’s going to leave a limited amount of available office space in the market for the next three years. That will mean even though there’s a higher vacancy at this current time, we expect that the market will recover by next year,” he added.

The vacancy rate for office leasing in Davao stood at 22.2% as of the third quarter. “(This is) reflective of the softening of office demand, which has characterized the leasing market across all geographies in the Philippines in the last few quarters,” Mr. De los Reyes said.

He noted the coronavirus pandemic, which affected operations for all types of businesses, pushed companies to reassess entry and expansion plans.

While these plans may remain on the back burner until the end of the year, Mr. De los Reyes said demand may start picking up by 2021 on improving economic conditions.

“Even though it’s a gradual recovery, definitely a lot of this (vacant) space is being absorbed by the occupiers as demand confidence resurges in the next couple of years. And that’s going to put a lot of pressure in terms of supply,” he said.

The supply gap in the near term may also push some developers to tighten construction schedules, hoping to capture firms looking to locate in Davao.

“That sends an opportunity to some developers to maybe reevaluate their completion dates and project plans to take advantage of that recovery of the demand, and at the same time, the lack of competition that we’re going to face within the next three years,” Mr. De los Reyes said.

The Davao office market primarily grew because of offshoring and outsourcing locators in 2010, but it has diversified in recent years. Traditional businesses and flexible workspaces have taken a larger share of the market starting 2016.

“That’s a good thing because now you have a more diversified profile of demand drivers for the city… This trend is something that we can expect in Davao City for the next couple of years,” Mr. De los Reyes said.

Aside from the coronavirus pandemic, he said the eruption of Taal Volcano in January pushed businesses to start looking at alternative locations and more satellite offices outside Metro Manila.

“Definitely there’s a lot of opportunities that are still remaining in Davao. (Its pipeline of) infrastructure development,… coupled by the lack of office development in the next couple of years, presents an opportunity for a lot of players,” Mr. De los Reyes said.

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Makati passes right-of-way ordinance for subway project

October 25, 2020 | 6:29 pm [ bworldonline.com ]

THE Makati City government has passed an ordinance authorizing the acquisition of right of way covering the underground portions of nine roads affected by its subway project with Philippine Infradev Holdings, Inc.

The roads that will be affected by the project, according to Makati City’s Ordinance No. 2020-204 approved on Oct. 21, are: Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, South Avenue, J.P. Rizal Avenue, J.P. Rizal Extension, Pablo Ocampo Sr. Extension (Vito Cruz Extension), Kalayaan Avenue, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), C-5 Road (Carlos P. Garcia Avenue), and San Guillermo Avenue.

The city ordinance said subsurface right of way needs to be acquired for the “staging, construction, operation, maintenance and development of the Makati Subway Project.”

It said the nine roads are in the road and bridge inventory of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and fall under the jurisdiction of the department.

“Considering the importance of acquiring the easement of right of way of the subject roads for the benefit of the citizens of Makati, the City Government of Makati is constrained to acquire, through voluntary agreement or expropriation proceedings, an easement of right of way of the subject roads,” it added.

It cited Section 19 of the Local Government Code of 1991 or Republic Act No. 7160 as authorizing expropriations if needed.

Makati City said it has entered into negotiations with and made a “valid and definite offer” to the DPWH for the acquisition of right of way.

Philippine Infradev is building a $3.5-billion subway that will traverse the central business district of Makati City. The project will have 10 stations across a 10-kilometer line.

In September, the company signed a $1.21-billion engineering, procurement and construction contract with China Construction Second Engineering Bureau Co. Ltd. for the subway project.

Originally scheduled for completion in 2025, the subway is expected to carry about 700,000 passengers daily and reduce road traffic in the business district. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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AREIT to buy The 30th in Pasig City

October 23, 2020 | 6:22 pm { bworldonline.com ]

The 30th is a shopping mall and office building located in Pasig City. -- Company handout

By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter

AREIT, Inc. is buying Ayala Land, Inc.’s (ALI) 76,000-square meter (sq.m.) commercial center in Pasig City to expand its portfolio.

In a disclosure to the exchange on Friday, ALI’s real estate investment trust (REIT) said its board of directors has approved the P5.1-billion acquisition of The 30th in Meralco Avenue, Pasig City.

The 30th is a three-year-old commercial development along Meralco Avenue with a fully-occupied office building and an amenity retail podium.

Full ownership of the building and leasehold over the land will be bought by AREIT from ALI. The acquisition will be funded through debt, marking the company’s first debt in its record.

With the transaction, AREIT is set to increase its gross leasable portfolio to 246,000 sq.m. from 170,000 sq.m. at present.

“Simultaneous to the acquisition of the building by AREIT, (Ayala Land) will assign the long-term land lease to AREIT. AREIT (will) lease office spaces to tenants, and the retail podium to Ayala Land, under a fixed lease as operator of the retail spaces,” it said.

The acquisition of new assets is expected to boost AREIT’s net income and dividends in 2021. It also bought an office building in Cebu City last September using P1.45 billion from its public offering proceeds.

In a separate disclosure on Friday, AREIT said its board of directors has approved the issuance of retail bonds and/or corporate notes with the goal of raising up to P6.4 billion. The facility will have a maturity of up to 10 years and will support the company’s asset acquisitions.

The board likewise approved establishing bank credit facilities up to P12 billion.

AREIT currently has four properties in its portfolio: Teleperformance Cebu, a 12-story office building in Cebu City; Solaris One, a 24-story commercial building in Makati City; Ayala North Exchange, a two-tower mixed-use development in Makati City; and McKinley Exchange, a five-story commercial office in Makati City.

It conducted a P12.33-billion initial public offering (IPO) in August, marking the country’s first REIT listing in history. As required by REIT guidelines, AREIT must reinvest its offer proceeds to the Philippines within a year from its IPO.

Shares in AREIT at the stock exchange shed five centavos or 0.19% to close at P25.65 each on Friday.

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ANNOUNCEMENT : Publication of Applicants for Various Professional Regulatory Boards

Posted on 21 October, 2020

PRESS RELEASE

13 October 2020

    

    The Professional Regulation Commission hereby publishes the list of the following applicants/nominees for the purpose of inviting anyone to inform the Commission of any derogatory information against any of them which may render him/her unfit for the position as Chairperson/Member of the Professional Regulatory Board: 

    
1.    For possible appointment as Chairperson/Member of the Professional Regulatory Board of Forestry:
 
For Chairperson:

NERIA A. ANDIN (reappointment)

For Member:

1.    ROBERTO R. ARAÑO
2.    ARTURO STA.ANA CASTILLO
3.    SEGUNDINO U. FORONDA
4.    BRESILDA M. GERVACIO
5.    ROBERTO V. OLIVIA 
 
2.    For possible appointment as Member of the Professional Regulatory Board for Master Plumbers: 

1.    ROBERT JAY A. CAMPOSANO
2.    JAIME JAJAY E. CRUZ
3.    JILOME T. MENDOZA
4.    SAMUEL M. PAETE
5.    BERNARDO M. TERROBIAS 
 
3.    For possible appointment as Member of the Professional Regulatory Board of Mining Engineering: 
 
1.    Engr. NONITA S. CAGUIOA
2.    Engr. GRACIANO M. CALANOG, JR.
3.    Engr. ROLANDO R. CRUZ
4.    Engr. FELIZARDO A. GACAD, JR.
5.    Engr. ARMANDO L. MALICSE
6.    Engr. CONSTANCIO A. PAYE, JR.
7.    Engr. JEGIE T. PEREDA
8.    Engr. RAMON N. SANTOS 

4.    For possible appointment as Member of the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service: 
 
1.    CECILYNNE R. ANDRADE
2.    MARIA TERESITA B. CANLAS
3.    JESSIE B. DOCTOLERO
4.    KEROVYN W. KIMBUNGAN
5.    VINIA V. LAPUZ
6.    ELMER L. LOREDO
7.    JOSEFINO D. MANHILOT
8.    NICANOR S. TUMALIUAN, JR.  

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Filinvest expands Cebu flagship project

October 20, 2020 | 12:03 am [ bworldonline.com ]

THE FILINVEST Group is expanding one of its flagship projects, City di Mare, in Cebu City to adapt to the changing needs of consumers amid the “new normal.”

In a statement, Filinvest said it recently acquired an additional 9.6 hectares of land to be developed into a mixed-use project with residential, office, commercial, and retail components in South Road Properties, Cebu.

“With this new land bank, City di Mare will further foster a live-work-play lifestyle in the community,” the company said.

City di Mare already has residential buildings that are ready for occupancy, such as Sanremo Oasis and Amalfi, as well as a lifestyle complex IL Corso by Filinvest Lifemalls. It also features a park where residents and visitors can enjoy the outdoors while practicing social distancing.

To address the changing needs of the community, the company is building a pedestrian bridge with a bike lane that will connect City di Mare to IL Corso. It also plans to add a mixed-use block that will feature a school/university, office buildings, and retail area.

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SEC now allows conversion to one-person firm

October 16, 2020 | 12:09 am [ bworldonline.com ]

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now allowing companies to apply for conversion from an ordinary stock corporation to a one person corporation, and vice versa.

The regulator signed Memorandum Circular No. 27 on Aug. 25, which outlines the guidelines to convert to either ordinary stock or one person corporation. It was posted on the SEC website on Wednesday.

The circular puts into action Republic Act No. 11232 or the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, which was enacted last year to allow the creation of one person corporations and encourage company formation in the country.

Based on the guidelines, an ordinary stock corporation whose outstanding capital stocks are all held by a single stockholder may apply for conversion into a one person corporation.

In doing so, the articles of incorporation of the company will be amended, and all its outstanding liabilities will fall under the one person corporation. The company may retain its SEC registration number with an “OPC” suffix to indicate its one-person nature.

On the other hand, when the shares in a one person corporation is no longer held by a single stockholder, it must apply to be an ordinary stock corporation. Its articles of incorporation will be amended and its liabilities will be transferred to the ordinary stock corporation.

The company’s SEC registration number will be retained, but will lose its “OPC” suffix to indicate it is no longer a one-person firm.

The rules are set to take effect after the circular is published in a newspaper of general circulation, which the SEC intends to do this week.

The regulator has previously said that allowing one-person corporations will open opportunities for entrepreneurs to open a limited liability company. Based on 2018 data from the Department of Trade and Industry, 99.52% of businesses in the Philippines are micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises.

The initiative of the SEC is seen to benefit business owners as this will allow them to benefit from corporate perks such as those under the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Bill, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

The bill aims to reduce the corporate income tax rate to 25% from the current 30%, until it reaches 20% by 2027.

“Allowing the conversion of ordinary stock corporations to one person corporations, and vice versa, would allow greater leeway on the part of the business owner/s to adapt to their respective peculiar business situations in terms of flexibility on the preferred ownership structure and the requirements that come along with either forms of corporations,” Mr. Ricafort said in an email to BusinessWorld.

“At the same time, this allows the business owner/s to enjoy the benefits of continuously having a corporation as a juridical entity/form of business, especially in terms of having limited liability only up to the extent of the shareholdings/equity of the owner/s in the corporation, unlike in other forms of ownership such as sole proprietorships and partnerships where the liability extends to the personal capacity/assets of the business owner/s,” he added. — Denise A. Valdez

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ISOC Holdings still keen on property expansion, cites sector’s resilience

October 16, 2020 | 12:07 am [ bworldonline.com ]

By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter

ISOC HOLDINGS, Inc. is bullish to expand its property portfolio in the coming years as it looks at the capital market as a viable investment tool in the future.

The holding firm of businessman Michael C. Cosiquien, co-founder of listed Megawide Construction Corp., said it launched two real estate projects this year despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Before the year ends and through the coming years, it looks to launch more commercial and residential projects in Metro Manila, and an integrated resort in Clark, Pampanga.

“The real estate industry is probably one of the most resilient sectors given that despite the pandemic, the industry remains to be stable,” Mr. Cosiquien, chairman of ISOC Holdings, told BusinessWorld via e-mail.

To support this growth, the company is studying possibilities for fundraising through an initial public offering (IPO) or a real estate investment trust (REIT) IPO.

“We want to establish a strong and consistent track record of sustainability that will satisfy, if not delight, our home owners. Doing an IPO or a REIT listing is a consideration in our long-term plan,” Mr. Cosiquien said.

ISOC Holdings, through I-Land, Inc., has two commercial properties, a residential property and a seven-hectare master-planned complex in Clark, Pampanga in its portfolio.

This year, it launched I-Land Bay Plaza in Pasay City and I-Land Residences Sucat in Parañaque City. I-Land Bay Plaza is already 50% leased out and is scheduled to be topped off next month. I-Land Residences is recording “very good” sales take-up, with all its one-bedroom units sold out.

“That’s why we are planning to launch Tower 2 of Sucat soon with more one-bedroom units,” Mr. Cosiquien said.

In the years ahead, the company plans to launch new residential and commercial projects in Quezon City, Pasig City, Makati City, and Taguig City. “We want to be able to satisfy our future homeowners and create a long term partnership and loyal following,” Mr. Cosiquien said.

Aside from real estate, ISOC Holdings also has interests in cold chain solutions, energy, and infrastructure businesses.

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TLDC turns focus on investor buyers to weather pandemic

October 13, 2020 | 12:05 am [ bworldonline.com ]

By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY developer Torre Lorenzo Development Corp. (TLDC) is targeting investor buyers as it seeks to weather the economic slowdown.

“We need to bring in revenues that would correct the expected slump starting July 2021. And how are we doing that? We’re looking at new sales channels that targets mostly investor buyers,” TLDC Chief Finance Officer Emmanuel A. Rapadas told BusinessWorld last week.

Mr. Rapadas described these investors as bulk buyers that are looking to take advantage of the slow real estate market at the moment.

The real estate market has seen a slowdown in sales since the lockdown began in mid-March, although restrictions have since been eased.

Mr. Rapadas said TLDC may see a 35-40% drop in gross revenues for 2020, but still maintain slim profitability. The company’s revenues reached P2.2 billion in 2019.

“Our sales are definitely taking a beating,” he said. TLDC has seen a compound annual growth rate of 47% from 2015 to 2019.

By tapping investor buyers, TLDC hopes to save about 12% of its usual expenses from marketing and selling. However, the company would have to give up some margins.

“Yes, we will have to sacrifice some margins. But also, this sales channel is more efficient,” Mr. Rapadas said. “At the moment, we’re working with our financial advisers and our lawyers for us to perfect that structure that allows for this investor type buyers to invest into Torre Lorenzo developments.”

TLDC currently has close to 10 projects under construction, comprised of university residences, lifestyle developments and townships. These projects will augment the company’s inventory, which is now down to P7-billion worth of projects that could last about two years of sales.

Turnover of new projects will start in 2021.

Despite the slowdown, Mr. Rapadas said he believes the market will prove resilient in the long run, as most of the company’s buyers are from the upper middle to high-end markets.

TLDC also remains bullish for its leisure segment, as it expects tourism to recover in the near term.

“Leisure pre-COVID (coronavirus disease) was one of the fastest growing sectors in the Philippines… Full recovery in the leisure sector will probably happen in 2023,” Mr. Rapadas said.

The company is currently building dusitD2 and Dusit Thani Lubi Plantation Resort in Davao, Dusit Princess Hotel Lipa in Batangas, and Torre Lorenzo Malate, which will have an Ascott-managed hotel. Leisure developments are expected to contribute about 30% of TLDC’s revenues starting 2023, from less than 5% at the moment.

The company is allocating about P7 billion for capital expenditures to support its pipeline of residential and leisure projects in the next few years.

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Filinvest City receives LEEDv4 ND certification

October 13, 2020 | 12:03 am [ bworldonline.com ]

FILINVEST CITY is the first central business district (CBD) in the Philippines to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED v4 Gold for Neighborhood Development (LEEDv4 ND) certification.

A LEED certification is given by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), which recognizes designs that are environmentally responsible, from construction to maintenance.

“The USGBC recognized Filinvest City for its commitment and dedication to building ecologically responsible infrastructures, sustainable community, urban innovation, and its unwavering promise to giving back to the community,” Dean Barone, sustainability consultant and director of Manila-based Barone International, was quoted as saying in a statement.

Filinvest City allocated over 30% of its 244-hectare land development for green, open spaces. The now-completed Spectrum Linear Park and the soon to be completed Central and Creekside Parks support native vegetation, nourished by recycled water captured on the site.

“The LEED Gold Certification is proof that we are on the right track in building a sustainable and future-ready CBD that is different from the cities everyone is accustomed to in the city. This has been a vision of Filinvest Development Corporation founder Andrew L. Gotianun, Sr. many years ago,” Filinvest Alabang, Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Catherine A. Ilagan said.

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Sustained surge in property prices may raise risks for banks

October 12, 2020 | 12:32 am [ bworldonline.com ]

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

A SUSTAINED surge in property prices could create rising risks for the banking system, an analyst from Fitch Ratings said.

“We believe that the acceleration of property price growth — at current levels of 25% to 30% year on year — presents rising risks in the banking system operating environment, especially if it continues to be sustained,” Tamma Febrian, Associate Director of Financial Institution Group at Fitch Ratings said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

“This is because prolonged rapid house price inflation tends to spur borrowers to take on more debt, and developers to over-invest in the future, risking inventory overhang if demand weakens,” he added.

Home prices jumped by record 27.1% in the second quarter, primarily on the back of strong demand for high end-residential projects and the higher costs of production during the lockdown, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Condominium prices climbed 30.1% in the April to June period, followed by single/attached homes (24.1%), town houses (10.8%), and duplexes (0.8%).

In the National Capital region, home prices surged by 34.9%.

As residential property prices went up, housing loans disbursed by lenders plunged 55.2% year on year, as lending standards tightened amid the economic slowdown.

“Recent data on declining residential real estate loan application rates suggest that there are already some early signs of a correction, and we understand that some large developers have also begun to reduce their capital expenditure and offer discounts on selling prices to clear their inventory,” Mr. Febrian said.

Any increase in housing prices will likely moderate depending on the pace of economic recovery. Mr. Febrian said a moderate price correction will be better for the banking system, adding an abrupt fall in home prices could hurt banks.

“A steep decline could potentially have significant repercussions on the banks’ asset quality given their concentration on the property sector, which also has significant positive correlation with the broader economy,” he said.

In order to manage risks that may arise from the property sector, the BSP this year capped banks’ exposure to the real estate sector to 25% from 20% of their loan portfolio.

In August, outstanding loans disbursed by big banks to the real estate sector rose by 9.8% year on year to P1.706 trillion, easing from the 11.5% expansion seen in July.

The banking industry’s gross bad loans surged 35% to P305 billion in August from P225.904 billion a year ago. This brought the nonperforming loan ratio to 2.84% as of end-August, the highest since the 2.87% logged in February 2014.

The BSP expects the industry’s bad loan ratio to reach 4.6% by end-2020, still better than the 17.6% seen in 2002 in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

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Ohmyhome enters PHL market

October 6, 2020 | 12:05 am [ bworldonline.com ]

 

By Zsarlene B. Chua, Senior Reporter

SINGAPOREAN ONLINE property listing company Ohmyhome has formally launched in the Philippines, setting itself apart from other platforms with its do-it-yourself features and a cross-border property ecosystem spanning three countries.

“We are not an advertising platform, so we do not sell advertising space for agents and agents do not pay us to lease properties. That is not our business model, our business model is for people to come in and if they want any [help in leasing or buying properties] they can get it from Ohmyhome,” Rhonda Wong, Ohmyhome CEO, told reporters during an Oct. 1 digital conference.

“As much as possible we try to make sure that every listing is genuine and you should be talking to the homeowner or our agents in Ohmyhome,” Race Wong, the company’s chief product officer, added in the same conference.

Ohmyhome started in 2016 in Singapore as a property transaction ecosystem where individual homeowners can post their listings for free. The company also offers agent services, mortgage and loans, as well as renovation, legal and moving services. It entered Malaysia in 2019 and according to its executives, they have sold more than “5,300 properties in Singapore and Malaysia” with a “gross transaction value of more than $1 billion.”

Listings can be accessed via the company’s website and mobile app.

Ohmyhome’s do-it-yourself features are meant to simplify the listing and buying process and also offer a more “transparent and reliable” transaction process.

“You can choose between in-house agents. That means, if you want an agent to serve you, you want the agent to meet you at your home, at your office, we can send an agent to you. If you don’t want to pay for any fees because we understand that agent fees can be very high, our entire platform allows you to do it yourself,” Rhonda Wong, the company CEO, said.

Ohmyhome expects to have “between 5,000 to 10,000 listings in the next few months.” Since the company just entered the Philippines, they expect that the bulk of their listings will come from partner real estate developers before seeing individual listings.

According to their website, some partner developers in the country include SM Development Corporation, Ayala Land, Inc., and DMCI Homes.

Since the company is also present in Singapore and Malaysia, customers can browse listings in their current markets and have their Philippine team advise customers who want to live in the other two countries.

“[This] makes us the very, very first cross border property ecosystem across Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines…what we’re providing here with this cross border property ecosystem is that right there in Manila,” Race Wong, Ohmyhome’s chief product officer, said, adding that “even though there are very large real estate companies around the world, no one is providing this service to anyone.”

Ohmyhome noted that during the pandemic, more people either moved out of the cities because they wanted to be nearer to their families and get a home that is more spacious or move into the cities because they want to be nearer to their offices.

“So even though there is seemingly like a slowdown in the economy, the website traffic in terms of people moving, it’s actually still very active,” Rhonda Wong said.

Another trend seen during the pandemic is the need for developers and homeowners to do more virtual tours. The trend is expected to stick even after the crisis has ended because it allows people to save time and see the company’s listings even if they are located in other countries.

For virtual tours, agents can be on location while the customer is on video conference, or the listing may already have videos.

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Free RFID installation at Robinsons Malls

October 1, 2020 | [ bworldonline.com ]

Easytrip’s RFID stickers can be used by vehicles passing through the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Cavite Expressway, Cavite-Laguna Expressway, and C-5 Link. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

Robinsons Malls and Easytrip are offering free radio-frequency identification (RFID) sticker installation at several Robinsons malls in Luzon this month. 

Easytrip’s RFID stickers can be used by vehicles passing through the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Cavite Expressway, Cavite-Laguna Expressway, and C-5 Link.

The schedule for the RFID installation is as follows: 

Oct. 2-3 – Robinsons Galleria, Lower Ground Floor 

Oct. 9-10 – Robinsons Sta. Rosa and Robinsons Place Malolos, Ground Floor 

Oct. 16-17 – Robinsons Place Dasmariñas, Lower Ground Floor

Oct. 23-24 – Robinsons Tagaytay, Level 2 Hallway and Robinsons Starmills, Parking Area 

Nov. 6-7 – Robinsons Angeles, Ground Floor Parking

Nov. 13-14 – Robinsons Novaliches, Ground Floor

The Easytrip booths and kiosks at Robinsons malls will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Department of Transportation made it mandatory for toll road operators to implement cashless and contactless transactions at all toll plazas, as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 in the country.

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Network for social housing projects goes digital

October 2, 2020 | [ bworldonline.com ]

 

The FairBuilding Network, an online platform that brings together buyers and sellers in the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) construction market, recently launched a new website where social housing developers and non-profit organizations with building projects can connect with product suppliers, contractors, architects, and engineers who are willing to help. 

The network is also joining Archify, a platform supporting the needs of product suppliers, design professionals, and end users in the construction industry, this month. Archify users can research, compare, and share design ideas with industry professionals on its website. Features such as mood boards and a library tool that saves one’s preferred products and suppliers in a collection likewise enable users to compose concepts for projects and clients.

“Even before the pandemic, digital innovation has already been the way to go,” said Ayn Rand Parel, administrative manager of FairBuilding Network, in a webinar on September 30. 

FINDING NEW MARKETS ONLINE 

A September 2018 B2B commerce report by Magento said that 12% of business-to-business sales take place online. The number has been steadily growing—not least because of factors stated in the report such as 42% of B2B companies reporting higher order values from online shoppers. “If you don’t innovate, you rarely survive,” said Archify product manager Mark Bueta.

The BoP, or the poorest two-thirds of the economic human pyramid, is a huge yet unserved segment in construction. “There is an assumption that those who need houses need new houses. The solution for developers then is to build subdivisions, but the reality is that a lot who need houses are incremental builders,” said Jessan Catre, Philippine Shelter Venture Lab country lead of Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter. Incremental builders improve their living spaces step-by-step as resources become available. 

There is a housing backlog in the low-cost and socialized segments, even as a surplus of housing in the mid-cost to high-end ones exist. Mr. Catre shared that the unserved segment has a US$13 billion market value—untapped potential for investors in the industry.

Matthias Krups, chief executive officer and founder of the BCI Media Group (mother company of FairBuilding Network, which serves as the group’s corporate social responsibility arm), said that the organization is morphing toward a much faster turnaround between homebuilders expressing a construction need and having it served. Noting the pervasive availability of smartphones as well as the usefulness of business models like ride-sharing, Mr. Krups hopes of this goal coming into fruition. “We do see an opportunity to scale things up faster.” — Patricia B. Mirasol