Remittances seen supporting property sales in Q4 

Homebuilder Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. expects real estate sales to overseas Filipino workers to boost its business in the fourth quarter, according to a report by Manila Standard.

Vista Land chairman Manuel Villar Jr. said in a statement the group saw a marked improvement in sales to OFWs who were benefitting from the higher peso value of their dollar remittances.

The peso weakened by more than 15 percent against the greenback since the start of the year on hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve.

OFW sales account for 55 percent to 60 percent of Vista Land’s total residential sales.

Vista Land said it also saw a significant improvement in the foot traffic at its malls as consumers engaged in “revenge shopping”.

“We are excited going into the last quarter of the year with both our residential and leasing businesses continuing with its upward trend,” Villar said.

“We are slated to launch more projects this quarter, as we take advantage of the renewed confidence from our overseas Filipino buyers. Such confidence is also seen in the performance of our retail stores which translates to better mall revenues,” he said.

Vista Land launched P11 billion worth of projects in the first half, exceeding the projects it started in 2021.

The property firm said the crackdown on Philippine offshore gaming operators by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. would not have a significant impact on the company as it has zero exposure to POGOs.

Vista Land said its leasing portfolio banks on residential communities that serve as catchment for mall developments. Business process outsourcing firms and traditional offices remain the main tenants for office space.

Majority of the leasing properties are community-based malls and commercial centers, it said.

“Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, we have managed our leverage by reducing our capital expenditures and took advantage of our existing land bank for developments,” Vista Land president and chief executive Manuel Paolo Villar said.