PH Real Estate Industry Embraces the New Normal

Meta description (max. 150 characters): From new buyers’ needs to changes in business operations, the Lamudi Roundtable Series covered important industry issues brought by the pandemic.

In a first, Lamudi held its latest installment to The Outlook Roundtable Series via a virtual platform on September 10, 2020. Called On the Horizon: Real Estate Leaders on Market Recovery, the discussion featured various industry leaders in three tracks.

Digital Transformation for Business

For the first track of the conference, Deborah Ong, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Lamudi, facilitated the conversation, centering on Revive: Property Investment in the Post-Pandemic World. The property experts noted big changes in their internal operations to cater to the demands of the buyers amid the pandemic.

“Digital transformation has been forced upon us,” Julius Guevarra, VP for Corporate Planning at D.M. Wenceslao said, acknowledging that online solutions are a necessity now to sustain operations.

For Damosa Land, virtual staging has become a core element of their marketing campaign when the lockdown happened, VP Cary Lagdameo shared. In August, as the community quarantine measures eased, they were able to shoot broker-guided tours.

Meanwhile, Robinsons Homes has explored other types of content to connect with buyers. “We’ve innovated on how we can reach out to them in terms of the remote arrangement we have right now. We’re actually creating tools to do that, like for example, we’ve started doing drone shots for all our provincial developments,” MicoRacelis, Business Unit General Manager of Robinsons Homes said.

Franco Soberano, EVP and COO of Cebu Landmasters Inc., noted the huge demand for properties in May. One of the triggers, he believes, is their efforts to make it easier for buyers to learn about the products.

“The demand is sustained, or even growing,” he said.

Right Response to the Crisis

After the first panel discussion, Lamudi launched the latest episode of On the House: Small Talk with Big Bosses for the track Reimagine: Real Estate in the New Normal. This featured Arch. Henry Yap, Business Unit General Manager of Robinsons Land Corporation, talking about the right attitude in times of difficulty.

“If we believe that the crisis will just end without any intervention, that will not happen. We shouldn’t put them aside. We should confront them and react accordingly,” Yap said.

Emphasizing the value of looking back at past experiences, he pointed out that the learnings can help make informed decisions during crises.

Emerging Buyer Demands

Meanwhile, the third track of the virtual conference focused on Redesign: Buoying the Market through Changes with facilitator Mark Bailey, Corporate Accounts Lead of Lamudi.

One of the key insights discussed was the shift in property seekers’ preferences. Given the new normal, many are prioritizing convenience, technology, and health safety.

“During the pandemic and the stringent lockdowns, many have seen the value of living in mixed use developments or at least being near and having easy access to groceries, banks, offices, and medical facilities,” said TekSamaniego, Editor of Philippine Daily Inquirer Property.

In terms of technology, Tomas Lorenzo, President and CEO of Torre Lorenzo Development Corp., mentioned that more have been increasingly interested in residential buildings that have high-speed internet, especially in the student market segment.

Earlier, Lamudi reported in its latest trend report that connectivity amenities have been a strong consideration among aspiring homeowners.

For Emma Imperial, Group Chair and CEO at Imperial Homes Group of Companies, the tech preference comes in the form of stronger interest for solar-powered homes. Two months after the lockdown began in March, her company experienced sales growth.

“The sales [reached] 40 percent higher than our pre-COVID performance,” she mentioned.

Prioritizing one’s well-being, people have been considering healthy buildings, according to Joey Bondoc, Senior Research Manager of Colliers International Philippines.

“It’s very important now that you are in a building where there’s enough sanitation, enough sunlight. If you’re in a condo, you have to make sure that your property manager is implementing enough safety protocols,” he said.

Given the social distancing measures, he added that investors, especially overseas Filipino workers, are looking for bigger spaces.

Property experts saw a shift in buyers demographics as well. Raphael Felix, Chairman of the Board of Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) and President and CEO of Phinma Properties, noted that millennials have been busy in the real estate scene. He said, “We used to have an average age of 30 to 40. Our 20-to-30-year-old market segment has doubled in the last three months.”

New Property Hotspots

Aside from real estate features, preference for location has likewise shifted. Bondoc said that businesses are expanding to Cebu, Iloilo, and Pampanga.

Meanwhile, aspiring homeowners are leaning towards provincial cities, especially the affordable segment. Soberano of Cebu Landmasters shared, “We’re very pleased that [the demand is] coming from a lot of regional markets, like Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete.”

“These regional centers are the first to bounce back from the crisis,” he emphasized.

This virtual panel discussion is in partnership with Dyson, Kone, Philippine Daily Inquirer Property, Colliers Philippines, Subdivision and Housing Division Association, Inc., and the official broadcast media partner, ANC.

Clickhere to watch the videos on-demand for the month of September.

Real Estate Leaders to Discuss Challenges and Opportunities in the Post-Pandemic World

Lamudi brings online its panel discussion with a look at the real estate market through pandemic changes. The property platform will premiere “On the Horizon: Real Estate Leaders on Market Recovery” on September 10 at 2 PM.

On September 10, Lamudi will spearhead a virtual panel discussion titled On the Horizon: Real Estate Leaders on Market Recovery, tackling investment opportunities, market shifts, and industry trends amid the pandemic.

Despite the easing of quarantine measures and resumption of pre-pandemic life, the real estate industry is still grappling with the changes induced by the crisis. While it’s a big challenge, real estate experts think that the new era will usher in new opportunities to propel the industry further forward.

Reimagine: Real Estate in the New Normal

With the ever-changing rules on community quarantines, key players in the industry need to revisit their business models to be more prepared for overnight changes. Lamudi will kick off the event with an On the House interview with Arch. Henry Yap, Senior Vice President and Business Unit General Manager – Residential Division of Robinsons Land. Lamudi’s On the House features real estate leaders and how they lead their companies to success even amid a pandemic. 

Revive: Property Investment in the Post-Pandemic World

Lamudi’s latest trend report shows that property remains to be a safe haven of investment during the crisis. Against the backdrop of a pandemic, the panelists for the track “Revive: Property Investment in the Post-Pandemic World” will tackle how the post-pandemic world affects real estate investments. In this panel, real estate thought leaders will discuss the roadblocks to traditional forms of real estate marketing and uncover new investment strategies for investors and property seekers post-pandemic.

The panelists include Cary Lagdameo, First Vice President of Damosa Land; Franco Soberano, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cebu Landmasters, Inc.; Mico Racelis, Business Unit General Manager of Robinsons Homes; and Julius Guevara, Vice President for Corporate Planning at DM Wenceslao.

Redesign: Buoying the Market through Changes

Panelists will also elaborate on changing market preferences as they talk about property aspects that may be important considerations for buyers in the new normal.

Lamudi’s latest trend report cites comfort amenities being the top searched on the platform amid the pandemic. In the track “Redesign: Buoying the Market through Changes,” the panelists will talk about the short-term and long-term challenges faced by the industry in response to changing market preferences, and how they will influence real estate developments in the future.

The panelists for this track are Tomas Lorenzo, Chief Executive Officer of Torre Lorenzo; Pete Felix, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Subdivision and Housing Division Association, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer of PhinmaProperties;  Emma Imperial, President of Imperial Homes; Tek Samaniego, Philippine Daily Inquirer Property Editor; and  Joey Bondoc, Senior Research Manager at Colliers Philippines.

A Shift to Online Events

With restrictions on mobility, key players in the real estate industry experienced and adapted to changes in property transactions. Since the start of the community restrictions in March, Lamudi has launched the virtual counterpart of some of its biggest events, such as the Broker Awards, which the real estate platform launched on its Facebook page in a series of videos. Lamudi has also been in touch with property developers and brokers throughout the pandemic to keep industry stakeholders informed of the latest developments in the market.

With this panel discussion, Lamudi once again brings together some of the biggest names in the industry to dive deep into the revival and redesign of the property sector in a post-pandemic world. 

The panel discussion is open to attendees who are interested in investing in property amid the pandemic, real estate professionals who want to learn industry insights, and property investors considering future ventures. The virtual event will start at 2 PM.

This panel discussion is in partnership with Dyson, Kone, Philippine Daily Inquirer Property, Colliers Philippines,  Subdivision and Housing Division Association, Inc., and the official broadcast media partner, ANC.

Go to http://bit.ly/TheOutlookSept2020 to register for the event.

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