by Lorie Ann. A Cascaro
Overseas employment remains a viable resort of Filipinos as there are always demands for blue and white collar jobs abroad. In fact, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in region 11 recently announced job openings abroad.
As they are among the big income earners of the country, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have become the primary market of both national and local housing developers. In Davao City and other areas in Mindanao, Vista Land and Lifescapes and Uraya Land Development Inc (ULDI) share the same market.
Vista Land and Lifescapes president and COO, Maribeth C. Tolentino, said they primarily sell their homes, especially in the newly launched Camella Cerritos at Mintal, Davao City, to OFWs some of whom are married to foreigners.
Local employees with managerial positions and having a monthly income of at least PhP40,000 are also part of the market, Tolentino said. Not only because this new project (house and lot) is an affordable package for as low as PhP885,000, she said, it is expected to be fully ready for occupancy and payable in 10 to 15 years.
The company’s earlier 30-hectare project was done in just two years. Camella Cerritos in Davao City covers only 15 hectares with 600 homes. Tolentino claims that their company has been in business for the past 33 years, and is a leader in housing development.
Tolentino said they have already invested PhP500 million in Davao. Anytime they get 50% of the market, “We’re happy na (already),” she said. “We had 48% share of the market in affordable housing in Manila,” she added.
Further, the ULDI administration manager and Villa de Mercedes sales and marketing officer, Mercy Duduaco, said their Villa de Mercedes buyers were mostly OFWs. The house and lot packages range from PhP5.3 million to PhP13 million.
The project was started in November 2004 and in five years they sold out phases one and two with 700 lots. They then opened phases three and four, 20% of which have been sold out.
