Ayala Land banking on affluent market amid uncertainties

Ayala Land Inc. will continue with its strategy of focusing on premium residential offerings as it banks on the country’s growing affluent market amid economic uncertainties arising from trade tensions due to US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff policy.

At a press briefing in Makati City on Thursday, Ayala Land president and CEO Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy admitted that “Trump’s tariffs [are] causing a little bit of a turmoil.”

“It’s still uncertain how this will really pan out,” Dy said.

To illustrate how external shocks might affect the property developer, Ayala Land Premier head Mike Jugo said that 72% of buyers are from the local market.

“The balance is comprised of the international market… 15% [of that] will be Filipinos living overseas, and the remaining balance, 13%, will be other nationalities… the bulk of that are Americans,” Jugo said.

The Ayala Land official said that the company has shifted its focus to the premium market amid persistent challenges in the middle-income segment.

“Most of the sales in the premium segment are from local,” Jugo said.

Dy said that the “middle market continues to have some challenges, not just in terms of interest rates being stickier than what we would have wanted, as well as some oversupply in particular segments and particular geographies.”

She said that “our focus on the premium segment will continue… specifically, the premium segment and more horizontal developments.”

Dy said that the company has observed that “assets under management in private wealth [were] growing 20-plus percent.”

Moreover, sales in Ayala Land’s luxury mall Greenbelt have been growing “seven times since 2019,” she said.

“There is indeed wealth being created in the country… A lot of our buyers are business owners,” Dy said.

Ayala Land will also focus on commercial and industrial lots.

“We're actually going to be a little bit more aggressive when it comes to our commercial and industrial lots this year,” Dy said.

“This product has traditionally been part of our menu of offerings, accounting for maybe 10% of our sales. So this is an area where we believe there are opportunities, because the buyers are our businesses, you know, or buyers would like to have a commercial property as part of their portfolio of real estate assets,” she added.

In 2024, Ayala Land reported a net income of P28.2 billion, up 15% year-on-year amid strong performance across its diversified portfolio.

This year, Dy said the property giant is targeting to grow twice as much as the country’s economic growth.

“If the GDP (gross domestic product) growth is 6%, our target is to grow by 12%,” she said.

Ayala Land seeks to raise P55 billion this year to fund its expansion projects and settle maturing debts.— VBL, GMA Integrated News