PROPERTY developer Pueblo de Oro Development Corp. (PDO) will be launching two new projects in Cebu this year.
These are the Pueblo de Oro Storeys, a mid-rise condominium inside the 27.4-hectare Townscapes Mactan in Babag, Lapu-Lapu City, and Pueblo de Oro Townhomes Carcar that sits on a 10-hectare property in Carcar, south of Cebu.
The condo project is a four-building, six-story condominium that will offer 23.8 square meter studio units with balconies overlooking the Mactan Channel. It will have a total of 450 units.
The townhouse project in Carcar, on the other hand, offers 920 house and lot units in Barangay Can-asujan. This will be introduced to the market in the first quarter of 2024.
Ronald Allan Uy, vice president and general manager of PDO-Visayas, has yet to determine the total investments for these projects; however, he said that Cebu gets an estimate of 15 percent of the total capital expenditure set by the company for 2024.
New projects
PDO, according to reports, is allocating P18 billion (US$327 million) to fund new projects in Cagayan de Oro, Batangas and Cebu. Uy said the company has lined up 12 projects for this year.
In Lapu-Lapu City, Pueblo de Oro Townscapes Mactan is on track to complete its 27.4-hectare township. Otherwise known as Townscapes Mactan, this P1.63 billion township venture has grown to become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the province because of its proximity to the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway T-intersection.
In March last year, it inaugurated the 3.7-hectare Park Place II– the third exclusive subdivision in Townscapes Mactan. Park Place II offers 194 single attached housing units, with three bedrooms and a provision for a mini office. The regular lot size is 88 square meters with a total area of 106.5 square meters.
In November last year, Park Place II unveiled two new house model units -Tanya and Hazel.
Besides Park Place II, the township also houses the 13.5-hectare La Aldea Del Mar and eight-hectare Park Place.
OFWs still major buyer
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remain the top buyers of residential projects in Cebu.
Uy said they are betting big on the continued inflow of remittances to support the growth of real estate.
Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the money sent home by OFWs from January to November 2023 grew by 2.9 percent to US$33.6 billion. November remittance alone stood at $3 billion.
The growth in personal remittances during the month was driven by increased remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year.
Bank lending also grew by seven percent, according to the BSP.
Outstanding loans for production activities went up by 5.7 percent in November from 5.9 percent in the previous month, mainly due to the growth in loans to major sectors, including real estate activities (11.9 percent); electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply (12.8 percent); and wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (9.6 percent).
Quoting its latest residential survey, Colliers Philippines said nearly 60 percent of its respondents prefer to buy a condominium, house-and-lot, or lot-only unit outside Metro Manila.
It cited the country’s improving infrastructure and local government competitiveness as among the reasons for the robust expansion in regional areas. It said this should compel developers to consider launching more residential projects and masterplanned communities in key provinces in Central and Southern Luzon, and the Visayas-Mindanao region.
It also suggested that developers should thoroughly assess the attractive product types and price segments among end-users and investors to address demand gaps for both vertical and horizontal markets.