Developer to continue investing in Cebu’s property market

Apple One Properties Inc. tops off its Tower 3 building in its Apple One Heights development in Barangay Banawa in Cebu City (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON).

A CEBU-BASED property developer is planning to pour more investments into Cebu’s real estate sector next year.

API executive vice president Joy Veloso said in a recent interview that with the mushrooming of real estate players in the industry, the company is planning to deliver housing options that mainly cater to the needs and demands of the market in order for them to stay relevant.

Veloso said that the firm plans to expand toward the north and south of Cebu where demand for affordable prices is high.

She said that they are scouting for properties particularly in Minglanilla town in the south and Compostela in the north of Cebu.

She also said that they are planning to build pocket developments in Cebu City next year, but they were still acquiring lands for this project.

API is also leaning towards introducing their projects in Mindanao, particularly in Cagayan de Oro and Davao.

“We are continually in the lookout for development sites. Our inventory is running a little bit low so we now have plans for other sites in Visayas and Mindanao,” Veloso said.

“If we can find a suitable site for mixed-use development, it will also be good for us. (The project will) depend on the location and the size of the land.”

Over the past years, API has been serving the mid- to high-end markets. A large bulk of their buyers is composed of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are acquiring properties either for their retirement homes or for their families left in the Philippines.

“We do have a lot of interests and sales from OFWs. A lot of them are looking forward to retiring in the Philippines, some of them, they buy properties for their families. There’s a big market for overseas workers,” Veloso said.

Veloso added that API strives to deliver housing developments that inspire homeowners to live an active lifestyle and interact with their fellow residents: a value proposition which sets API apart from other players in the industry.

“I guess what’s important for us is that we always stay relevant in the market, that we are aware of what they want and what they need and we try to give that to them and we try to be different from them. We try to understand what the buyer needs,” she said.

Last December 17, API launched the Central Amenities and topped of the Tower 3 of AppleOne Banawa Heights along Good Shepherd Road, Banawa, Cebu City.

The Central Amenities will house a 15-seater coffee shop, a laundromat and a convenience store of which concepts shall be initiated by the homeowners themselves. API will allow the homeowners to pitch in concepts and ideas and let them run and manage these commercial spaces.

On the other hand, the Tower 3 houses 218 units of which 50 percent are already sold.

AppleOne Banawa Heights is a 2.8-hectare property inspired by the Victorian-themed houses in San Francisco Bay Area in California, USA.