Developer invests P1.5B

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By Katlene O. Cacho

Sunday, January 27, 2013

A REAL estate player is allocating some P1.5 billion for the construction of 1,500 houses in the Visayas and Mindanao this year.

Of that investment, the bulk will be set aside for three projects in Cebu with a total of 800 units. The remaining 700 units will be distributed in Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Iligan cities.

According to Richard Lim, president and chief executive officer of Johndorf Ventures Corp., the capital expenditure (capex) share for Cebu is the biggest so far since the company’s entry in 2004.

“Cebu is becoming progressive. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

In fact, its growing population and bullish property market have attracted big players to expand their projects here,” Lim said. Their presence in Cebu is a manifestation of how optimistic and confident local players are about Cebu and the booming real estate industry.

A total of nine hectares of land will be developed into affordable subdivisions under the Johndorf and Prohomes brands. Two of these projects will be located in Mactan and one in Carcar, Cebu.

Different segments

Meanwhile, the Mindanao projects will have a total of 35 hectares of land to be developed into socialized and mid-range housing projects.

Late last year, Johndorf announced it has taken full control of the management of Prohomes Development Inc., a former subsidiary of the company. Prohomes, Lim said, will maintain its role in developing affordable residential units. Johndorf will focus on building residential units for the middle-income market.

Lim said they have already started building one of the Mactan projects. Construction of the two remaining projects will commence, the company hopes, in the third or fourth quarter this year.

Lim stressed that despite the presence of big and new players doubling efforts in serving the housing requirements, there are segments that are not fully served. He believes demand is still present in all segments, particularly in the low and middle-income market, spurred by Cebu’s growing population and thriving businesses.

Cebu’s three-million population is one factor that developers consider in terms of putting up projects, he said.

CBRE Philippines noted that the affordability of housing units brought about by the intense competition in the market, low interest rates and easy financing schemes offered by banks have led the country to experience “democratization” in the housing sector, from a nation of renters to nation of owners.

Condo ventures

Lim also announced that his company is building up its land banking activities in Cebu in preparation for the continued demand in the property market.

“We are starting to look outside Cebu City because nearby cities and the countryside are showing progress. The developments here are gearing toward the south of Cebu,” said Lim.

Aside from building horizontal projects, last year Johndorf also ventured into condominium development through 148 Residences, the studio-type and dorm-type project located on Pelaez St. near University of San Carlos.

Lim said the company has no plans yet of building another condo project but he is not closing doors on building another one, given the huge demand for condos.

Johndorf has already built more than 10,000 homes in Visayas and Mindanao since its establishment in 1986.

When in Cebu City, please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City at the low amount of only P 9,333.33 and House and Lot @ P 7,306.81/month only. Hurry while supply of units still last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown herein: (053)555-84-64/09164422611/09173373687.

The Way Forward For Housing

The Way Forward For Housing

By CHARLIE A. V. GORAYEB

November 14, 2012, 4:11pm

True to its theme, “Global Filipino: Key to Conserving Growth Through Sustainable and Strategic Real Estate Development and Practices”, the 21st Annual CREBA National Convention held last October was one of the ways the organization hopes to fulfill its role in linking sustainable approaches to keep the industry’s impressive growth path.

Government promulgated R.A. 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (UDHA) primarily to encourage strong private sector support in the implementation of mass housing projects. This was to be done through the granting of incentives such as simplification of documentation and financing, one-stop-shop, and tax exemptions for engaging in socialized housing.

CREBA recognizes the need to strengthen UDHA, particularly on strategies to strengthen the local government units’ capacity in the delivery of housing services. There is a need to promote greater public-private partnership in the development of sustainable communities.

CREBA likewise recognizes the need for the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to adopt a more pro-active stance and ensure that these incentives are availed by the private developers. That will be encouraged through the formulation of common guidelines in the implementation of Section 20 of the law and the granting of tax holidays for mass housing projects to address the huge backlog.

CREBA strongly supports the priority Housing Bills that are now pending in Congress, notably the creation of Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the proposed bill that would require housing developers to comply with Section 18 of UDHA. Those initiatives will surely promote efficiency which will lead to the increase of in-housing stock.

Hence, we urge HUDCC to call upon concerned government agencies to strictly comply with the specific provisions of UDHA and direct BIR to accept the Socialized Housing Certification issued by the HLURB. This will be made as the only requirement for the issuance of Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR)/Tax Clearance (TCL) to the Registry of Deeds for housing developers.

We also urge HUDCC to complete the evaluation of the proposal to adjust the loan ceilings for socialized housing in light of recent developments and align this with the housing program of the Aquino administration.  We also urge to consider Socialized Housing Condominiums as alternative compliance to Section 18 of UDHA.

In addition, we urge the adoption of multi-tiered socialized housing price ceiling of up to P240,000 for the informal sector, up to P400,000 for the formal sector, and up to P850,000 for the medium-rise buildings or condominium units, provided they are located in urban areas.

Corollary to this, the increase of the price ceiling for low-cost housing from the current P3 million to P3.5 million for those who want to avail of income tax holidays of the BOI will be a welcome move. This will contribute to increase in housing units.

Government must finally adopt common guidelines and simplify procedures in the issuance of housing permits and licenses to avoid duplication of functions between HLURB and the local government units.

On real estate service practice, we urge the legislature to introduce amendments to the Real Estate Service Act (RESA) to address the number of sales agents to be hired by licensed brokers.

For its part, CREBA continues to strongly support and lobby for the immediate passage of the Bill that would create the Department of Housing to respond to the challenges of urbanization.

Just how well we can achieve our objectives shall be the measure of our collective will, and so I enjoin all our members and partners to rise to the occasion.

When in Cebu City, please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. 

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City together with your own parking space at the low amount of only P12,000.00+ and House and Lot @ P 7,306.81/month only. Hurry while supply of units still last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown herein: (053)555-84-64/09164422611/09173373687.

                                                                                                                                                           

Pending Bills On Real Estate