CEBU, Philippines - Bullish about Cebu’s real estate market, property developer Aboitiz Land Inc. will be spending P2 billion next year on more residential projects in Cebu as well as expansions of its existing developments.
AboitizLand president Andoni Aboitiz said that the company just closed a deal to acquire a 15-hectare property at Cordova on Mactan Island, for the establishment of another middle-range subdivision, the first development of AboitizLand located in Mactan.
Bigger chunk of the capital expenditure (capex) allocated for 2010 will be poured on the expansion of its City-based condominium project called “Persimmon”, as the company will spend about P400 million for the construction of each tower.
Aboitiz said the company is on the constant look out for available land for other projects, especially for condominium developments, as it has seen a strong take up of condominium units in Cebu since the company offered the Tower 1 units to the market.
Part of the expenditure will also be used to construct the commercial segment of its high-end residential project in Talamban—the Pristina North, including the Town Houses component of the chic subdivision.
AboitizLand’s middle-range subdivision project in the Southern part of the City, Kishanta, will also be expanded next year, as take up sales is also strong, he said.
The company expects to complete all the 628 condominium units at 1.4 hectare Persimmon project located in Mabolo area, Aboitiz said.
“[We noted] good uptake of [real estate] sales especially in condominium market. Some years ago we made judgment call that Cebuanos will embrace condo living,” Aboitiz said adding that today, the condo market is hitting very strongly and he projects a more competitive market in the next few years.
“We are studying some areas and good properties [around Metro Cebu] for our future condominium development projects,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the launching of the 15-story Persimmon North Tower that will offer another 157 condo units.
Last year, AboitizLand Inc. spent P2.3 billion in for projects it started in 2008, including Persimmon, iMEZ project at the Mactan Export Zone (MEZ-2), Kishanta expansion, among others.
According to Aboitiz, the company will be spending more on condominium developments in the next few years, as soon as it can spot good location for its next condo project.
The Persimmon is the company’s 15th project. It has realized “impressive” uptake attributed to its combination of strategic location, excellent amenities and value-for-money construction.
For its Tower 1, surprisingly, 80 percent of the buyers are local residents in Cebu, 10 percent international Filipino market, and seven percent foreigners.