SM Prime launches luxury home brand Signature Series

SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH) has entered the premium residential market with the launch of Signature Series.

SMPH is investing P25 billion and at least 400 hectares of land to cater to the Philippines' growing segment of affluent households.

"We're entering a whole new chapter as an organization," SMPH Executive Vice President Jose Juan Jugo said. "What we want to do now with Signature Series is to bring that commitment and success to the primary residential living spaces, which we have not yet entered, but we will do so now."

Signature Series is positioned as the luxury extension of SM Prime's residential arm, complementing its existing middle-income brand SM Development Corp. (SMDC) and leisure projects such as those in Pico de Loro and Tagaytay Highlands.

The new brand aims to serve homebuyers with a wider range of offerings, from P15 million premium units, to upscale homes at P25 million and ultra-luxury properties above P60 million.

"SMDC starts with about P3 million and ends at about P12 million to P13 million pesos. That's the market they own," Jugo said. "We in Signature Series want to be there when these people upgrade... with greater wealth, with bigger families, with larger space requirements."

For its flagship project under the Signature Series, SMPH is set to develop a 284-hectare land in Susana Heights, Muntinlupa City. The property will be developed into residential clusters, neighborhood retail, civic spaces, pocket parks and an ultra-luxury village.

The group also plans to launch high-end projects in Makati, Parañaque, Pasay, Taguig, Cebu, Cavite, Tagaytay, Batangas and Manila.

Based on 2023 data, over 1.4 million households in the Philippines had a net worth of $100,000 and above, while 69,000 households had a net worth of over $1 million, the group said. These figures are expected to grow significantly by 2025, driven by the country's ongoing economic expansion.

David Leechiu, founder and chief executive of Leechiu Property Consultants, said SMPH's entry into the high-end market will shake up that segment of the real estate sector.

"The luxury market is a very competitive market dominated by just three players," Leechiu said. "With SM coming into the luxury market, it will shake up the industry because they have the firepower, the land bank and now they have the expertise."