AboitizLand sees soaring need for beachfront homes

As Cebu positions itself as a second-home destination in the world, AboitizLand Inc. plans to develop more near-beach residential properties as the company anticipates the demand for this kind of products to double in the next few years.

AboitizLand vice president for residential unit Pia Mantecon said that the robust demand is manifested through the strong take up of the company’s newest residential project in Cordova, Mactan Island, called “Ajoya.”

Ajoya, a 15-hectare residential project of AboitizLand is enjoying strong sales take up especially from the local market, as well as OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) and balikbayan markets.

This P1.12 billion near-beach residential project provides a total of 820 house and lot units, including 67 cuts of lot-only offering.

“We are looking at other areas in Cordova for [further] developments. We are open into this kind of project, or beachfront properties,” Mantecon said adding that aside from the active local market, the company is taking advantage of the spike of tourists buying properties in Cebu.

Although, the Ajoya residential project is not directly targeted to the expatriates, but for the broad middle-income market segment, Mantecon said the company is also planning to build residential properties, preferably near the beach that will target the foreign market, who are seeking for vacation home investments in Cebu.

Ajoya is the 8th residential community built by the AboitizLand Inc., over the years. This time, Mantecon said the company is on a constant lookout for prime properties, especially near the beach to seize the opportunity of good business in real estate products that capitalize on Cebu’s resort-type or Hawaii-like environment.

Even as the company still has to formally launch the Ajoya project, Mantecon said market take up is strong, with 32 lots already sold, out of the total 62 available lot-only offer.

According to Mantecon, AboitizLand is confident of the real estate market in Cebu. This optimism is manifested by the entry of national and giant players in Cebu, that are also developing residential projects here.

In fact, while the global economic crisis hit its bottom in 2009, AboitizLand’s performance in all its residential as well as commercial developments still registered brisk sales, a testament that the real estate market here has continued to perform well, regardless of the crisis jitters.

“We did very well last year. It was a normal year for us—even better,” Mantecon said.

“We were seeing a lot of people buying. Those who have money invested in real estate, instead of putting their money in the banks,” he added.

Because of this dynamism, Mantecon said AboitizLand will be opening more residential projects in the next few years, preferable beachfront developments.

“We see a spike of tourists buying properties in Cebu, as well as local businessmen investing in properties,” Mantecon said.

Ajoya will be formally launched towards the end of this month. It will offer lots of firsts in the industry, such as introduction of row shop-houses (two-story houses with commercial space in the first floor}, shear-wall-technology, among others.