Cebu Landmasters develops 2 housing projects in Negros

Publicly listed Cebu Landmasters Inc announced on Monday it is building a total of 1,615 units in Negros Island.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, the property firm announced the launches of two residential projects this week that will have a total 1,615 housing units in two key areas in Negros Island targeted to mid-income and economic housing buyers.

CLI’s residential condo development MesaVirre Garden Residences in the Bacolod City growth area will have 1,072 units ranging from 22 sq m to 40 sq m, targeting IT-BPO employees and OFWs.

The firm is also building Casa Mira Coast in Sibulan, Negros Oriental with 543 economic townhouse units from 38 sq m to 58 sq m easily accessible to Dumaguete City, which is now also an IT-BPO destination and growth center.

CEO Jose Soberano III said the firm is continuously focused on meeting the real estate demand in Visayas and Mindanao.

“We’re seeing a lot of economic growth in the south and where there is growth, demand for housing follows especially among the emerging middle class. We are now replicating our housing successes in Cebu in other cities in the Visayas with relative ease given our strong relationships in the area and keen understanding of the market,” he said.

Soberano said CLI is set to roll out a total of 16 projects this year “with more agreements now under negotiation."

"It is definitely the right time to further develop real estate in VisMin where there is real demand," he noted.

A recent study by real estate services firm Leechiu Property Consultants indicates that the IT-BPO industry appears to be expanding from Metro Manila to Cebu, other Visayan capitals led by Bacolod and other parts of the country.

The study shows that a significant 11% or 644,000 sq m of the 2018-2023 Philippine office supply pipeline aimed largely towards the IT-BPO industry will be concentrated in Cebu and the rest of the Visayas.

Currently, the share of Cebu and the rest of the Visayas is less than 5 percent.

MesaVirre Garden Residences in Bacolod will bring up to 4,474 units the total number of its projects carrying this brand. Others are in Cebu City, Cagayan de Oro and Davao City.

Casa Mira is its economic housing brand present in Naga, Talisay, Guadalupe and Labangon in Cebu. Casa Mira Coast in Sibulan will bring up to 5,300 units of the brand.

Residential accounts for 67 percent of the firm's total sales value; commercial-office developments, 22 percent; and hotels, 11 percent.

CLI shares opened flat in yesterday's trading at P4.50 apiece. —