THE real estate arm of the Aboitiz Group announced it would launch fresh inventories, including a new phase of Priveya Hills in Cebu City, this year.
In a virtual media briefing on Monday, April 24, 2023, Aboitiz Land president and chief executive officer David Rafael said the company will be launching 100 lot-only units at Priveya Hills in June.
Priveya Hills is a 60-hectare luxury property located at the hills of Bacayan, Cebu and Tawason in Mandaue City. Launched in 2012, the development has seen the launch of three phases, and site development has been in full swing since.
“Cebu continues to be one of our major contributors for Aboitiz Land,” said Rafael, noting that the company has huge real estate developments in various stages of development such as Amoa, a 60-hectare development located in Compostela; Foressa, located in the mountains of Balamban; and Priveya Hills and Pristina North Residences both located in Talamban, Cebu City.
Rafael believes the timing of the upcoming launch of the 100 lot-only development in Priveya Hills is “perfect as property values in that part of Cebu has really remained very strong.”
“We are very much excited and optimistic about that launch. Overall, we are very optimistic about the real estate situation in Cebu,” he said.
Priced at P12,500 per square meter during its launch year in 2012, a residential lot in this community is now at P27,600 per square meter, according to the company’s website.
Of the Aboitiz Group’s P78 billion capital expenditure (capex) for 2023, Aboitiz Land has an allocated capex of almost P3 billion for the construction and completion of its residential projects.
“This year will see new project launches in Priveya Hills in Cebu and the Villages at Lipa in Batangas. Aboitiz Land maintains a bullish outlook on the growth of the business as the company maximizes its use of property technology in construction and finance,” the company said in its previous disclosure.
Cautiously optimistic
Moreover, AboitizLand is pursuing an optimistic and more prudent growth strategy on the back of the multiple headwinds the real estate sector is facing.
“I’m cautiously optimistic. There are a lot of good things out there, and the reopening of the economy is very positive. We are also seeing this change in consumer preference. People in post-Covid are beginning to appreciate living outside of Metro Manila because of work-from-home. They don’t need to work in small condo spaces in the city, which expands their choices to bigger houses with open spaces, which is good for us because our projects are located outside Metro Manila,” explained Rafael.
Besides this optimism, Rafael added they are also concerned about the impact of interest rates and inflation on the industry as they both temper the ability of the buyers to buy. Higher interest rates make loans more expensive. Construction costs are also affected by this high inflation rate situation.
“Buyers now are price-sensitive and payment-sensitive. This is also the reason developers are stretching the downpayment terms for as long as 48 months, which is tough for developers to carry that financing scheme for that long time,” he added.