DAVAO CITY, Davao
— Mass housing continues to be an untapped market here, with present demand estimated at 55,000 units, as the construction boom for residential development remains focused on middle-range to high-end projects, according to the Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC).
“The backlog includes those informal settlers who really cannot afford even P1,000 for housing per month,” Mr. Cortez told Businessworld.
“Despite the number of developers offering housing projects in the city, these investors can go as much as P300,000 (per housing unit)... (this is) still not affordable for the informal settlers,” Mr. Cortez added.
However, Mr. Cortez pointed out that the growing local economy provides opportunities for employment and, consequently, could boost the purchasing power of consumers.
“If they (potential mass housing market) can be employed, then they have the opportunity to enter the phase in their lives where they can already afford housing loans,” he said.
On the part of developers, Mr. Cortez said real estate investors need to tap new construction technologies for housing units that can be priced at about P150,000.
“(There are) foreign technologies that can be acquired,” he said.
Listed mass housing firm 8990 Holdings, Inc., which uses pre-cast technology for its projects, announced in February that it aims to build 2,750 units this year in Mindanao, comprising 25% of the total planned nationwide.
The company’s unit in Davao City, 8990 Housing Development Corp., has a new project and four others for expansion under its Deca Homes brand approved by the Board of Investments (BoI) last year with a combined investment cost of more than P1.2 billion.
source: BusinessWorld Online | Property
By: Maya M. Padillo, Correspondent
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