Phinma cues debut in community housing with Davao City project
MANILA, Philippines — Phinma Corp. is on track to break ground for its first community housing project by the fourth quarter of this year. The conglomerate is seeking to help close the housing gap in the country.
Chito Salazar, president and COO at Phinma, on Thursday said the project would rise within Davao City.
The company recently formed Phinma Community Housing Corp. (Coho). Salazar said Phinma Coho is aimed at addressing “the country’s huge, unmet need for dignified affordable shelter for underserved markets.”
Del Rosario-led Phinma first announced their debut into socialized housing in January. They already had two projects in the pipeline.
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Back then, Phinma chair and CEO Ramon del Rosario Jr. said prices would range from P750,000 to P800,000 per unit. This is meant to enable prospective homebuyers to avail of Pag-IBIG Fund loans.
Under Pag-IBIG’s Affordable Housing Program, a qualified Pag-IBIG member may apply for a housing loan of up to P750,000. The amount to be granted will depend which will be the lowest among the member’s actual need, desired loan amount and loanable amount.
According to Del Rosario, their Davao community housing project will consist of around 200 units.
The parent firm recently approved a P250-million investment in Phinma Coho. This is intended to bankroll the latter’s housing projects, including one in Bacolod City.
Phinma helps to bridge housing gap
This comes as the Philippines moves to provide homes to millions without shelter. In its 2023 Philippines Country Report, the United Nations Human Settlements Program found that the country’s housing needs may reach 22 million units by 2040. Currently, the housing backlog is pegged at 6.5 million units.
Also, Salazar said the group would maximize the growth in demand for domestic leisure and business travel. They will do this by developing more hotel projects under Phinma Hospitality Inc.
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This year, Phinma Hospitality will break ground for its second TRYP by Wyndham Hotel in Saludad, Bacolod City. It will also continue construction of another TRYP hotel on Samal Island. The latter would mark Phinma Hospitality’s entry into the condotel market.
A portmanteau of the words “condominium” and “hotel,” condotels offer short-term rentals that are managed like hotels.
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently released new rules to regulate condotels. The SEC said these were considered investment contracts. Therefore, condotels are considered securities that need to be registered with the SEC before being offered to the public.
Analysts warned that the new guidelines could result in higher condotel prices. But they also noted that this encouraged transparency, which could boost investor confidence in the real estate market.
