High-end property market picking up–ALI

DEMAND for high-end real-estate projects in the domestic market is recovering after a slump last year, the Philippines’ biggest property developer said Tuesday.

On the sidelines of the launch of the Ametta Place townhouse project in Pasig City, Antonio Aquino, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) president, on Tuesday said buyers’ confidence is rising despite forecasts that the Philippines will slip into a recession this year. 

ALI’s middle-income property unit Alveo Land launched its first project this year, costing about P1 billion.

“It reflects that the confidence in the economy [has returned] because buyers are already back. They are encouraged by the market’s response,” Aquino told reporters.

There was an “across the board improvement” in the past few months on the sales of ALI’s upper-end real-estate projects, he said.

With the pick-up, Aquino said the company has decided to launch Alveo’s first townhouse development in Pasig City.

He said Ametta Place would have 280 units, each priced between P7 million and P9 million.

“Alveo Land chose Pasig City as the location for Ametta Place because of its close proximity to business and commercial areas,” Nerissa Josef, Alveo vice president for project development, said.

Construction of Ametta began last month, with the units expected to be turned over during the first semester of 2012.

In the first quarter of the year, Alveo’s revenues dropped by a percent, while ALI’s high-end unit, Ayala Land Premier, saw its sales drop 24 percent mainly due to lower new bookings for the quarter. 

ALI’s earnings fell by a fifth to P907 million on account of lower revenues from its residential business and the absence of one-time gains from large transactions.

Its consolidated revenues dipped 10 percent to P7.41 billion from last year. –Chino S. Leyco, Reporter, Manila Times