Aboitiz property arm ramps up Cebu projects

CEBU, Philippines — The surge of demand for home properties prompted AboitizLand to accelerate projects in Cebu.

According to AboitizLand’s president and chief executive officer David Rafael, the company has decided to start the expansion of phases for Foressa Mountain Town and Amoa before the end of 2021.

Rafael said before the pandemic, Foressa Mountain Town was promoted for retirees. It is more of a second home because it is far from Cebu City. With the turns and twist of the market and work from home set-up, infrastructure developments and preferences of open space and healthy living, the Foressa market is changing. It is now being bought by buyers who are looking at it as primary residences.

 “The sales take-up in Foressa was much faster, and so we are in a situation that our inventories are almost down to zero. We don’t have a choice but to accelerate the expansion,” Rafael said.

Aboitiz Land is developing another 50 hectares of land that will bring about 200 to 250 lots. Pre-selling is targeted to start in fourth quarter 2021.

Rafael reported that the real estate arm of the Aboitiz Group, noted a “substantial increase in sales take-up” for these two residential development brands, even faster than what the company is anticipated.

Foressa Mountain Town is a 250-hectare mountain resort project in Cansamoroy, Balamban. This multibillion-peso project was launched in April 2017.

 Amoa, on the other hand, which was launched in October 2015, is a 60-hectare residential development located in Barangay Tamiao, Compostela, Cebu.

Both Foressa and Amoa’s sales take-up also rose significantly amid the pandemic. From selling 10 units per month pre-pandemic, it is now selling 15 units per month in spite of a price increase.

Amoa’s enclave 2 which will offer “choice cuts” will be launched in the middle of 2022. This new enclave will offer mixed house and lot and lot-only units of about 300 to 400.

 This year, AboitizLand aims to over hit its 10 percent growth target, considering the dynamic interest from the market.

 There are three trends that pushed the surge of residential demand these days, these are the shift to work from home arrangement, the continuous build up of infrastructure and the adaption of consumers to digital buying, which makes property purchase much easier.