202 Peaklane at the next frontier of real estate investment

Innovations in the real estate industry have taken an exciting new turn.

This time, technology-abled developments or those offering “proptech” solutions are starting to gain more momentum, taking the lead in an increasingly evolving property landscape. Touted as the next frontier in real estate, proptech now goes beyond being a trend as it is fast becoming a reality—one that offers innovative, multifaceted solutions to enhance all aspects of property development, sale, lease and management, and which also provides better opportunities and more secure investments for the investors.

All these were highlighted in a recent webinar where top brokers and industry experts weighed the advantages offered by proptech. Titled “Proptech: Protecting Your Property Investment Through Technology”, the webinar held on August 1 was hosted by Anchor Land Holdings Inc. in partnership with the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Property Section.

The online forum had its esteemed roster of panelists exchanging views on how proptech will lead the way for real estate in the future, citing as an example Anchor Land’s project in Davao City—the 202 Peaklane Serviced Apartments, which will offer fully furnished serviced apartments with integrated smart systems and technological innovations as well as secure, guaranteed returns. Here are a few excerpts from the discussion.

Exciting prospects

Proptech, which covers a wide spectrum, will no doubt usher in exciting prospects for Philippine real estate and all its stakeholders—from developers, brokers and sales agents to the investors. In the case of 202 Peaklane Serviced Apartments, proptech is evident in its features: a digital lockset that you can control via an app, air purification system, contactless technology through its integrated room automation system, and a professional hotel operational management system that will take care of the maintenance and leasing of your unit for you.

“Proptech is going to reshape real estate industry especially here in Asia…What’s wonderful about those developments with proptech is that it’s all done for you. Developments that have proptech will have a competitive edge on other developments and will commend a higher resale value,” said Property Club’s Peter James, who has had experience in real estate and finance.

International broker Noli Alleje even went so far to say that “proptech is the next thing (that can) protect your wealth in real estate investment” while Alejandro “Andy” S. Mañalac, chairman and co-founder of Havitas Developments Corp., pointed out that proptech was created to serve the buyers’ demands, their changing behavior and their individual preferences.

For buyers, proptech is thus appreciated as it is intended to provide them with convenience, efficiency, security and better income.

Ease in experience

How so? Yves Luethi—co-founder of Talox, a developer of cloud software platform for leasing and asset management of commercial real estate—explained that proptech, in the end, is all about efficiency and the experience, wherein different aspects are made more convenient.

“For example, when banking went digital, instead of lining up, you can now do things (online) in one minute. It’s the same (with real estate). In buildings with integrated property management systems, you can pre-register visitors, file a complaint when something needs to be fixed and your property manager can respond real time, and even book your amenities and make payments instead of having to line up,” Luethi said.

“Access to information and having that platform, that visibility to monitor your investment is key. I think location is still the most important factor in real estate but then again, it also goes back to the buyer’s experience throughout the investment journey—from the time the property is presented in virtual and physical environments to the time you start getting your returns and you want to have real time access to information how your investment’s performed. If that’s in place then that (will add) value,” he added.

Expanding portfolio

Alleje meanwhile underscored the fact that with proptech, an investor could expand his or her investment portfolio even outside the area where he or she is based.

“If I were an investor from Metro Manila, I would always think twice why would I invest in a place that I cannot even manage my own investment. But now because of proptech, I’ll be able to go and venture in new geographical areas that are booming … Before we had DIY. Now there’s a new thing called DIFM or do it for me, and that’s exactly what proptech is, what they’re doing now in 202 Peaklane,” he added.

One key advantage of 202 Peaklane was that it wasn’t geographically sensitive but rather investor-oriented given its proptech features, added Mañalac.

Security of investment

A more crucial point raised during the discussion was how a technology-enabled development like 202 Peaklane can ensure and secure your investment, especially over the long haul. Apart from the tech aspect, Anchor Land’s leasing program also offers a minimum guaranteed annual lease fee as well as a variable incentive, based on the actual serviced-residences’ performance.

“It’s exciting that Anchor Land has developed a property investment that is being marketed and outlined as an investment right from the beginning,” said Robbie Samson, Mindanao business development head of First Metro Securities. “As an investor, what we want is to be able to participate in either companies or segments or economies that are set to grow exponentially in the future. That’s something that 202 Peaklane is definitely giving investors—the opportunity to buy into a growing city.”

The minimum guaranteed income, Samson added, is a huge bonus as it will make it easier for investors to appreciate the potential of growing their capital through this project. Apart from its strategic location, the potential returns are higher than what is being offered in the market.

“I believe this is going to be a gamechanger. This is something that will make (one) consider investing in property because 202 Peaklane perfectly captures the niche market. (Those investing for) passive income is a niche market so you have to give them everything they need to make things as easy as possible for them to generate returns, to get attractive yields,” he explained.

Sustainable business

Arwin Tolentino, training director at Anchor Land Holdings, disclosed that even at the onset, they wanted to incorporate innovation in the rental business in Davao City through 202 Peaklane.

“We strongly believe that Davao is a good market to venture into that… we purposely designed the west tower to have all of the technologies together. That way, we are able to bring forward a project that would make sure that investors will really get the returns they’re looking for, enjoy passive income, and let their investment work for them because these technologies are designed to make the business more sustainable and become more efficient,” Tolentino said.

“In these uncertain times, people are not sure about investing and they’re scared because of COVID-19. But with the Anchor Land brand and 202 Peaklane, (you) can guarantee minimum return, get capital growth appreciation in the property, and you get usage. So that’s essentially three reasons why you want to buy in a proptech development, because you know you’ve got certainty,” James added.

Officially closing the webinar is Anchor Land president Elizabeth Ventura, who shared that 202 Peaklane went through a painstaking, interesting and exciting study of not just the location, but also the changes in the landscape and behavior of the market.

“Our innovations are a result of caring more about the changes and behavior of the market so we don’t just bring a project that is good in terms of income but also a product with innovations that will protect your investment. Anchor Land is always here to help and guide you in making informed decisions in terms of property investing,” Ventura concluded.