Lamudi housing fair brings affordable properties closer

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the aggressive development of residential projects in the past years, there still remains a huge backlog in addressing demand for the housing needs of most Filipinos.

Based on 2016 figures from the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association of the Philippines (SHDA), there are about 5.7 million housing units still needed to fill in demand, majority or 3.1 million of which are houses in the affordable category.

The continued need for affordable properties is what property listing site Lamudi Philippines can attest to as bulk of the registered searches on its website falls under properties in the category.

“We have a good 40 to 60 percent of our searches that, on a healthy month, happens,” Lamudi Philippines managing director and chief executive officer Bhavna Suresh  Chathambeth told The STAR.

Lamudi has witnessed strong growth in its site traffic in the first half of 2017, with an average 1.5 million visitors per month. This is a 50 percent growth from the one million per month average in 2016.

In terms of property listings, Chathambeth said Lamudi currently has a total of 70,000 active listings, 40 to 50 percent of which are in the affordable category.

She, however, clarified that based on Lamudi’s definition, “affordable” refers to properties priced P7 million and below.

She said the growing searches for such properties shows continued demand for affordable housing.

“This is a reflection of what the Filipino market wants,” Chathambeth said.

The Lamudi official said the rising demand for affordable properties is in line with the aspirations of Filipinos to have their own home.

“We acknowledge that home ownership is one common aspiration shared by all Filipinos, but due to the continuous growth of the industry and consequent increase in property prices, this dream is becoming more and more elusive to many Filipinos, especially to those who do not know where to search,”Chathambeth said.

Doing its part to address this aspiration, Lamudi is set to launch its first affordable housing fair this week.

The housing fair will gather all value-for- money and easy-on- the-pocket housing developers under one roof, to be able to bring the projects closer to the market.

“We also envision that the targeted approach of the Lamudi housing fair’s second installment will greatly help exhibitors to meet the exact audience that they are looking for,” Chathambeth said.

“Exhibitors are not limited to property developers; other related industries such as property managers, hotels and resorts, brokerage firms, furniture companies, banks, insurance, and other financial institutions are also encouraged to participate and highlight their products and offerings,” she said.

The property listing site said the event is not only expected to target homebuyers, but also individuals who seek to invest in properties, and real estate professionals such as brokers, as it will hold seminars during the housing fair.

“Informative agenda such as real estate investment forums will also be available to complete the package,”she added.

Among the seminars to be held at the event are those to be led by the Home Development Fund, or Pag-IBIG, on home buying and the Social Security System (SSS) on foreclosed properties.

In addition, the housing fair will also feature a foreclosed property auction to be led by partner banks and brokerage firms.

The two-day housing fair is slated tomorrow until July 16 at the Glorietta 3 Activity Center in Makati City and is the second installment of the Lamudi housing fair series.

Last November, the property listing site held its maiden housing fair, which was participated in by more than 5,000 attendees.

Chathambeth said the company is anticipating a larger crowd of around 7,000 attendees to register at the upcoming housing fair as it caters to a more specific market.

“More than bringing together affordable developments, Lamudi is preparing more exciting schemes such as property discounts, games, raffles, prizes, and freebies for the attendees,” she said.