Ovialand projects premium-affordable home sales to rise

PROPERTY developer Ovialand, Inc. is expecting an increase in demand for premium-affordable home products this year, its top official said, citing buyers who have become more discerning.

“The demand for premium-affordable products is going to rise because the market is now more discerning,” Ovialand President and Chief Executive Officer Marie Leonore Fatima Olivares-Vital told BusinessWorld last week before announcing the company’s plan to hold an initial public offering (IPO) of shares.

“We describe our market as educated, hardworking and aspirational. The [rise] of influencers, social media and just the desire to uplift and upgrade makes home buyers more aspirational. So, we believe that the market for our unique and premium products is going to be strong,” she added.

Family-owned Ovialand calls its product offering “premium-affordable,” which is between P2 million and P4 million price points.

“This is the household income of about 60,000 to 100,000,” Ms. Olivares-Vital said.

The property company announced in 2021 its plan to grow its portfolio to 3,300 units within five years.

“That was really designed to make our product more known. And yes, I think we are on track in reaching that,” she said.

As of February, the company has completed a total of 1,800 units on the back of a landbank of around 45 hectares, which it plans to grow.

“Sa sobrang bilis kasi namin magtayo ng bahay, mabilis din siyang mabenta, (Because we construct houses fast, they also get sold fast) so we have to keep on acquiring new land,” she said.

Last week, the company filed a P2.22-billion IPO with the Securities Exchange Commission, the proceeds of which it plans to fund real estate projects.

The offer covers up to 396 million common shares consisting of 336 million primary common shares, 24 million secondary common shares and an over-allotment option of up to 36 million secondary common shares.

Ovialand targets an IPO price of P5.60 per share, with net proceeds expected to fund land-banking initiatives in Laguna and Bulacan and the development of real-estate projects in Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, and Bulacan.

In 2022, the property company recorded P227 million in net profit, up by 36.7% from the P166 million it booked in 2021. Revenues increased by 64% to P1.4 billion in 2022, higher than the P1.2 billion it set as a target for the year. — Justine Irish D. Tabile