MANILA, Philippines – Cebu Landmasters, Incorporated (CLI) is ready to take on the Luzon property market.
CLI already set its base, launching its first office in Luzon on Wednesday, January 22, at the newly-opened CWC Design Center along Arnaiz Avenue in Makati City.
The homegrown Vis-Min property firm is allocating P12 billion to develop its first two Luzon projects: a horizontal housing development in the south of Metro Manila and a vertical residential project. Budget for the horizontal development is pegged at P7 billion (P5 billion for land acquisition and P2 billion to build at least two phases), while another P5 billion will be set aside for the condominium project.
“We’d definitely like to put our hands into the house and lot market and, of course, the obvious choice will be the south portion of Manila. Where is that? Batangas, Cavite…these are the usual suspects and we do have standing offers there,” CLI chairman and chief executive officer Jose Soberano III said in a media briefing.
“We would like to position on larger tracks of properties,” he added. “The biggest we have in terms of development for housing is about 50 hectares — that’s in Cebu. In Davao, there’s another 30 hectares there,” he added.
CLI is not the first to set eyes on locations outside Metro Manila. The lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for more space, pushing home buyers to look beyond the crowded metro.
The company aims to secure around 50 to 100 hectares of land in Luzon to build 5,000 to 10,000 homes.
Cebu Landmasters’ portfolio of residential projects include its economic brand Casa Mira, which has subdivisions in Davao, Danao, Bacolod, Butuan, Dumaguete; and Velmiro Heights in Minglanilla, Cebu, for its mid-market segment.
“Here, I think, if you have a vast track, you can probably mix it up, depending on how you plan it out, which could touch on the higher end of the market or lots only,” Jose said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Meanwhile, for its vertical project, CLI is looking at “something closer” to Metro Manila, unfazed by reports of an oversupply of condominiums.
“The oversupply in Metro Manila might be condos that are more on the investor speculator market, but the end-user condos are probably full and doing well,” said CLI chief operating officer Jose Franco Soberano.
“The good thing with CLI, we’re entering with zero supply in Metro Manila, so meaning we are really at a very strong position because we can go where the demand should be and that’s where we’re targeting.”
The company is open to enter a joint venture to pursue the project, which would be mixed-use in nature. While majority of the land will be used for residential purposes, it would also include a retail component.
Cebu Landmasters is targeting to launch the first Luzon project in 2026.
The company booked a 7% net income growth to P2.3 billion in the first nine months of 2024.
CLI launched P8.2 billion worth of projects (1,664 residential units) during the period and the new projects were already 89% sold out as of November 2024, according to its 2024 third quarter results.
“This strong demand underscores that we’re offering well-priced, thoughtfully-designed developments that truly meet the needs of our target markets,” Jose said in statement in November last year. – Rappler.com