Property firm bullish on mid-income housing market prospects for 2012

Lucio Tan-led Eton Properties Philippines Inc. is upbeat on the prospects of middle-income property development arm Belton Communities Inc. (BCI), noting that about a third of residential buildings in Metro Manila now cater to the middle-income segment.

“The outgoing year has seen brisk take up of our middle income projects. We see this continuing next year given the now established preference of the market for residential projects like BCI’s as these are not only accessible to their workplace, but also have excellent features and amenities,” Eton president Danilo Ignacio said in a statement.

BCI was established by Eton to handle projects that meet the financial capacities of middle-income families, where most overseas Filipino families belong, as well as families with monthly income of at least P50,000.

Ignacio said mid-income earners were definitely the ones that fuel the industry’s growth in recent years, with developers like BCI tailor-fitting their projects to suit the needs of this segment. As such, BCI’s sales prospects were projected to be rosy in 2012.

BCI chooses projects that are accessible or a short travel away from work and other frequented destinations like schools and malls.  Pricing is also made affordable with the offering of flexible financing options.

With its aggressive stance to capture this market segment, the steady growth in the number of residential projects of BCI mirrors the rise of mid-market condos in Metro Manila.

From its first project, The Manors at North Belton Communities in 2008, BCI now has other mid-market residential developments, also within North Belton Communities, namely, West Wing Villas and West Wing Residences. It also has its latest residential haven in Quezon City, West Wing Tropics. These projects range from house and lots, mid-rise condominiums and townhouses.

North Belton Communities is BCI’s 13.8-hectare multienclave development along Quirino Highway in Quezon City. An SM mall will be built on the three-hectare lot inside North Belton Communities.

“Through BCI, Eton Properties is proud to be a part of the industry’s move in the past few years to provide quality, strategically located and affordable homes to more and more hardworking Filipinos. We are committed to bring more dreams of home ownership come true,” Ignacio said.