Local developer rides Talisay’s property wave

Nexus tops off tower project, part of multi-billion development in Lawaan

With property prices going up in Talisay City, real estate developers are now riding that wave as much as they can.

Manuel Roleda, vice president for marketing at Nexus Real Estate Corp. (NREC), said this was among the reasons why they started early in the city.

“Personally, Talisay would still be the most affordable at the moment, compared to Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu,” Roleda told reporters during the topping-off ceremony for Tower 1 of NREC’s first vertical project called Antara in Talisay City on Saturday.

Aside from being the developer’s first venture into vertical developments, Antara is also primed to be the city’s first condominium development, Roleda said.

Real estate brokers estimate pre-selling lot prices in Talisay City at P5,000 and up while lots in subdivisions may range from P10,000 to P13,000 per square meter.

Meanwhile, housing units in subdivisions, which is considered among the major real estate developments in the city, range from P2 million to P3 million.

The average selling price of condominium units in Metro Cebu, which is a market dominated by Cebu City, was pegged at P99,000 per square meter in 2016.

Saturated

Talisay City is slowly getting saturated with subdivision developments that the local government has already stepped in to regulate the entry of new projects.

Roleda said that the local government is presently doing a re-zoning of the city as problems on garbage collection and drainage have already started to manifest due to the presence of many subdivision developments.

Antara

Antara, a five-tower mixed-use development on a 2.9-hectare lot in Barangay Lawaan, was launched in January 2016.

The eight-storey Tower 1, with 170 residential units, was topped off over the weekend. All units have been sold out since the latter part of last year.
Roleda added that 45 to 50 percent of the units in Tower 2 have also been sold out already.

He said that at the pace they are going now, Tower 1 units will most likely be turned over in the third quarter of 2018 instead of the fourth quarter as originally planned.

‘It’ destination

The “multi-billion-peso” development will eventually feature an adventure park, spa, grand clubhouse, small villas for short-term guests, and commercial strip, among others — all constructed, along with the other towers, in eight to ten years.

Roleda said they hope to make Antara Talisay’s “it” destination, making the city attractive to tourists because of the development.

“People back then wouldn’t say they’re coming to Talisay because there is something here. But when you say Cebu, there are a lot of places to choose from. In other words, there was no destination in Talisay,” he said.

Beginning with Antara, Roleda said they plan to eventually come up with a comprehensive destination profile for the city which includes other tourist spots as well.

Telo Communities

Meanwhile, Nexus is also set to launch a mid-market subdivision project in Minglanilla under its subsidiary, Telo Communities, although he did not elaborate.

“What I can tell you is that each unit is priced below P2 million since we’re targeting regular employees,” he said.

Telo Communities handles affordable housing projects while Nexus Prime handles projects such as Antara and other high-end developments.