DMCI Homes Sees Growth in Rental Market by 2nd Half of 2012

As time goes by, more and more residents are looking for a home that offers convenience in location and most would trade location but end up on a cramped condominium. Property giant DMCI Homes did just know what to do through understanding the market and providing the essentials by offering them quality home rentals for resort style living. Today, Start-up families and Expats are realizing that a DMCI Homes development satisfies their needs.    

Alfredo R. Austria, president of DMCI Homes, always quotes “Anchor your service on the value proposition of our company.” This statement has guided the Leasing Department to realizing its mission of providing convenient, value added leasing services to clients who expect a good and sound return of investment.

“In the thriving industry of real estate, leasing takes part in keeping the business in balance. Rent or Lease is an add on flavor, a spice in the field of real estate business as it provides income to unit owners who choose homes to be their investments. In my 16 years of experience in the industry, I have seen the crunch and punch cycle of the property market and indeed, competitors have widely increased nationwide, and the challenge is how to achieve our mission. As I would share to the whole department, a unit rented must equivalent to Two Happy customers our tenants and our unit owners.”, Rida Ferrer, DMCI Leasing Manager added.

The presence of Business Process Outsource (BPO) strengthens the market of residential leasing, where a significant part of it completes the over- all composition of tenants acquired by the Leasing Department: 59% local residents and 41% foreigners. Others are derived through referrals.

The DMCI Homes Leasing Services (DHLS) Department has uncompromisingly shown a great number of increase on its lease performance for the 1st quarter of 2012. An average of 259% increased in rental activity from last year exceeding its target at an average of 104%. More contracts will be expected to close on the nearing months, as DMCI Homes opens new units for rent in Quezon City (Accolade Place – P. Tauzon), Maricielo Villas – Las Piñas, Sienna Park – Parañaque City and High- Rise Buildings, Rawai and Kamala at Royal Palm Residences – Taguig City. Also, by the month of September to December, the number of short term tenants will rise due to vacationers and balikbayans who will be staying for the holidays. With this anticipation at hand, DMCI Leasing has expanded offices at Acacia Estates - Taguig, Tivoli Gardens Residences - Mandaluyong, and Ohana Place - Las Piñas, to better provide faster services to unit owners.



Accolade Place Building Facade and Amenities (Actual)



Siena Park Residences (Actual Community Shot)



Maricielo Villas Clubhouse (Actual)

Vacationers nowadays prefer apartments for rent as retreat homes under short term lease instead of booking in hotels. With condominiums, they get lower rental cost as compared to hotels, and yet with DMCI developments, they also get both affordability and resort style living as they select from their favorite destination.


DMCI Homes aspires to expand its network, as influenced by the growing number of clients, both tenants and unit owners. With this objective, comes its first Leasing General Assembly last June 22, 2012 in approach to empowering its quality people, and giving recognition to leasing officers, leasing specialists, and agents with outstanding performances. Highlighted are the benefits of being an accredited agent/ broker of DMCI Homes Leasing Services as it opens doors to residential leasing of 23 developments and as- to- date 12 upcoming projects, plus, selected leasing of commercial and office spaces that offers promising commissions.

DMCI’s first commercial center, whose construction is in full swing, is situated at Acacia Estates. SaveMore will be operating its supermarket, and surrounding it are restaurants, alfresco, and other shops that will complement the needs and lifestyle of the Acacia community. With the availability of a commercial complex, it will surely be an attraction to more future tenants in Taguig City.

Also, located in the area is Mahogany Place III, the latest addition to DMCI Homes exclusive subdivision developments. Its access to Bonifacio Global City and Makati, makes it a sure provider of the conveniences present in- city living. Another set of new house and lots are for lease at Mahogany Place III. You can choose from a single detached, duplex, and townhouse units.

Moreover, DMCI Homes Leasing Services Department in its constant desire to improve services has recently tied-up with the country’s biggest communication company, SMART communication, as they provide SMART INFO Board, a broadcast facility where clients can now receive regular updates on the status of their units and other leasing activities through their mobile phones for FREE.

Also, DHLS has released its first community directory, last May 2012, where residents of DMCI Homes communities acquire free subscription of the said magazine. The first issue was successful and was well appreciated by unit owners as it provided information on deals and services they can avail within the community. With its success, a quarterly release of the magazine will be provided.

Source: Yahoo News,  August 22, 2012

Avida Towers Davao: Avida's First High-rise Project in Davao

Avida Towers

AVIDA Land, a fully-owned subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc., is earmarking around P800 million to P1 billion for its first-ever high-rise condominium project in Davao City for middle-class families. Avila Land head of VisMin Project and Strategic Management Group Pol Tanco, during the launch of its first tower on Saturday at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, said their condominium development project is composed of two towers and will be built along C.M. Recto St.

The project, called Avida Towers Davao, will bring a new concept of condo living among the people of Davao City, just like in Metro Manila. The first tower will have 23 floors and will house a total of 431 residential units. The second tower, meanwhile, will be a much taller infrastructure with a total of 28 floors and 621 units. Tanco said both state-of-the art towers will feature three unit classifications such as studio type units with 22 to 25 square meters (sqms), one-bedroom units with 37 to 42 sqms, and two-bedroom units with 58 sqms. He added that the first tower will have four levels set aside for the parking space with a capacity of 170 parking units.  The target completion date for the first tower will be in 2015, since the period of construction will last about three years.

Source: SUN Star Davao 08.15.2012

Robinsons Land Shifts Focus to Commercial Projects

After slowing down on residential construction, Gokongwei-led property firm Robinsons Land Corp. is recalibrating its growth strategy and beefing up its landbank to build a strong pipeline of work in the commercial segment.

“We’re more aggressive now. We’re embarking on landbanking to ensure sufficient land capacity for development,” said Frederick D. Go, president of RLC.

Go said the company remains in talks with Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada for the latter’s $2-billion casino project in the PAGCOR Entertainment City along Roxas Blvd. RLC is considering running the retail and hotel operations for Okada’s project.  

RLC was inherently cautious about the short-term outlook for the residential real estate market and would rather focus on expanding its shopping mall, office building and hotel operations, which account for more than 65 percent of the group’s total revenues.

RLC is building seven new shopping malls and expanding three of its existing malls to capitalize on strong consumer spending and a growing business process outsourcing industry. Of the seven, three will be built this year while the other four will rise in 2013.

The expansion of the retail portfolio will increase the group’s total mall leasable area to a little over a million square meters (sqm) in two years.

RLC recently completed two mall expansion projects in Tacloban and Bacolod.

Together with the two expansion projects, RLC’s total gross leasable area (GLA) is seen to reach 911,000 sqm at end-September this year. In 2013, RLC will add another 100,000 sqm to bring the total GLA to 1.01 million sqm.

For the office segment, RLC is completing Cyberscape Alpha and Cyberspace Beta in Ortigas by mid-2013.

As for its Go Hotel chain, the company is looking to build four this year in line with plans to hit a 30-branch network over the next five years.

Source: Philippine Star 08.22.2012

The Proscenium by Rockwell Land

Soon to launch this year is Rockwell Land's project, The Proscenium, whose design team is headed by renowned Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott. A 3.6 hectare prime property on the northeast of Rockwell Center will be developed with additional 5 residential towers, 15,000 sqm of retail, 10,000 sqm of office and a 700-seater performing arts theater.

The Proscenium Aerial Location from Google Earth


In ancient Rome, the stage area in front of the scaenae frons was known as the “proscenium”, meaning “in front of the scenery”. In the Roman theater, no proscenium arch existed, in the modern sense. However, Roman theaters were similar to modern proscenium theaters in the sense that the entire audience had a restricted range of views on the stage–all of which were from the front, rather than the sides or back. - Wikipedia

Watch out for The Proscenium. Follow and subscribe to ManilaPROPERTYFinder.

Robinsons Magnolia: Robinsons Land Newest Lifestyle Landmark

Property developer Robinsons Land sees its newly opened Robinsons Magnolia shopping complex along Aurora Boulevard turning into its fourth-biggest cash cow among the firm’s 32 shopping malls in the country. The four-level Robinsons Magnolia, which opened last week, forms part of RLC’s four-tower Magnolia Residences development in the area where the Magnolia Ice Cream House once stood.

Robinsons Magnolia was 96 percent leased out when it opened last week and it is expected to be 100% leased out by next month. Operational is around 60 percent, with the other tenants expected to open within the next three months in time for the Christmas season.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 08.20.12

The old Magnolia Ice Cream House is back! There is now a wonderful new place to create happy, lasting memories.

Robsinsons Magnolia Mall Features:

• Robinsons Department Store and Appliance Center
• Robinsons Supermarket
• Robinsons Movieworld – New lobby with trendy contemporary look, ten (10) state-of-the-art cinemas including two 3D cinemas
• Food Court
• Handyman Do It Best
• Toys R Us
• Entertainment outlets such as Bingo, Bowling, Billiards and Video Gaming Centers
• Veranda - offers Al Fresco dining at its finest
• Sports Loop - complete one-stop-shop for athletes and sports enthusiasts
• Jumpstreet – Kids’ Zone (apparel, shoes, accessories)
• My Domain – district for the tech savvy
• A Health Center to Body Senses
• Jewelry Lane
• Home & Lifestyle
• Three levels of basement and deck parking areas

Brands/Stores: Topshop/Topman, Mango, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Muji, Warehouse, Anne Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Fred Perry, Lacoste, Penguin, Perry Ellis, Ecco, Nine West, Promod, Miss Sixty, Gap, Cotton On, Aeropostale, Springfield, Cache Cache, Superga, Steve Madden, La Senza, Samsonite, Philip Stein, Charriol, Beauty Bar, Healthy Options, Howards Storage, True Value, Gourdo's, Bow and Wow, and a Power Mac Center.
Food/Dining/Restaurants: Tao Yuan, Thai Bistro, Conti's, UCC, Sumosam, Clawdaddy, New Orleans, Elias, Uncle Cheffy, Buffet 101, Patchi, Red Mango, Happy Lemon, Mary Grace and Jamba Juice

Entertainment: Tom's World and Gymboree

Mall Services: WiFi enabled, PWD-friendly, babycare facilities, Customer Pay Lounge, Valet Service, and monitored taxi service.

ALI wins FTI property with P24.33-B bid

Ayala Land buys the 74 hectare FTI complex for 24.33 billion or 32,879 per sq.m. ALI will use this property as its Southern gateway in Metro Manila in the same way that Vertis North will be the Northern Gateway. Read article below.

Ayala Land Inc. bagged the government’s Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) property in Taguig with an offer of P24.33 billion in a public bidding yesterday, beating two other giant property developers Robinsons Land Inc. of the Gokongwei group and Andrew Tan’s Empire East.

Last year, the Ayala group also bagged the Aquino administration’s P2-billion Daang Hari South Luzon road deal, the first public-private partnership (PPP) for infrastructure project to be bid out.

During yesterday’s auction, only the three property firms out of seven interested parties submitted their bids in time for the 11:30 a.m. cut-off set by the government’s Privatization and Management Office (PMO).

Ayala’s bid has a net present value of P23.889 billion, twice the floor price of P10.2 billion while Robinsons Land submitted the second highest bid at P14.66 billion. Empire East offered P11.2 billion for the property.

Ayala will pay P19.465 billion as upfront payment within 60 business days, with the balance to be settled within one year.

The bidding was originally scheduled for Aug. 8 but the PMO decided to move the date to Aug. 14 to give interested parties more time to prepare their offers for 74 hectares of the 108-hectare agro-industrial complex.

Property firms that purchased bid documents but did not submit bids are the Lopezes’ Rockwell Land Corp., the Sy family’s SM Land Inc., Andrew Gotianun’s Filinvest Land Inc. and Century Properties Group Inc., owned by the family of Jose Antonio.

The government tried but failed to bid out the FTI property in the past, with the Macapagal-Arroyo administration even lowering the floor price to P7 to P8 billion. One valuation pegged the value of the property at P12 billion.

The last attempt to auction FTI was in 2009 when private companies snubbed a public bidding for the property. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Department of Agrarian Reform (60 percent) and to the Department of Agriculture (40 percent).

The FTI agro-industrial complex is one the largest industrial complexes in Metro Manila and is currently home to more than 300 companies. It provides industrial and commercial lots for medium-to-long term leases, and industrial buildings with standard-sized stalls for office, warehouse or small-scale processing operations. With the sale, the government expects economic activities in Taguig City and nearby areas to flourish as employment increases and transport linkages in the complex improves.

Source: The Philippine Star 08.14.2012

Rockwell Land in P26.3-B Expansion

Rockwell Land Corp. is on an aggressive expansion mode with around P26.3 billion earmarked for the development of a new mixed-use complex on the site once occupied by Colgate-Palmolive Philippines as well as a townhouse project in Quezon City and two condominium projects in Pasig and Makati, in line with its bid to double its earnings to P2.2 billion by 2014.

The company is eyeing a net income of P1.1 billion this year or 20.2 percent higher than the P914.9 million reported in 2011.

Around P17.1 billion has been set aside for the construction of The Proscenium, which will feature five upscale residential towers, a 700-seater performing arts theatre and a retail center with an estimated leasable area of 15,000 sqm. Construction is slated to begin in the fourth quarter this year.

The company has tapped Canadian architect Carlos Ott to design The Proscenium. Ott is the designer of Dubai’s Burj Al Arab.

The project, situated on a 3.6-hectare property along JP Rizal, adjacent to Rockwell Center, will also house the 20-story Lopez Tower, which will serve as the headquarters of the Lopez Group of Companies. Targeted for completion in December 2014, the building will provide an additional 30,000 sqm of leasable office space to Rockwell’s leasing portfolio. The site will also give rise to the Lopez Museum, which will be home to all the art and literature collections of the group.



Lopez Tower and Museum

About P7.6 billion will go to the ongoing construction of The Grove and the luxurious 50-story Edades building in Rockwell Center which will comprise six floors of serviced apartments.

Rockwell has also broken into townhouse development with 205 Santolan, which will offer a otal of 105 units when completed in June next year. Development cost is placed at P1.5 billion.

The company is also looking to launch two more projects in Quezon City in the second half. Rockwell recently acquired a property in Benitez, Quezon City.

Given its 17-year excellent track record of delivering high-end residential projects, Rockwell is now ready to diversify into the broader market to widen its customer base and expand its revenue stream.

The company will launch before year end its second brand, Rockwell Homes, which will develop low-rise residential buildings. Around P1 billion has been budgeted for this initiative over a three-year period.

Under this brand, three -bedroom units with an average size of 90 sqm will sell for P6 million to P7 million each.

He said the company’s broader market price range is still above the mid-market segment since Rockwell wants to stick to its sterling reputation of developing high quality projects. With all these projects in place, Rockwell is expected to double its current leasable space of around 90,000 sqm in 2014 and triple it by 2016 or 2017.

In the first half this year, Rockwell reported a 12-percent rise in net income P439.7 million on revenues of P2.5 billion.

Source: The Philippine Star