ACM Homes taps lucrative seafarer market

MANILA, Philippines - While most mid-income housing developers are marketing to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), fast-growing ACM Homes, which has sold close to 10,000 homes in Luzon, has tapped a niche segment of highly-valued workers in the world market, the Filipino seafarer market.

ACM Homes president Tonette de Guzman, notes: “The demand for the skills of Filipino seafarers in the global market remains high, and the best evidence for that is their average monthly wage of US$1,000 per month.” The amount is substantially higher than the wages earned by their land-based OFW counterparts. 

“Moreover, the Philippines remains the country of choice for sourcing seafarers for the global maritime profession because Filipinos are inherently hardworking and adaptable to different environments,” she relates. Unlike other OFWs whose income capacities were severely weakened by the financial crisis, the country’s close to 700,000 seafarers represent a stable and solid market for low and mid-income homes.

In addition to the higher income potential of seafarers, ACM has chosen to focus on this niche group because of their impact to the global economy and world trade. Ninety percent of all goods are moved through ships. Thus, seafarers have an innate and significant ability to “move the world,” according to Philippine Transmarine Carriers (PTC), one of the largest crew management companies in the country deploying close to 35,000 officers and crew annually. 

According to Gerardo Borromeo, CEO of PTC, his firm partnered with ACM based on the latter’s expertise in the OFW market and belief in transforming housing projects into living communities. He says: “PTC saw that ACM had a whole new approach to mid-income housing which was building communities. More than just constructing a cluster of houses, ACM transforms tracts of land into communities that contribute to the welfare and wellness of our seafarers.” Borromeo added that the congruence of philosophies of ACM and PTC allowed a good fit for a partnership through housing.