In its quest towards further rebound and sustained growth, the Philippine real estate is building and delivering spaces that meet the transformed needs of the market, mainly driven by digitalization and sustainability trends. In one of Philippine real estate’s most awaited and most esteemed annual recognitions, a leading online real estate marketplace has hailed the country’s leading developers for working on such efforts.
Lamudi’s The Outlook 2023: Philippine Real Estate Awards gathered notable and esteemed figures in the industry in honoring the country’s top real estate projects and developers at a time of further rebound and modernization in the industry.
The Outlook 2023: Philippine Real Estate Awards winners pose with their trophies together with Lamudi Philippines’ Country Head Anurag Verma, Head of BPI’s Retail Mortgage Division Bernadette Ocampo, and Lamudi’s Associate Director for Corporate Accounts Mark Bailey.
Held last Sept. 21 at the Shangri-La The Fort in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, The Outlook 2023: Philippine Real Estate Awards presented 21 awards to the country’s top real estate developers across various segments. The awardees were selected based on a voting process that included the help of 10,000 active seekers.
Aside from citations for the best condo, house, and commercial developments, Lamudi also recognized the developers and projects that led the industry toward a more digital and wellness-focused sector.
In his speech, Lamudi Philippines Country Head Anurag Verma highlighted the value of the online space, which Lamudi largely occupies as a leading real estate marketplace, in establishing developers as trusted brands with trusted offerings.
“It has never been so important to focus on building a trusted name online and positioning your products in an authentic and transparent way. Now, real estate players must give seekers a personalized and delightful experience at every touchpoint,” Mr. Verma said.
The awarding ceremony, he continued, signifies the collaborative efforts of developers and other stakeholders in the property industry in building better homes and communities for Filipinos.
“We all can agree that improving the industry is not a one-man job,” Mr. Verma said. “Together, we must create a collective vision with a shared mindset of helping Filipinos find their dream home. This room is filled with educators, innovators, planners, designers, builders, legislators, and marketers who all want to introduce each family to the perfect home that will empower them to do more — to dream more.”
Lamudi Philippines’ Country Head Anurag Verma opens The Outlook 2023: Philippine Real Estate Awards.
The world has moved into the digital age and the real estate journey starts with an online search, Mr. Verma also stressed.
“We are very excited to witness the start of this inflection point of tech adoption in the Philippine real estate industry as more developers are welcoming digital solutions with open arms and are proud that Lamudi is helping them in this journey through our solutions,” Mr. Verma said.
“At Lamudi, we believe that your success is our success. For the last nine years, our vision has been to make the real estate journey trustworthy, convenient, and easy,” he added.
Modernizing real estate
The event started with a panel discussion on the theme “Laying the Groundwork: Real Estate Modernization Roadmap,” with AJ Rocero, managing and executive director of PropTech Consortium of the Philippines; and Randolph Ilawan, real estate portfolio manager from the Economic Research and Real Estate Portfolio Team of Bank of the Philippine Island’s (BPI) Corporate & Commercial Credit Group, as speakers.
Like other sectors, real estate is on the frontline of adopting technology and sustainability into their operations.
Digitalization, for instance, is transforming real estate marketing, property management, and investments in an effort to make searching for, buying, and investing in properties more accessible and more convenient.
According to Ms. Rocero, investing in property technology, or proptech, helps developers and investors automate and manage properties and buildings, and it also helps them in receiving inquiries, managing sales processes, and communicating with their clients much better.
Ms. Rocero added that sustainability initiatives in the country are already being adopted by various developers.
“I can confidently say that we’re going towards the right direction that the other developers are adapting because we have private and government agencies that are promoting incentives,” she said regarding sustainability.
Mr. Ilawan of BPI shared that technology and sustainability come hand in hand, especially since using proptech will help drive sustainability. In BPI’s case, the bank uses proptech to tailor-end users’ financial behavior and promote financial awareness.
AJ Rocero and Randolf Ilawan discuss sustainable initiatives in Philippine real estate during the panel discussion of The Outlook 2023: Philippine Real Estate Awards.
However, the real estate portfolio manager noted that regionally and globally the country is still lacking in adopting to these trends compared to neighboring countries. What the country needs, thus, is more education and awareness of digital technologies, especially in rural areas.
“The [people’s] first impression with adapting these initiatives is that it’s added cost. But they haven’t seen what’s in the long run, so it’s a matter of making them realize, breaking down the cause and effect, and the advantages if [these] green and property technology initiatives [are pushed],” Mr. Ilawan explained.
In addition, Bernadette Ocampo, head of BPI’s Mortgage Division, shared that industry players and partners had recognized the potential of online platforms as a tool to further expand their audience reach and streamline their operations.
“BPI and Lamudi see similarities in both of our missions and goals, which are to provide Filipinos with their dream homes and empower them to achieve it today,” Ms. Ocampo said in her welcome remarks.
Sharing these similar missions and goals, Lamudi and BPI are set to launch BPI Verified. With this upcoming service, Lamudi’s property listings will be converted into BPI-verified property listings. This offering is seen to provide Filipinos a variety of properties on the online platform that were already pre-assessed and title-verified, and then apply as well for a BPI Housing Loan.
“BPI Verified’s main objective is to give clients confidence in their property by having a bank pre-assess and check those listings already. [This is an] indicator that the property listing is good collateral and can be easily qualified for bank financing in BPI,” Ms. Ocampo said.
Winners
The Outlook 2023: Philippine Real Estate Awards awarded this year’s best affordable and premium condominiums; best affordable and premium houses; and best mized-use developments across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Aboitiz Land, Inc., Alveo Land Corp., Vista Residences, Inc.,and Wee Community Developers, Inc. were the awardees from Luzon. Camella, Primeworld Land Holdings, Inc., RLC Residences, Wee Community Developers, and Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. were the winners for Visayas and Mindanao.
Lamudi also gave recognitions for the Best Co-Working Space, Best Office Development, and Best Industrial Development, which were received by Inphin8 Space, Inc., KMC Solutions, and Damosa Land, Inc., respectively.
Among the notable winners of this year’s awards is RLC Residence, which earned the title of “Digital Innovator of the Year.” RLC Residence was recognized for its adoption of new technology to improve customer experiences and streamline real estate operations. RLC Residence continues to be a top developer and a catalyst for integrating cutting-edge technology in the real estate market.
Another win for the RLC Residences is the “Wellness-Focused Development of The Year” for The Residences at The Westin Manila by RLC Residences, a high-residential condominium that is designed to enhance well-being and support residents’ active lifestyles.
The Real Estate Innovation of the Year, meanwhile, was awarded to My Enso Lofts by PH1 World Developers. The modern and high-rise residential condominium was recognized for adopting innovative building solutions that address the housing crisis in the Philippines.
The grand awards were bagged by PHINMA Properties for Boutique Developer of the Year — Luzon; Primeworld for Boutique Developer of the Year — Visayas and Mindanao; and Camella for Developer of the Year both for Luzon, and Visayas and Mindanao categories.
The Outlook 2023: Philippine Real Estate Awards was sponsored by The Boring Group Industry and Home Solutions, Concepcion Midea, Yale, ContractWorld Furniture, Taylor Living Furniture, Awards Central, MetroMart, Pick.A.Roo., and was co-presented by BPI. BusinessWorld is among the media partners.
Visit lamudi.com.ph/outlook2023 to learn more about The Outlook 2023: Philippine Real Estate Awards. — Angela Kiara S. Brillantes
