DMCI to enter commercial, mass housing sector

MANILA, Philippines - DMCI Homes, the property development arm of the Consunji Group’s DMCI Holdings, is alotting P20 billion next year for new projects including P12 billion for land acquisition and construction, a ranking official said.

In an interview with The STAR, DMCI Homes chief finance officer Joseph Ramil Lombos said the company would make its debut in the commercial space and mass housing sector next year as part of efforts to expand its offerings other than the mid- and high-rise residential units.

“We are widening our products,” Lombos said.

For its foray into the commercial business, DMCI Homes is putting up a 40-story tower in Pasong Tamo, Makati which it plans to lease to a single developer.

“We are talking to a lot of operators,” Lombos said.

He said DMCI Homes is spending P1.7 billion for the construction of the building, which the company expects to launch within the second half of next year.

For its mass housing projects, Lombos said the company would construct residential units ranging from P500,000 to P1.5 million, targeting the lower income segment.

DMCI Homes’ first area is a 30-hectare property outside Metro Manila but within Luzon. He said there are other areas identified but all are outside Metro Manila because of the lower cost of land.

He declined to identify the areas, saying DMCI Homes is still finalizing the master plan for the mass housing segment but said the company is aiming to launch this new business in the third quarter of 2016.

The P20 billion outlay, which is almost the same as last year, includes land acquisition and construction cost of P12 billion, while the rest of the amount would go to taxes, marketing and selling expenses, Lombos said.

“It’s almost the same as this year, P20 billion,” he said on the company’s total capex for 2016.

DMCI Homes is optimistic of these new segments as it has built on a reputation of being among the country’s known property giants.

For its residential unit, the company is gearing up to launch P60 billion worth of 12 new projects next year with 15,000 units.

DMCI Homes will keep density in its projects as low as possible and would stick to its formula of catering to the end-user market and not the tenant type market wherein homeowners lease out their units to third parties.

The company expects sales and reservations to reach P22 billion this year from last year’s P20 billion.

In the first six months alone, sales and reservations already reached P10.44 billion, four percent higher than the P10.08 billion in the same period last year.

DMCI Homes contributed P1.72 billion in net income, four percent higher due to the recognition of high-rise projects during the six-month period, while the holding company, DMCI meanwhile reported a consolidated net income of P6.6 billion during the period.

In Metro Manila, DMCI Homes is also set to develop Fairway Terraces in Pasay City. The project will rise across the Villamor Golf Club and will have units with bigger sizes, a low-density atmosphere and clear views of the golf course.