This meant being able to afford a medium sized home, college education for children, a car, their day to day needs and occasional leisure travel, according to the results of a national survey and more than 40 focus group discussions conducted in 2016 for “Ambisyon Natin 2040”—the 25-year long term vision of the National Economic and Development Authority for the country.
Such aspirations continue to ring true today. Most Filipinos still dream of having a home they can rightfully call their own, where they can raise their families in safety and comfort. The reality, however, is that this dream remains elusive for many due primarily to the prohibitive costs of owning a home—one of the many reasons why the country’s housing backlog swelled to a massive 6.7 million units, according to estimates of the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc.
Fortunately, there are property developers who continue to be a staunch partner of the government in helping wipe out this massive housing backlog.
Vista Land, for one, has created in 2012 the Lumina line of mass-marketed housing communities meant to provide Filipinos with affordable yet quality homes. A powerhouse in property development given its widest geographic reach, Vista Land has long recognized the need to be more inclusive in its home offerings as a service to many hardworking Filipinos.
Lumina makes for a perfect first home.
Unstoppable growth
From its first project called Lumina Batangas, the Lumina brand now caters to more than 100,000 homebuyers in over 50 provinces across the country—and continues to grow even more.
This year, Lumina is celebrating its 8th anniversary, known as Pambansang Araw ng Bahay ni Juan, with the theme, “Simply 8mazing,” in recognition of its accomplishments through the years.
At present, Lumina offers row houses and two-storey single dwelling units priced from P500,000 to P1.7 million. These houses are built of quality materials through cast-in-place (CIP) construction.
Beyond quality and affordability, residents of Lumina communities also get to enjoy practical features including a play area, covered basketball court, lush open spaces, guarded entrance and a shuttle service. More importantly, another significant benefit of living in a Lumina community would be its accessibility. All Lumina developments are built in strategic locations that are close to major thoroughfares, transport hubs, schools, hospitals and business and leisure centers—thus providing residents utmost comfort and convenience of having such establishments nearby.
Lumina affords Filipinos with affordable yet quality homes.
Unparalleled efforts
It’s worth noting that even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lumina has taken aggressive steps to be innovative.
In 2017, it launched Lumina Homes Online, the first online reservation system for mass housing, which enables homebuyers to view available house-and-lot options through an interactive map, reserve and pay units via online (https://onlinereservation.lumina.com.ph).
Earlier this year, Pag-IBIG Fund also named Lumina as Top 1 Developer for 2019 for having the most housing loans takeout value and for serving the most number of housing borrowers.
Lumina continued further its innovation drive as it launched its online stores in Lazada and Shopee (the first real estate brand to be on this platform) to give homebuyers safe and more convenient options in reserving their home.
So it really comes as no surprise that even amid the pandemic, Lumina continues to thrive, aptly addressing the country’s need for affordable housing while providing meaningful activities to its employees, brokers and homebuyers.
In celebration of its 8th anniversary, Lumina launched Luntiang Lumina, an urban gardening initiative to encourage residents to grow food indoors or in their mini-gardens; Bating Pinoy, Bating Kabarangay, an online contest for the best Filipino greeting tutorial video; Your Own Lots Only (YOLO), which introduces Lumina’s new product line, the lots-only packages; Lumina Online University, its sales training portal; 2nd Kumustahan sa Bayan ni Juan, a live video conference for Lumina sales agents and brokers; and the Two-Day 8citing Weekend Sale, a two-day sales event offering reservation discounts that future Lumina homebuyers shouldn’t miss.
