Sta. Lucia taps OFWs' kin to become estate brokers

Sta. Lucia Realty & Development, Inc., (SLRDI) through its marketing arm, Asian Pacific Group of Companies (APGC) is tapping OFWs' wives and relatives to become agents or brokers.

The Filipino dollar earners are now the number one target of residential developers in the country, APGC senior vice president for sales and marketing Celestino S. Valdez, Jr. said the best channel to tap this huge market is through their closest relatives or wives.

Sta. Lucia, one of the largest property developers in the country, has built over 20 real estate development projects in Cebu

Recently, SLRDI announced the expansion of its middle to high-end residential project in Talamban, the Metropolis Subdivision, to add 100 more lots available.

The 25-hectare Metropolis Subdivision has now a total of 900 lots, majority of which are already sold out, most of the buyers are OFWs, Valdez said.

According to Valdez, for the last four years now, 90 percent of SLRDI's clients' profile are the OFWs, thus, they are maximizing this market's potential through going direct to its closest link.

He said what keeps the residential property industry going, despite the unstable economic state in the Philippines, is this OFWs consumers.

"Every Filipino who is working abroad, their number one priority is to invest in property, especially in residential. This market is very promising, that's why we keep on building," Valdez said.

Metropolis Subdivision in Talamban, is just one of several residential projects built by Sta. Lucia in Metro Cebu. Sta. Lucia's projects in Cebu include (among others), the upscale membership club resort Vistamar in Mactan, Sentinel condominium, Royal Cebu (Consolacion), Glen Rose Subdivision in Carcar, Greenwoods Executive Homes, also in Talamban.

In an earlier interview with SLRDI president and chief executive officer Exequiel D. Robles he said that the company is spending close to P500 million in Cebu in building four more development projects in Cebu starting this year.

Sta. Lucia president and chief executive officer Exequiel D. Robles announced that the company is lining up at least four projects for Cebu this year in both commercial and residential building.

SLRDI, Robles said is starting up its 11-hectare Consolacion Business Park project this year, along with high-end residential venture in Punta Engaño Mactan, the Discovery Bay, and another residential project to be built within Cebu area, and a combination of commercial and residential project that will be situated within Cebu City.

The P500 million initial investment that will be poured into the four projects, does not include the P70 million that the company initially spent for its newest project, the 12-hectare middle-range residential project in Compostela, the Summer Hills subdivision.

"Cebu has always been a good market for real estate," Robles said.

Because of the fertile real estate market in the province, he said the company would start to offer house and lot packages starting next year, with another residential development venture.

He said aside from the company's confidence in the residential, as well as commercial development projects in Cebu, the company is also entertaining possibilities to venture into other commercial related projects, like hotels.