Creating ‘more meaningful’ communities

The Beacon is GeoEstate’s maiden project.

It’s probably one of the best times to scout for a new home.

The Philippine property market, after all, remains a buyer’s market—a highly favorable period for homebuyers and investors given the availability of a wide array of real estate choices catering to an even broader spectrum of lifestyle needs and budgets.

“We’re at a period now wherein it is a buyer’s market,” said GeoEstate Development Corp. chair and chief executive Francisco H. Licuanan III. “Today, the buyer has the luxury of being more discerning—of choosing the product and choosing his time. We therefore have to go back to the most basic thing about (this) business, which is to identify a true need. Not just a created need, but a true need.”

Addressing a need

Licuanan—who has had decades of experience having led the largest full-line real estate developer in the country—knows all too well that today, creating more meaningful communities is a need that independent property developers like GeoEstate may be able to address more aptly.

At present, the larger, more established real estate players are concentrating mostly in developing integrated townships and estates. Licuanan admitted that for a while, these large players posed a real threat to the small and medium sized developers like GeoEstate, which has been in the business for 11 years.

“Basically, it’s the large developers providing all the facilities because they’re opening up larger areas. They can provide utilities, infrastructure, and the like, and in the process, it serves them very well and so they move in that direction. They have to operate at certain scale,” Licuanan explained.

“But in the process, the smaller developers have realized that township means very little to the actual customer. What’s more important to the actual customer is his own residence—the immediate environment and the immediate community to which he belongs,” he opined.

Licuanan further noted: “One thing that’s always been important to Filipinos is that they relate to their neighbors. This really means a smaller community, so even within townships, the real communities are small pieces of those townships, on a more relatable and relevant human scale. And the smaller developers have really veered in that direction.”

GeoEstate continues to createmeaningful communities that could satisfy the needs of homebuyers.

Proof of concept

Today, GeoEstate is reaping the benefits of having this clear cut understanding of what the buyers really need, as the company moves from one successful project to another. An example is the company’s most recent condominium project, Sonria, in Alabang, which aimed for such intimate, exclusive and low-
density vertical community composed of only 88 units.

“The idea is that you know your neighbors and your children can play with their children. Because of that, you’re very comfortable, and you have less security problems because there are no strangers wandering around,” Licuanan explained.

But for Licuanan, the best gauge of that success was the fact that the company largely moves its inventory through repeat purchases and referrals—the ultimate proof of customer satisfaction.

“We have less complaints than we expected. We have a lot of repeat buyers and we have a lot of referrals. If a homeowner were unhappy, he would be selling and not referring. And that’s sort of a proof of concept to us, that we’re on the right track,” he added.

New project

GeoEstate’s maiden project was The Beacon, a three-tower high-rise condominium located along Chino Roces Avenue in Makati City. In recent years, it has ventured into horizontal developments, such as the
5.5-hectare Soluna gated community in Bacoor, Cavite, that offers upscale house and lot dwellings.

Following its success with Soluna, GeoEstate is launching another residential enclave.

The 17-ha Solviento, which is set to rise also within Bacoor, is slightly larger than the company’s usual projects and will thus be masterplanned to include a commercial center and a college. Apart from convenience, these components are expected to primarily help create and strengthen the sense of community in the area.

Licuanan

Steadier markets

This latest project from GeoEstate serves as a vote of confidence in the local property market, which Licuanan said is expected to remain steady.

“My perception of this market is… we’re not at the peak. We’re close to the peak. And if it’s not going to drop, it’s probably going to plateau for a while, and so we’re moving in the direction of steadier, more sustainable markets,” Licuanan explained. “The speculative element, which was very strong in the last five years, is sort of out of the market at the moment. But the regular buyers, the people who are buying for their end use or buying for long-term investment, are there. And so we address that market.”

For its part, GeoEstate is bent on staying true to its course as an independent developer committed to product relevance and attention to detail.

“That’s what we provide the customer—the idea that when we sell you your house, top management has really looked at that house and looked at the design, and tried to figure out the best way to provide you what you want at a price you can afford,” he said.

“That has been our story, and we try to keep on doing that. And in the last 10 years, we seem to have succeeded,” Licuanan concluded.