Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Real property sector welcomes DOT vacation homes program
REAL estate industry players in Cebu welcome Tourism Secretary Ace Durano’s campaign to promote the country to people abroad who have the extra money to live and own vacation homes here.
Several members of the Philippine Association of Realtors Board Inc.-Cebu Realtors Board Inc. (Pareb-Cereb) agree that regular vacationers to the country pose as a potential market segment for the real estate industry.
However, Pareb-Cereb president and realtor Gerry Yangyang pointed out that foreigners could not fully own
property—whether commercial or residential units—in the country, as stipulated in the law.
The law also applies to units in condominium buildings, he said, adding that only 40 percent of all units in a condo building can be sold to foreigners and the rest will have to be owned by Filipinos.
“But these foreigners still have the option to buy, own and invest here through condominium-hotels or condotels, which is one of the real estate trends today,” he said.
Practical
He explained that having a condotel is more practical since the owner need not hire housekeepers to look after the unit. In the contract signed by the owner with the real estate developer, the unit is joined in a “rental pool” of the condotel structure that has a building administrator who overseas the maintenance and manages the unit when the owner is away. The owner receives dividend from those who rent his unit while he is temporarily away.
Durano earlier disclosed that his office would launch the “Live Your Dreams” campaign next month, which will be participated by major real estate developers in the country.
With vacation homes as the product, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will target vacationers who come to the country every year to stay for more than a month and would spend more money on support services, such as medical check-ups, short-term courses and recreational activities.
“As a consequence, we can free up hotel rooms for short-staying visitors,” Durano said in a speech during the 17th Visayas Area Business Conference held last week.
He also announced the addition of a total of 1,500 rooms by Sofitel Hotel (a property of the SM Group), Imperial Palace Hotel and Microtel Inns and Suites Philippines by the end of the year.
Yangyang said that a vacation home that targets foreign clients should possess a condominium certificate of title so that a foreigner can buy and own a unit.
Yangyang and realtor Gene Granada also pointed out that the location of these vacation homes is crucial.
Hotel rooms
“These homes must be equipped with amenities since they come here for vacation. We are studying how to attract them and how to make their stay enjoyable,” Granada said.
Meanwhile, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino general manager Marco Protacio also welcomed the additional hotel rooms in Cebu since these could supplement the present supply and support convention activities.
“We’re prepared for those additional rooms, for competition. But they are actually healthy for the industry. Our convention market is very stable. Waterfront is still the leading convention venue in Cebu and I think that will stay the same in the next five years. We are now approaching our convention season, which is September to February. There has been no reduction in our number of bookings,” he said.
Waterfront Philippines Inc. president Kenneth Gatchalian said conventions are one of the reasons, apart from the projected strong influx of tourists, for the company’s regular upgrades and operation repairs. (NRC)
