The joy of living beyond urban centers

The 22-hectare Avida Parkfield Settings Pulilan features generously spaced pocket parks and open spaces that provide a secure and private atmosphere.

When it’s time to buy your first home, buyers are confronted by the same question: should I get a single family house in a subdivision, or a unit in a high-rise residential tower?

Here in the Philippines, if you have a budget of around P2 million, you might have to live farther away from the urban core—like Metro Manila and Metro Cebu—to get a single-family home that will suit your requirements and tastes.

If you’re looking for convenience, you might argue that your money might be better spent on a stylish condo unit within city centers.

“Despite the increasing number of fine residential tower developments within many urban centers, there are those who would still choose the traditional house and lot when it comes to home options,” said Romarico Alvarez, chair of PA Properties.

“House and lot properties, even if it’s a modestly sized one, still hold a certain charm to Filipino home-buying market. For them, living in a house and lot gives them the advantage of exercising control over their property. Perhaps they relish that extra outdoor space say, for gardening or having a playground for their children or pets,” Alvarez explained.

Owning a house and lot hold a certain charm for many Filipinos, who relish that extra outdoor space.

PA Properties is a 23-year-old developer that has built numerous house-and-lot communities in Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan as well as in Batangas and Pampanga.

According to Alvarez, house-and -lot packages appeal more to small and large families, couples, and other people looking for lifetime investments. Condo units, on the other hand, are often preferred by singles, couples, young professionals, empty nesters, retirees, overseas workers accustomed to condo living, and those looking for more convenient living space options within urban centers.

But more importantly, Alvarez noted that with the recent trend of businesses moving out of urban centers —due to increasing cost if not lack of availability due to high demand—developers find new sets of homebuyers.

No wonder there are now growth corridors appearing in several provinces around Metro Manila as well as major city centers around the Philippines.

Taking advantage

For example, in the province of Rizal, Sta. Lucia Realty has various developments including Monteverde Royale, Nottingham Villas and Rizal Technopark, which are all in Taytay and within a fast-industrializing zone.

The company said it is poised to take advantage of the massive developments happening outside Metro Manila as well as in other parts of the Philippines explaining that together with its parent company, Sta. Lucia Realty has 233 projects outside Metro Manila spanning 9,127 hectares.

The company is also preparing to develop 53 newly acquired properties totaling nearly 100 hectares.

In northern Bulacan, particularly in the towns of Baliuag and San Rafael, low-key communities as well as family-friendly neighborhoods have seen a steady migration of families wanting to raise their children in a less hectic lifestyle.

Looking elsewhere

According to Prominence Properties (formerly known as Prominence Property Development Corp.) since most of the developers have nearly filled up the areas south of Metro Manila, a number of them have already started looking northward.

Sta. Lucia Realty has various developments including Monteverde Royale, Nottingham Villas and Rizal Technopark, which are all in Taytay and within a fast-industrializing zone.

While the city of San Jose del Monte and the town Sta. Maria in Bulacan have received much attention from developers in recent years, others including Prominence Properties have looked elsewhere in the province: the developer set up a 3-hectare Silverdale Residences in Baliuag and 5.2-hectare Paseo de San Roque Village in San Rafael).

Areas like Baliuag and San Rafael are proving to be perfect for developers: the air is clean, Baliuag University and other fine schools are just a ride away, SM Baliuag is already in the area, and for those working in Metro Manila, there are air-conditioned buses available as well as the newly opened Balagtas Exit of the North Luzon Expressway for those with cars.

Even big developers have noted this: Avida, a wholly-owned subsidiary of property giant Ayala Land, is developing a 22-hectare Avida Parkfield Settings Pulilan (located along Old Cagayan Valley Road, Brgy. Taal in Bulacan).

Managed by the Ayala Property Management Corp. (from building administration to maintenance and security of the entire development), Avida Parkfield Settings Pulilan offers lots ranging from 125 sqm to 345 sqm (from P1.4 million to P4.2 million) as well as houses with floor areas ranging from 69 sqm to 88 sqm (house and lot packages range from P4.4 million to P5.9 million).

Avida also has another development in the province: Avida Settings Altaraza located in Altaraza Town Center in the city of San Jose del Monte.

Avida announced this is the company’s flagship house and lot residential development in the city as it offers house and lot packages ranging from P4.8 million to P7.1 million (prices of lot only range from P1.5 million to P8.5 million).

Indeed, with these residential developments happening in Bulacan, the province is now set to become the future peripheral of the much bigger and progressive “Mega Manila.”

Global Top 30

“Just last year, Metro Manila made it to the ‘Global Top 30,’ a roster of the world’s most populous, productive and connected cities. Metro Manila is now among the so-called emerging cities bracket along with Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Jakarta, Guangzhou, Bangkok, Mexico City, Delhi and Mumbai,” shared Rodel Racadio, national president of Subdivsion and Housing Developers Association (SHDA).

He believed the rapid urbanization will continue and will radiate toward outlying provinces.

This is also why areas like Pampanga have also been among the next destinations of big developers.

By 2018, Avida is set to develop the 1,125-hectare Avida Setting Alviera in Porac, Pampanga. This mixed use and masterplanned community will be laid out “to reinforce the natural world’s presence in a modern day-to-day setting”.

Also from the same developer, Avida Setting Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija is set to become a provincial landmark, thanks to its tree-lined park and ample green space.

“Indeed, in this day and age, we will see the implementation of more environmentally sustainable ‘green’ practices in their projects. This is because more and more developers, from the small to the large, realize that they make an impact on their surroundings and thus, the quality of their residential developments, where ever they may be located, have long-term impacts, both on the communities they house and on the surrounding neighborhoods,” noted Racadio.