CEBU CITY – A publicly listed real estate developer has retained its market leadership in Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) in 2020, according to a recent market study by property consultant Santos Knight Frank (SKF).
The Cebu-based Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) has the largest market share from among real estate firms providing condominium projects and subdivisions in the region.
The study disclosed that CLI accounted for 18,683 units or 12 percent of the available 86,126 units in VisMin, pulling ahead of developers operating nationwide based on third quarter 2020 data.
Its closest rivals were Sta. Lucia Realty and Development and Camella Homes, at 11,897 units and 11,768 units, respectively.
Franco Soberano, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of CLI, on Monday said: “The high sales velocity of our projects even at the height of the lockdowns in key cities verify a deeply felt need especially among VisMin economic and mid-income earners to own their own homes. We intend to continue fulfilling this need in 2021 with 8,000 more units in 15 residential projects in Cebu, Ormoc, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.”
A market study by Leechiu Property Consultants corroborated that the VisMin housing backlog would be at 2.85 million houses by 2022, with an average annual demand of 475,000 new housing units.
Of this number, 200,000 mid and economic housing units are needed per year.
But only a handful of the current top 10 VisMin developers in 2020 are likely to maximize opportunities provided by the mid and economic income segment in 2021 and beyond.
A number of these developers extended project completion and turnover dates due to the pandemic, the study revealed.
Soberano said that by mid-year 2020, CLI’s housing inventory was similarly at risk of being overtaken by strong demand.
But the firm leaned on its strategic relationships with local stakeholders including local government units to minimize delays in planning and construction.
It thus succeeded in rolling out nine new projects with 4,300 units in Bohol, Iloilo, Dumaguete, and Davao.
“The year 2020 opened our eyes further to how high the demand truly is for quality housing in VisMin,” Soberano said, “and we hope to build on our growth momentum to satisfy this great need.” (PNA)
