VISTA LAND & Lifescapes, Inc. (VLL) said it can breach the one-million mark in terms of housing units in the next 10 years, as it aggressively expands in the provinces.

“Within 10 years we’ll probably get to a million (houses),” VLL President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel Paolo A. Villar told reporters during the company’s media briefing in Makati last week.

Mr. Villar noted that this was in line with the vision of his father, Manuel B. Villar, Jr., to build a million houses in his lifetime.

“And I think we’re in the process of doing that, we’ll do it much sooner than that,” the younger Mr. Villar said.

He noted that the company currently has between 400,000 to 500,000 housing units under its portfolio.

The listed property developer offers several housing brands depending on the target market. Camella Homes caters to the low-cost and affordable housing segment in the Mega Manila area, which the company noted accounted for 79% of real estate sales in 2018.

Communities Philippines also targets the low-cost and affordable housing segment but for projects outside Mega Manila. Mega Manila refers to Metro Manila and the neighboring provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Batangas and Bulacan.

Meanwhile, the company also offers the Brittany brand for masterplanned communities for the high-end market. Its Vista Residences brand is mainly used for vertical residential projects in the Mega Manila area. It has also recently launched the Camella Condo Homes (COHO) brand last February, which will offer affordable condominiums.

VLL has since expanded to 146 cities and municipalities in the country. It has room for further expansion after ending 2018 with a land bank of 2,801 hectares.

“The opportunities are very high in the Philippines….We’re concentrating all of our investment locally,” the younger Mr. Villar said.

The company is set to launch P60 billion worth of projects this year, banking on the strong demand for both its residential and commercial projects.

To support this goal, VLL has set aside P40 billion in capital expenditures. This, however, is lower than 2018’s actual spending of P45.05 billion as the company has already completed its goal of having 1.3 million square meters in gross floor area for its commercial business.

Mr. Villar also said they plan to apply for a P20-billion shelf registration program with the Securities and Exchange Commission to finance future expansion plans, as the company only has P5 billion left from its previous registration.

VLL’s net income attributable to the parent grew 16% to P10.24 billion in 2018, after consolidated revenues also went up 15% to P41.5 billion. — Arra B. Francia

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