HENRY SY-LED SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is gearing up for its maiden foray this year into the broader low-cost segment of the residential market.

 
 
SM DEVELOPMENT Corp. is developing the Shore Residences at the SM Mall of Asia Complex. — SMDCREALESTATE.COM
 

Jose Mari H. Banzon, SM Prime business unit head for primary residential, said in a mobile phone message last week this new venture will comprise about a tenth of the 12,000 to 15,000 units the real estate firm intends to launch this year, with an estimated sales value of P36 billion to P40 billion.
 
“We will enter the market gradually,” Mr. Banzon said.
 
SM Prime is looking at “several” projects within the price range of P800,000 to P1.5 million comprising both mid-rise developments and house and lots.
 
The price ceiling for these projects falls under the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council’s (HUDCC) definition of low-cost housing (level 1), which is above P450,000 to P1.7 million.
 
“We are diversifying our product base to include the lower-end of the economic housing segment,” Mr. Banzon said.
 
SM Prime was supposed to roll out projects in Cavite and Pampanga last year, but it pushed back the launch to a later date as they consolidated properties for these developments.
 
Real estate advisory firm Colliers Philippines said in a briefing last week the recent property boom has failed to address the huge housing backlog, bulk of which are under the price point of P1.2 million. Under the HUDCC’s definition, socialized housing refers to projects priced P450,000 and below.
 
Julius M. Guevara, head of advisory services at Colliers