A real estate company is shaking up the housing market in Metro Manila by selling condominium units at half the price of other developments along EDSA in Mandaluyong City.
Westchester Realty Corp., a property firm led by the family of former Governor and Rep. Rodolfo Valencia, acquired from Pag-IBIG Fund through public auctions 540 units of GA Tower II which used to be owned by Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp. of businessman Delfin Lee. Westchester refurbished the units and now sells one, two or three-bedroom units, with floor area of 36 to 45 square meters, for P2.8 million to P3.6 million.
“We are selling 50 percent cheaper than other developers in the area,” said John Nico Valencia, president and chief operating officer of WRC.
“When it comes to price, no other development can match us. We are selling the units for only P77,000 per square meter. Other developments in the area are being sold for P150,000 per sq. m.,” said Valencia.
“We have superb location along EDSA and near MRT-Boni Station. When it comes to price, no one can beat us. We will deliver the units like brand-new. We will refurbish them. And we are ready for occupancy. We intend to sell these out in the next six months,” he said in a roundtable briefing.
“With 10-percent downpayment, you can move in. You can choose between in-house financing or Pag-IBIG Fund. With in-house financing, we allow amortization of under 10 years. Pag-IBIG Fund allows up to 30 years. Pag-IBIG Fund allows one principal and two co-borrowers to meet the required P50,000 monthly income. So the monthly amortization with Pag-IBIG Fund is only about P16,000 per month,” said Valencia.
“What we offer is affordable, luxury living,” he said. “It is very affordable, but our homebuyers feel they are living in luxury because of the good facilities and amenities. In our Pampanga projects, we have Olympic-size swimming pool and four-lane roads,” he said.
“We are very excited about the GA Tower project, as this would once again prove to be a success based on the most affordable pricing scheme that we have prepared particularly for qualified Pag-IBIG Fund member-borrowers. Its location and amenities provide homebuyers the opportunity to own condominium units right at the center of everything,” said Valencia.
The company started selling the units at GA Tower II on July 8.
The 540 residential units at GA Tower II are among the 8,084 units acquired by WRC from Pag-IBIG Fund through public auctions. These units, with combined cost of about P3.2 billion, were built by Globe Asiatique about a decade ago and became non-performing assets of Pag-IBIG Fund when Lee’s company ran into financial problems.
“Would you believe that of the 8,084 units we acquired 24 months ago, we already sold 4,000 units, or 50 percent of the total, during the pandemic season or since June 2020,” said Valencia. “We expect to sell the remaining 4,000 units in the next 18 months.”
“We did our utmost due diligence, and together with the assurance from Pag-IBIG Fund, everything has been running accordingly and smoothly,” Valencia said.
Valencia said WRC invested in rehabilitating the units, facilities and amenities of the 8,084 units spread across eight housing projects in Metro Manila, Rizal and Pampanga.
“We are selling these units at prices that can be considered rental replacement. The monthly amortization is equivalent to the prevailing rental rates in the area. As much as possible, we also bring down the equity. With P20,000 deposit, you can move in,” said Valencia.
WRC is a subsidiary of RGV Group, a 45-year-old company established by former Oriental Mindoro Governor and Rep. Rodolfo Valencia, John Nico’s father. The elder Valencia is the author of Republic Act No. 9679 or the Pag-IBIG Fund law and RA 9646 or the Real Estate Service Act.
The RGV Group developed nearly 300 housing projects until its founder focused on politics from 1986 to 2013. “Now that he is back to private life, we are re-entering the housing industry,” said John Nico.
John Nico assured homebuyers that the issue between Globe Asiatique and Pag-IBIG Fund has been resolved. “In a sense, the case was dismissed and everybody is happy, including the original buyers who would finally get their titles through WRC,” he said.
“This will not prosper without the proper coordination and cooperation from the previous developer, Mr. Delfin Lee. We’ve assured Mr. Lee that WRC will respect and give priority to GA’s previous and original buyers especially those who have fully paid their purchased housing units,” he said.
“This is our arrangement with Globe Asiatique. For us to have a good coordination, our promise is that we will respect their buyers before. Pag-IBIG Fund is also satisfied because they finally liquidated their non-performing assets after several auctions,” he said.
John Nico said WRC acquired the GA units in four auctions. “In December 2020, we bought 4,685 units. In November 2021, we acquired 1,026 units and in January 2022, we got 511 units. In April 2022, we added 1,550 units. So the total number of inventory of Westchester now is about 8,084 units,” he said.
“We rehabilitated these units, which were abandoned in the past 10 years. We fixed and renovated them, and buyers will receive them like brand-new units,” he said.
The former Globe Asiatique housing communities are located in Pampanga, Binangonan and San Mateo in Rizal province, Valenzuela City and Mandaluyong City.
“In Pampanga, we have three—Xevera Mabalacat, Xevera Bacolor and Xevera Angeles. In Rizal, we have St. Monique Villas in Binangonan and San Mateo. We also have projects in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, in Valenzuela City and finally GA Tower in Mandaluyong,” he said.
John Nico said WRC was awarded by Pag-IBIG fund as the No. 1 developer in Northern Luzon twice in a row after only 24 months of operations. It was also awarded as the 7th leading developer nationwide.
