Ayala, Villar firms emerge big winners in property dev’t

In a nationwide survey conducted last year, global real estate website Lamudi said Ayala-run companies and Villar-owned firms emerged the top choices among online users in various property categories.

Ayala Land Inc. and its subsidiaries won big, bagging a total of six awards out of 17 nominations. ALI was named Best Condo Developer, Best Mixed-Use Developer for its Laguna project Nuvali, and the Developer that Provides the Best Amenities.

Meanwhile, its subsidiary Avida Land won the Best Affordable Housing Development category for Avida Settings Cavite, while its luxury arm Ayala Land Premier won awards for Best High-End Housing Development and Housing Development with the Best Design and Architecture for its Ayala Greenfield Estates project.

Villar–led Vista Land is the next big winner, with four awards out of seven nominations: one for Vista Land and three for Camella. The former won an award for the Developer with the Best Customer Service, while Camella won for Best Housing Developer (overall) and Best Housing Developer for the Visayas, and Best Affordable Housing Development for Visayas for its Cebu City project Camella Riverfront.

The 10,000 property seekers surveyed by Lamudi included users of the website and attendees of the company’s events, including those held in Cebu and Davao.

The property seekers were asked a series of questions ranging from the best condo developer and best mixed-use developer, to the developer that provides the best value-for-money properties and real estate projects with standout amenities.

Bhavna Suresh Chathambeth, Lamudi Philippines CEO and managing director, said the survey is a first in the Philippines. “They say that a survey of 1,000 respondents is good enough, but we said let’s take it two steps further and asked 10,000 property seekers, which we accomplished in six months.”

Suresh said after three years of operating in the Philippines, Lamudi became very good at collecting and analyzing its onsite data and in 2017, it decided to take this further by asking its users about their opinion of the country’s real estate players and developments.

Other notable winners are SM Prime Holdings and residential subsidiary SMDC with two awards: Best Commercial Developer and Best Affordable Condo Development for Trees Residences.

Also cited were Cebu Landmasters (Best Condo Developer–Visayas); Megaworld Corp. (Best Mixed-use Developer– Visayas and Condo Development with the Best Design and Architecture); Rockwell Land (Best High-End Condo Development for The Proscenium and 32 Sanson); and Filinvest Land (Best Mid-end Condo Development for 100 West).