Eton Makes More, Gets More

Eton Properties disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that total revenue for the 1st quarter of 2011 gained 2.6% to P946M from P922M in the same period last year.  That represents a 7.4% hike in 1st quarter net income, which is P199M.  Looks like Lucio Tan made the right decision investing in real estate.  While Eton Properties is rather new compared to Ayala Land and DMCI, the fact that the firm is part of the Lucio Tan Group makes it formidable, despite the recent accident in one of its projects, and it continues to make a name for itself in the real estate industry.

To see some of the properties I market for Eton Properties, please visit my website Real Estate Investments in Manila.


Feng Shui is good,
Jon

I'm Poor, Give Me A House!

The Quezon City local government is looking at purchasing a 34-hectare lot in Montalban, Rizal to accommodate about 10,731 informal settler families living in or near the city's identified danger zones.  Mayor Herbert Bautista, with authority from the QC Council to negotiate for the purchase and acquisition of the property, has signed a Contract To Sell (CTS) with the Arce Family, who owns the land.  The land, valued at P550 per sq.m., can be used to develop 5,100 lots with an area of 40 sq.m. each.

I guess the real question now is, will there ever be an end to this dilemma?  As long as our rural areas continue to remain under-developed or undeveloped, our countryside fellowmen will continue to seek greener pastures in Metro Manila, adding to the burgeoning pollution and over-population, not to mention the problem with land-usurpation and illegal occupation woes of legitimate land owners.  Although I laud the QC local government for this initiative, this is at most a band-aid solution to the squatting problem.  We must develop the whole country, not just the capital.  That way, more people will be inclined to stay where they are.


Let's move to the country,
Jon

Housing Projects Go On A Holiday!

In notable news today, the Bureau of Investments (BoI) has approved six housing projects with combined investments of P1.731 billion for income tax holiday (ITH) privileges, as provided under Article 39(a) of Executive Order (EO) 226, as amended by Republic Act (RA) 7918.  The BoI grants ITH as an incentive for Filipino investors to keep their investments in the country, and for foreign investors to invest in the Philippines.  The approved housing projects are from Masaito Development Corporation (Vallejo Place Phase 4, Imus, Cavite),  DMCI Project Developers Inc. (Cedar Crest, Taguig City), CHMI Land Inc. (Kassel Residences, Parañaque City), St. Francis Ventures (San Fransisco Homes, Pulilan, Bulacan), Johndorf Ventures Corp., and Kenrich Development Corp.

It pays to apply for ITH as it can give you substantial savings, especially when you're plunking in millions in investments.  Everybody's a winner!  It may be a little tough to wade through all the requirements, but I think the gains are well worth it.


I need a holiday,
Jon 

Love Attacks!

How's that for a title huh?  Actually, "love" in this context is actually PAG-IBIG, or the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF).  Apparently, HDMF-Cebu has filed cases against 23 companies in Cebu City for violating Presidential Decree 1752 as amended by Republic Act 7742 and 9679.  In essence, what these presidential decrees and republic acts call for are for employers to register all Social Security System (SSS) and/or Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)-covered employees with PAG-IBIG (HDMF), and to pay their counterpart contributions to the HDMF.  Looks like even though those 23 companies were repeatedly sent demand letters, said letters were ignored, prompting the HDMF to take legal action.  Portia Bacalso, Chief of Marketing and Enforcement, has vowed that the agency will continue its drive to monitor and file complaints against companies violating this law.

This bodes very well for employees, as contributions to the Fund will ensure that they will be able to take out a housing loan.  I'm really happy that government agencies are doing their jobs, and that we're seeing some results that are long-overdue.  Way to go PAG-IBIG!  Love can definitely bite back!


From the house that love built,
Jon

Real Estate: Why Should You Bother With Licensing or Accreditation?

I guess many unlicensed real estate agents/brokers are thinking: "Why should I bother with licensing/accreditation?  It's not like anyone's gonna do anything about it anyway."  There are sales managers and directors that aren't licensed when they should be, and sales agents that aren't accredited because their manager isn't a licensed broker.  So, why indeed should they bother?

Well, it's a LAW.  In case you didn't know, the Real Estate Service Act Law (RESA Law), otherwise known as Republic Act 9646, was passed in June 2009, seeking to professionalize the real estate industry, to protect consumers as well as licensed professionals from the "unscrupulous" practices of unlicensed practitioners.

Should you be worried?  After all, it's been almost 2 years and nobody has gone to jail for being unlicensed or for not being accredited.  See if this strikes you as menacing enough:

Article V, Sec. 39.  Penal Provisions - Any violation of this Act, including violations of implementing rules and regulations, shall be meted the penalty of a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000) or imprisonment of not less than two (2) years, or both upon the discretion of the court.  In case the violation is committed by an unlicensed real estate service practitioner, the penalty shall be double the aforesaid fine and imprisonment. 


So without a license or accreditation, under the pain of imprisonment and/or a fine, practice real estate at your own peril.

How does this affect those sales managers and directors working for developers?  Let me state the pertinent provision:

Article IV, Sec. 32.  Corporate Practice of Real Estate Service
a)  No partnership or corporation shall engage in the business of real estate service unless it is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the persons authorized to act for the partnership or corporation are all duly registered and licensed real estate brokers, appraisers or consultants, as the case may be.  There shall be at least one (1) licensed real estate broker for every twenty (20) accredited salespersons.


b)  Divisions or departments of partnerships and corporations engaged in marketing or selling any real estate development project in the regular course of business must be headed by full-time registered and licensed real estate brokers.


There you have it, very clear and straight to the point.  Do yourselves a favor and get licensed, so you can get your salespersons the necessary accreditation for them to continue selling for you.

Think you have time?  At the recent oath-taking ceremony, the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service (PRB-RES) mentioned that by 2014, a Bachelor's degree in Real Estate Service might be implemented by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).  If and when that happens, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) will make that college course mandatory before you can take the licensure examination.  If you don't want to go back to school just to get your broker's license, I suggest you take the 120 CPE units now, and take the next licensure exam this coming November 2011.

Or, you can continue thinking that you can get away with it and not do anything.  As Forrest Gump said, "Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."  Pray it's not a fine of P200,000 and a 4-year prison term.

Hopefully,
Jon

 

VP Carries The Torch For Mass Housing

Philippine Vice Prez and chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Jejomar Binay has signified his concurrence to the terms for the continued inclusion of mass housing projects as a priority sector in the 2011 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) set to be approved by Malacañang.  HUDCC wants the price ceiling per housing unit to be Php3M and below for a mass housing project developer to be eligible for incentives.  However, the Board of Investments (BoI) is pushing to lower it to Php2.5M.

What's the big deal, you ask?  Eligible developers outside of the National Capital Region (NCR) will be entitled to a 4-year income tax holiday, while those within the NCR will be granted 3 years income tax exemption.  However, the Department of Finance is opposed to the continued tax perks for developers, although it supports a direct subsidy for end-users.

According to Binay, incentives are crucial because housing projects require large capital requirements.  If no incentives are granted, mass housing projects will not be attractive enough to investors.  He hopes that this will also aid in solving the housing backlog in the country which stands at 1.4M housing units, which is projected to hit 5.4M units by 2016.

Mass housing ain't so bad...  For a ceiling of P2.5M - P3M, that's not so bad at all!  Isn't a condominium a form of mass housing too?  It's all in the mind my loves.


Happy Mom's Day!
Jon

Real Estate Pushes Gross Revenue Index UP, UP and AWAY!

From GMA News Online, some good news about the sunshine industry!  The Philippines' gross revenue index went up in the 4th quarter of 2010 mainly because of real estate.  The real estate sector showed the highest growth among all other industries mainly because of increased revenues from real estate projects, renting and leasing operations.


So even though gas prices are rising, real estate is still kickin' it.  Look around you and you'll see all the construction ongoing, down south and even in the metro.  There's still room for growth, and we're gonna ride it straight up!

Let me ride the train with you,
Jon