LISTED property developer Megaworld Corp. said it still registered billions from reservations during the first half of 2020 despite the ongoing pandemic-induced lockdowns across the country.

In a statement, Tuesday, the Andrew L. Tan-led company said it booked P38 billion in reservations sales for various residential projects in the first six months of the year, with the second quarter seeing sales hit P17 billion.

Mostly upper-middle market buyers patronized the company’s properties during the strict quarantine months of April to June, said Megaworld’s Chief Operating Officer Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso.

“Even during the ‘enhanced community quarantine’ in Luzon during the second quarter, we received a lot of inquiries and reservations via our online channels mostly coming from the upper-mid market,” the official said.

Ms. Gutierrez-Alfonso claimed its digital sales strategies “paved the way for faster, smoother and safer transactions, and client engagements,” albeit, selling real estate during the period was “quite” challenging.

Megaworld noted its provincial properties make up most of the sales booked in the second quarter. Its big-ticket projects added to the period’s reservations sales, including Arden Botanical Estate in Cavite; Eastland Heights in Antipolo, Rizal; Hamptons Caliraya in Laguna; McKinley Hill and McKinley West in Taguig; and other projects in Makati City and Pasig City.

Citing demand pickups, it generated P7 billion in reservations last month for its residential lots in the Calabarzon region, as well as for its residential properties in Boracay Newcoast and Iloilo Business Park.

It opened showrooms nationwide with executing stringent safety protocols, including pre-visit registration, contactless payments, document sanitation, and digital presentations. It also provided clients with personal hygiene kits.

On Tuesday, shares in Megaworld picked up by 1.92% to close at P3.18 each. — Adam J. Ang

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