Developers to blame for low-cost housing crisis?

The government’s problem of putting up 4.5 million housing units in five years was traced to the fact that there are no developers and investors willing to put their funds into low-cost housing. The estimated funding requirement for 4.5 million housing units is P20 billion.

Another source of problem is the current tight financial position of former housing fund sources like the state pension agencies (Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System) and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp.

Breeze Woods Development Corp. president Francisco Buencamino said "there is no problem with the market for low cost housing but rather developers willing to invest in such projects." He stated that most of buyers of low cost housing are overseas Filipino workers, who attach a premium in increasing their "self esteem" with owning a housing for their families.

"After all, owning a house is just as important to most Filipinos as having food on their tables," Buencamino said.

Breeze Woods marketing manager Raymond Arguelles said that at the recently-concluded conference of the Confederation of Real Estate Builders Association, it was noted that the former Unified Home Lending Program (the predecessor of the Pag-Ibig fund) ran a collection problem as much as P43 billion.

The government intends to "securitize" this among of receivables, through long term housing bonds to be issued by government, Arguelles said.

Buecamino’s company is now into the fifth phase of its low cost housing development in Bacoor, Cavite. And since his company is not into land banking it is not hard hit by the burst of the real estate bubble that started in 1997 from the Asian financial crisis. The bubble burst affected medium to high end housing.

The first four phases of Breeze Woods’ low cost housing development has a total of 1,200 units of single detached (or house and lots) while the fifth place is a mix of single detached and townhomes, Buencamino said.

Breeze Woods is also currently completing the finishing touches of 16 units of 70-rooms, eighty-story apartments called Chanelay Mansion, a condominium-apartment right in the middle of two major networks and the EDSA-MRT station.

Started by Chanely Development Corp.-owned 60 percent by Michael Say and his wife Luz Policarpio-Say and 40 percent by the Buencamino family, the building is now almost full except for the 16 rooms, which Buencamino’s family is selling at 30 percent less than their 199 prices of P1.8 to P4 million.

The Buencamino family is targeting its sales pitch to junior executives of the two major channels — ABS-CBN and GMA-7 because of the nearness of Chanelay Mansion to their offices.

Services being offered are private telephone facilities, intercom for all units, basement parking with 24-hour security, street level parking within the property line, laundry cages at the rooftop, 2 high speed elevators, centralized garbage chute and 24-hour security, individual mailboxes, individual electric and water meters, aesthetically-designed hallways with wall lamps and marble/ceramic flooring, marble lobby with chandelier, fire detection and protection system, water tanks and cable ready rooms.

Buencamino told The STAR that while the Bulding Code provides for parking of 30 percent of units of a building, his group’s the apartment-condominium has more parking lots than what is required by law.