MASS HOUSING developer 8990 Holdings, Inc. has already sold P1.2 billion worth of residential condominium units at its Urban Deca Homes-Ortigas Extension project, driven by the strong demand from workers in the area.

8990 Holdings President and Chief Executive Officer Willibaldo J. Uy said they have sold 652 units in the condominium complex since its launch two weeks ago. Of this, 636 units were sold in a single day.

“Buyers are typically people working in Eastwood, Ortigas area, Mandaluyong, and some of them are coming from the Quezon City area,” Mr. Uy told reporters after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Makati on Monday.

Urban Deca Homes Ortigas is 8990 Holdings’ largest project to-date, housing 22 buildings with 19,000 units to be built on a 13-hectare property along Ortigas Avenue Extension. Unit sizes range from 27 square meters (sq.m.) to below 40 sq.m.

Prices range from P1.7-2 million, or about P65,000 per sq.m. Amortization costs could go as low as P5,000 to P7,000 per month, depending on the buyer’s payment scheme.

The entire project is seen to generate at least P30 billion in revenues for the company for the next four to five years.

8990 broke ground for the project last year, but has seen delays in selling units due to the processing of permits. The company tapped Megawide Construction Corp. for its construction.

The project follows the same model as Urban Deca Homes Manila in Tondo, Manila, which consists of 13 towers on a 8.4-hectare property offering more than 13,000 units.

Mr. Uy said they have already sold over 5,000 units in Tondo.

“The sales of our Tondo has really gone up…That has been also something we’re very happy with,” Mr. Uy said.

The top executive said they have a “very little” number of foreign residents in the area.

“It’s just a matter of carving out where the area will be…para rin walang cultural barrier. And we’d like for the building management to also be Chinese-speaking so they can understand each other, so they have to look for somebody like that,” Mr. Uy said when asked whether the project is open to employees of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.

8990 Holdings’ net income attributable to the parent climbed 17% to P1.18 billion in the first quarter of 2019, after gross revenues also rose 20% to P3.01 billion.

Shares in 8990 Holdings slipped 0.13% or two centavos to close at P15.82 each at the stock exchange on Monday. —Arra B. Francia