He said he wanted to interview me personally. You may probably imagine how surprised I was with his proposal. First thing that came to my mind was the interview would be about matters relating to kama sutra, _ _ _ _ s enlargement, Viagra, sexual staying power and the like… things that I am totally innocent of (e-hem!!).

Turned out he was researching on the condominium boom in Metro Manila which I have extensively written about.

Click the image to enlarge.

We met for the interview early September at SM City North EDSA. Jed, a very young lad who is probably half my age, made it clear that he was interviewing several people for his assignment and I was just one among them. Thus, although the interview went for more than 30 minutes, he said he would take only one salient point from my statements.

I totally forgot about this interview and didn’t bother to check if I was indeed cited in the article or if the article written by Jed was actually featured in FHM at all.

Yesterday, March 2, while browsing through my cellphone contact list, I happened by Jed’s number. I then called him and asked about his article. It turned out he emailed to me a PDF copy of his article as soon as it was published in December but his email probably ended up in my bulk folder and got trashed.

He emailed the same to me yesterday and I was happy to read that I was indeed quoted in the article titled “Build it and they will come.”

Below is a screenshot of the article’s opening paragraph.

As told, only one salient point of the interview was cited. It was short but it’s a quote nonetheless from a popular nationally circulated magazine.

If anyone among you wants a copy of Jed’s FHM article in PDF file, kindly email me via junsanchez2003(at)yahoo.com. It is a very well researched article citing some of the industry’s biggest players.

Thank you so much and my best regards to all.

Jun Sanchez
T +632 857.0100 local 1391
M +632 915.965.1389, 929.609.7142, 932.912.9585
Licensed Real Estate Broker
PRC Registration Number 4562

SMDC started slow when it developed its first condominium project in 2003, the Chateau Elysee in Bicutan, Paranaque City. The project is composed of 24 residential buildings that are six to seven storeys tall. This was  followed in 2006 by Mezza Residences, a 38-storey four-tower condominium at the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Araneta Avenue adjacent to SM Sta. Mesa.

The company started its aggressive drive in 2007 when it developed Lindenwood Residences in Susana Heights, Muntinlupa City. It is SMDC’s first and only subdivision project with 390 individually saleable lots on a 23-hectare property.

SMDC targets what it calls the “premium middle class market.” It carries two brands – SM Residences that caters to young upstart families and M Place that caters to young upwardly mobile career-oriented individuals.

Within a short period of time, SMDC has developed 16 residential projects, 15 of which are in Metro Manila and one in Tagaytay City. Six projects are completed and ready for occupancy, the rest are either under construction or nearing completion.

In its October 2011 report, Manila Bulletin cited the study made by Colliers International Philippines disclosing that:

SMDC sold the most number of condominium units in Metro Manila and attained the highest amount in terms of sales values for the first half of that year… It held the same record in 2010 and 2009.

With 90 real estate players in the condominium housing segment, SMDC captured 22% market share of this segment. For 2012, SMDC plans to launch four or five new projects.

As it is, with SMDC’s close to 2,000-strong salesforce, the company is still direly in need of additional Licensed Real Estate Brokers and agents or Sales Persons. To cope with ever growing demand for its projects, SMDC launched its second Marketing Division just this month.

The need for more sales people will become even greater if the following news from Business Mirror pushes through:

…the government-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has been tasked by the Aquino administration to privatize the 33-hectare South Bonifacio, in Taguig City… The property is composed of lands presently occupied in part by the Army Support Command and Special Services Unit of the Philippine Army and in part by the Bonifacio Naval Station and Philippine Marine Corps of the Philippine Navy.

Click this link to see the satellite map of South Bonifacio (move your cursor in the middle of your screen where the crosshair (+) is and the place will light up in yellow). Click it and you will see a great description of it by a friend, Aaron, who is a fellow Filipino Wikimapia moderator.

North east are McKinley West and McKinley Hill; Further north east is Bonifacio Global City. Just one kilometer away, south west, is Megaworld’s Newport City.

The same report added that: “…SM Land, Inc. has already submitted to the BCDA an unsolicited offer to develop the property;” it is the first company to do so. Please read the complete report of the Business Mirror above to see details of SM Land, Inc.’s offer.

If BCDA awards the privatization of South Bonifacio to SM Land, Inc., what do you think will be its implications on SMDC’s development plans? How many condominium projects will it put up? Will it have enough people to market its projects, both current and forthcoming?

If you are a PRC-licensed real estate broker, or you already own a realty brokerage firm or you are a member or officer of a chapter of a certain real estate brokers association like REBAP, PAREB, etal. and you want to be accredited by SMDC, kindly get in touch with me using the Contact form above or make a comment below. I will refer you to my friends at SMDC.

Thank you so much.

Jun Sanchez

The contest was launched

to help humanitarian organizations like UNICEF better deliver services, respond to crises, and adapt to change in the countries they operate by enabling access to accurate digital maps.

In fact, even before the contest started last December, Wayne’s mapping contributions helped rescue workers locate victims during September’s Typhoon Ondoy.

Above are just a few of the many benefits of online mapping and Google Map Maker is one of them.

I’ve been an online cartographer myself since last September but I’m using Wikimapia. This is not to say that Wikimapia is better than Google Map Maker (both have their up and downsides); I just like the interface and features of the former.

Of the more than 650,000 registered users of Wikimapia around the globe, I am currently ranked 275th. Note that there are many more Filipinos who rank much higher than I do. Highest ranking Filipino, #24, is a 23-year old from the Cordilleras and uses the call sign JAT86. Number 1 is infovishera from Russia; highest ranked female is British-Chinese Teresa, #9. The most helpful ones are Martin67 from Canada, #5 and stcraftie59 from USA, #11.

If some people spend their free time playing Farmville in Facebook, we do ours in Wikimapia.

With Wikimapia, I can help my community in the following areas: disaster coordination, peace and order management, tax mapping, business promotion, public information and tourism development. Plus, it gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

Some City Governments spend fortune to set up what’s called Geographic Information System (or GIS) for reasons stated above. The cities of Sta.Rosa, Laguna and Marikina have some of the finest GIS in the country.

I figured that Wikimapia, although limited in features compared to the GIS of said cities, can serve as a GIS for my home city, Malabon.

So, on January 18, after a preliminary meeting with our City Administrator, Engr. Benjamin Villacorta, I wrote a letter to our Mayor proposing that without spending a single centavo, our city can use Wikimapia for its GIS.

On February 3, I became a Volunteer Consultant for the development of Malabon’s GIS, which means I am rendering my services for free.

Here are how our officials can manage our city using Wikimapia:

Disaster Coordination

Since Malabon is flood-prone, it’s imperative to map the components of the CAMANAVA Mega Flood Control Project in case they are breached. They include flood gates like this and another in Navotas, among others; also pumping stations like this and this. Relevant information and pictures (click them to enlarge) are provided whenever possible. Satellite view is the default map in Wikimapia; to see the street names, click Map Type on the upper left, then choose Google Hybrid.

For humanitarian organizations, public schools have to be tagged since they usually serve as evacuation centers during calamities. Examples are this and this.

Other important places in cases of disaster are fire stations and hospitals. Meralco substations, I think, also need to be mapped.

Peace and Order Management

In case a certain, say, bank, is robbed (knock on wood), a police commander from the nearest precinct can assess online its location and layout without actually or immediately going to the place and give orders by remote control.

Different Barangay Headquarters should also be mapped in Acacia, Tinajeros, and Tugatog, among others.

Tax Mapping

By showing images of a building, describing it and listing the establishments or offices located therein, its valuation can be done better. Pictures don’t lie.

Business Promotion

What business would not want an online presence like that of MGC Veranda, Malabon Citisquare or even a lowly “lugawan”?

Better service through better information

For example, if a City Government wants to serve its residents well, it has to enable them to save time whenever they do business with it. Residents need to be certain beforehand who to talk to in which department and not spend precious time looking aimlessly for the right person in a certain department in a large building. Here’s how I mapped Malabon City Hall. Kindly scroll down to see all the departments then click each of them.

Tourism Development

Promoting Pancit Malabon to attract attention to our city is an old and wet way of developing travel and tourism in Malabon. In my opinion, Malabon’s most important attractions are its geography and history.

Malabon is bounded on the West by the Navotas River and is cut in two by the Tullahan River. Aside from which are other rivers and fishponds. Where in Metro Manila can you find so much body of natural water? We’re Asia’s version of Venice. That, we all know, is both good and bad news. But why focus on the bad when something good can come out of it?

Next is an image of one of the waterways in Malabon.

I was told that some tourists come to Malabon just to see the view of Manila Bay. Below is one of the images they see when they look across Manila Bay from one of the buildings in Malabon.

This is the Shrine of Valor and its giant cross on top of Mt. Samat in Bataan Province.

Our city also has a very rich history and is home to several heritage houses that are well-preserved. The Raymundo House and the “Bahay na Puti” are just two of them.

I have yet to map Asilo de Huerfano, an orphanage for young girls, where the first editions of the revolutionary newspaper La Independencia during the Fil-Am War, were printed.

There’s even a well-preserved house in Malabon whose ceiling was painted by Fernando Amorsolo.

Mapping the Philippines online is a worthwhile activity that can tremendously help our country and its people in many ways that were not possible a few years ago. It is only beginning and so many places need to be accurately tagged. I encourage you to help in this endeavor, regardless of which one you choose – Google Map Maker or Wikimapia.

Aside from helping your community, it allows you to become a “virtual” tourist in any place that you can imagine to be.

You also get to interact with countless intelligent people from around the globe. We have a forum where we talk about matters ranging from the serious to mundane.

Click here to register in Wikimapia or here to become a Google Map Maker.

Just for fun, I will leave you with a link to satellite images, not in the Philippines, mapped by a Dutch power-contributor of Wikimapia, Arnout Steenhoek who’s ranked #22. He calls it “1,001 buildings you must see before you die.”

Thank you so much.

Strategically-located along Quirino Highway in Novaliches, Quezon City with an elevation of 131 feet above sea level, this development and those in the immediate vicinity did not in any way suffer the havoc wrought by typhoon Ondoy. This is according to Mr. Juan Antonio Gatuslao, Project Director of Belton, in a Manila Times interview on December 12, 2009.

Below is a static satellite map of North Belton Communities and its surroundings:

To understand well the succeeding discussion, I suggest you play around with this navigable satellite map.

Move your cursor over any place on the map and you will see “tagged” places, even buildings, light up in yellow. For example, move your cursor over North Belton Communities and you will see it light up. Click it and you will be brought to a page that gives its short description. There are thumbnail images on top; click on each to enlarge.

Or, you can simply click on the following links

• Sales Office, North Belton Communities
• The Manors, and in it look for Bianca and Diana
• SM Hypermarket
• Manila Paper Mills, and finally, a breaking news
• Proposed Commercial Area at North Belton Communities.

That’s a breaking news that is first announced in this blog.

I’ll repeat it anyways for the sake of Google; I want this news to be indexed by Google : )

A very reliable source from Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. related to me yesterday that Mr. Henry Sy of SM Prime Holdings has finalized the purchase of around 3 hectares of commercial property at North Belton Communities. The property, right across Mr. Sy’s SM Hypermarket (formerly Makro), was originally envisioned to be developed by Eton Properties into a commercial and IT hub for Business Process Outsourcing Companies or call centers.

I was also informed that Mr. Sy’s camp is negotiating for the purchase of a property beside it, the defunct Manila Paper Mills owned by a certain Mr. George Co.

Kindly go back to the map and see how huge the land on which Manila Paper Mills sits. Click it and look at the pictures again. If this purchase pushes thru; this lot plus the 3 hectare commercial property at North Belton Communities will comprise the soon-to-rise SM Department Store along the bustling Quirino Highway.

Bustling? Did I say that Robinson’s Supermarket recently opened nearby? Play around again with the satellite map to see other companies nearby.

Be informed also that the Department of Public Works and Highways is rushing completion of a vehicular road underpass at the corners of Mindanao Avenue and Quirino Highway to mitigate the increasing  traffic in this area. The need for this underpass has become more apparent now because of the above mentioned news.

Note that an elevated catwalk will connect SM Hypermarket to the soon-to-rise SM Department Store. It seems that Mr. Henry Sy has been eying the property in front of his for a long time. This building was completed many years ago and it was designed with a provision for an elevated catwalk that will cross Quirino Highway.

Point to ponder: Knowing that part of the 3 hectare property bought by Mr. Sy was originally envisioned to become an IT hub for call centers, is it far-fetched that the vision will be continued by Mr. Sy?

These developments have made investing at North Belton a very attractive proposition.  Last year, a 3-bedroom unit at The Manor’s “Francesca” went for 1,964,128 pesos (US$ 42,033). Late last year, when “Isabella” was launched, the same 3-bedroom unit sold for 2,361,395 pesos ( US$ 50,535), an increase of 397,267 pesos or a whopping 20.22% over just a few months.

In real estate, you must remember this:

The more steel, hollow blocks and concrete are put into a project, the higher the price of the project becomes. In our case, the more condominium buildings are completed, the higher the price of the units in the succeeding building becomes.

Knowing that, what do you think will happen to the prices of the units at North Belton Communities when Mr. Henry Sy starts putting steel, hollow blocks and concrete for his SM Department Store at Belton? : )

Construction of SM will commence in two to three months and the Belton Sales Office will be demolished soon.

Here’s the full Manila Times interview with Mr. Juan Antonio Gatuslao of  Belton Communities, Inc.

I will leave you with some images of the 3 and 2-bedroom model units at North Belton Communities. Two images at the end are from the building Bianca.

Thank you so much.

3-Bedroom Model Unit

Living Room

Dining Area and Kitchen

Bedroom #1

Bedroom #1 was converted into an entertainment area with large wall mirror to create an illusion of space.

Bedroom #2

Masters Bedroom

Bathrooms

2-Bedroom Model Unit

Good news! On July 14, 2009 the government announced that:

Phase 1 of the rehabilitated Philippine National Railways was inaugurated. A commuter train, with the President and the VP on board, chugged along the stretch from Tutuban in Manila to Buendia in Makati City.

Salient points of the report:

[Note: There used to be a link to this report from the website of the Philippine Information Agency but the page no longer exists.]

• The trains started commercial run the following day from Tutuban to Buendia, passing through Espana, Sampaloc, Sta. Mesa, Paco, Sta. Ana and San Andres.
• For 15 pesos, a commuter can now expect a traffic-free journey from Tutuban and reach Bicutan in 30 minutes.
• By September this year, the route will extend to Alabang and eventually to the Bicol region.
• The Department of Transportation and Communication is now finalizing a uniform ticketing system for the PNR, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 and Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 and 2.
• The second phase, or the North Rail, has been approved by the board of the National Economic and Development Authority and will be started within 60 days.

These plus the extension of super highways and the Skyway along the South Luzon Expressway and more will impact heavily on Philippine real estate.

What to expect:

• Real estate properties along certain points of the railway system will become attractive
• There will be a domino effect in price increase of real estate
• Migration from and decongestion of Metro Manila
• Business relocation especially of Business Process Outsourcing companies

These facts are intertwined; they may overlap one another.

Real estate properties along certain points of the railway system will become attractive

A 2006 Dutch study [this is a PDF file] noted that:

“… households are willing to pay more for housing near (not beside) railway stations due to lower transportation cost and reduced travel time. As workplaces become more accessible, so do leisure areas…”

Population convergence near or around some (not all) of these stations will lead to increased commerce that will push demand for and, therefore, price of real estate. Expect commercial establishments, conveniences and job opportunities to increase in some of these areas.

There will be a domino effect in price increase of real estate

Another study noted that:

“… the price of real estate is highest in city centers and decreases with every unit of distance from the city center. Thus, when some areas are pulled closer to the city center through an improvement in transportation, land values in these areas increase…”

As transportation improves, Filipinos will start moving to locations outside Metro Manila. As they do, commercialization and urbanization in these areas will start, driving up prices of land therein.

In time, these new urban areas will become the sub-city centers for people farther along the line; they will become the new sources of jobs, leisure, and conveniences for these people. The process will be replicated as you move farther and farther.

Migration from and decongestion of Metro Manila

Latest figure from the National Statistics Office puts the population of Metro Manila or NCR at 11,553,427; that’s 12.5% of the projected 92.23 million for 2009 in the entire country.

Forbes.com ranks Manila, our capital, as the city with the highest population density in the world. With a population of almost 1.6 million, it has a density of 41,014 persons per square kilometer. Cairo, Egypt is second with 36,618 per square kilometer. Hindi na mahulugan ng karayom ang Maynila : (

I think migration from Metro Manila will come in stages:

• First will be low-income earners who are forced to settle or rent in Metro Manila because of work. Many will relocate or go back home to the suburbs or even to nearby provinces.
• Second will be middle-class parents who want to live in the suburbs but can’t because of work and their kids who are studying in Metro Manila.
• Third will be some high income earners who will call their weekend mansions in the suburbs their main home.

In Japan, because of its super-efficient transport system, many employees living in, say, the “equivalent” of Batangas City commute everyday to work in Caloocan City. I’m not saying that exactly the same thing will happen here (they have bullet trains and even Maglevs, we don’t). But it will happen to a certain extent.

Business relocation especially of Business Process Outsourcing companies

According to a 2009 newsletter of the Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines (REBAP), many BPO’s are starting to move out of Metro Manila due to high office rental rates.

Down south, there are currently 30 call centers in Muntinlupa and 13 in Laguna. Up north in Pampanga, there are 22. Expect more of them to relocate or to put up additional offices outside Metro Manila.

Last year, Jaime I. Ayala, President and CEO of Ayala Land, Inc. announced that several BPO’s have already reserved office spaces in their flagship project, Nuvali,  in Sta. Rosa, Laguna; construction of the offices haven’t even started yet then. (I will write about this very soon.)

These are just a few of the changes that I think will happen. What do you think?

Let’s hope that whoever occupies the highest office next year will have the zeal to continue, even to hasten this program.

By the way, there’s a forum that’s discussing this development. See lots of pictures and interesting comments from those who have experienced the new PNR.

Thank you so much.