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MANILA, Philippines – For Filipino newlyweds, a cozy, decent-sized home outside Manila is the preferred address – and real estate developers are rushing to build these homes.

In an episode of Business Sense, Pammy Olivares-Vital, president of affordable housing developer Ovialand, said they have focused on building these houses for first-time buyers in Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon. Eventually, the company plans to expand to areas near key cities nationwide. 

“When I started working in real estate 13 years ago, the sales pitch was you can buy a house and your grandparents can live there, your cousins can live there, there’s space for everybody, at night in the living room you can put the mats and everybody can sleep there. That was the culture before,” Vital said.

“But now, with the new generation of home buyers, younger people…everybody is so excited to be in a single-family setup…. These are people who want to create their own lives and their own future for their own families.”

She added that the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to this trend, as physical distancing protocols discouraged people from staying in crowded places.

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During the pandemic, Ovialand recorded an increase of 170% in reservation sales. Most of the demand came from double-income newlyweds aged 28 to 35 years old.

Ovialand is eyeing to raise at least P1.5 billion through an initial public offering in 2022, proceeds of which would be used to develop its 45-hectare land bank and increase its portfolio.

The company said it is aiming to expand its housing portfolio nationwide by 2030. It plans to build 3,000 houses yearly by 2025 and eventually up to 5,000 houses beginning 2030. – Rappler.com