Ayala Land Exec Advises: The best of the property boom

Remarkable things are ongoing with the property industry.

Opportunities abound to make good deals on home purchases. But in most cases, it is still best to be prudent and deal with developers with very good track record on delivery and service.

Rex Mendoza, Ayala Land senior vice president for corporate sales and marketing, says that in a period of boom, the buying public’s experiences can be very good. It can also turn the opposite, he says, as he cautions buyers, against over-exuberance and being taken mainly by attractive brochures and flashy websites that are full of promises but are short of assurances on the track record of its developers.

Mendoza says it is still most advisable for buyers to put in their lifetime’s savings and cast their dreams for quality homes with developers of proven track record. He states, "Due diligence of buyers in checking out developers’ backgrounds is a must in choosing homes, lots, condominiums and real property in general."

An essential facet to check out is how developers fared when the real estate property was down. Did they finish their projects? If they did were they on as time and was the quality that they promised delivered?

Their fate as corporations during the late ’90s, when all of Asia reeled from economic disaster, is a good period to review, he says. In Ayala Land’s case, according to Mendoza, that regional financial turmoil was hurdled with integrity.

Today, Ayala Land holds the record of finishing all its residential condominium projects lined up at that crisis period – The Regency and One, Two and Three Salcedo – while the rest halted their ongoing projects. It continues to hold sacred its commitments for timely delivery with utmost concern for customer satisfaction, adds Mendoza.

"To stress how much Ayala Land values the trust that is leveled upon it by its loyal customers, it finished the projects still in over-compliance with the structural requirements imposed by government regulations" Mendoza notes.

For the first quarter of this year, Ayala Land and its subsidiaries in residential property development have already booked and closed P2 billion worth of units which is the same level of bookings it registered for the whole of 2005, he cited.

The subsidiaries include Community Innovations, which responds to home needs of young and dynamic urban professionals, and Avida, which provides affordable homes for those who value the essentials of quality living.

A sizable portion of Ayala Land buyers these days are Filipino migrants and overseas Filipino workers. They are Filipinos based in the US, Dubai, Middle East, London, Canada and other parts of Europe. "Unlike the boom of the nineties, the Philippine property sector is now enjoying a broader base of investors, with direct real investments coming from Filipino communities abroad," Mendoza states.

With this, the industry upswing is expected to last up to five years, he opines. Thus, it becomes even more crucial for families of buyers, who are the ones who refer the properties available here, to be aware of the importance of choosing reputable property developers to avoid pitfalls and misfortunes with buyers’ hard-earned money.

Other factors they have to look at are the developers’ concern in meeting the actual needs of buyers in terms of accessibility, security and basic utilities. With Ayala Land, there are no short cuts in providing long-term security through a good road network, efficient water, drainage and sewer systems and provision of community amenities.