Lamudi Ignites Cebu's Booming Real Estate Industry with Housing Fair

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The two-day Cebu Housing Fair held at the Ayala Mall Cebu Activity Center from September 8 to 9, 2018 was a well-attended event. Lamudi Managing Director and CEO Bhavna Suresh Chathambeth led the ribbon cutting ceremony, along with several local stakeholders and industry leaders in the real estate industry. This kicked-off the exciting gathering of property developers, brokers, bank representatives, and buyers in the Queen City of the South.  

Project developers and other participants

About 23 exhibitors anchored the Cebu Housing Fair and each had their own expertise, projects, and products to showcase to those in attendance. Ortigas & Company featured their model units using state of the art virtual reality (VR) technology. The Land Registration Authority, on the other hand, provided titling tips and services. Banks such as RCBC Savings Bank offered housing loan products while UnionBank actively held an auction. Brokers who wanted to expand their presence in the industry had Keller Williams Philippines to consult. This was complemented by PAREB-CESOREB, whose Cebu real estate broker membership has been growing since 2015.

The main bulk of the exhibitors were real estate developers including two of the most active developers in the country—Megaworld and Robinsons Land. Both companies already staked out Mactan through their respective projects, Mactan Newtown and Amisa. Ayala Land had its Amaia arm present the Amaia Steps development while Avida offered special discounts for its Riala project. Quadruple A contractor DMCI also went all out in marketing its Pasig-based Satori Residences and had hopes of having their first Cebu property soon.

Likewise, homegrown developers had an impressive line-up which had prospective buyers curiously inquiring. Gaisano-led Taft Properties partnered with world-class development group Hong Kong Land to create Mandani Bay, a beautiful waterfront township project. King Properties presented their home office concept Meridian, set to be located within Cebu City’s Golden Triangle. Primary Homes also had visitors considering its award-winning condo development, Brentwood in Lapu-Lapu City.

Other Cebu-based property developers were:

• Softouch Property Development Corp.
• AboitizLand, Inc.
• Contempo Property Holdings
• RDAK Land, Inc.

Event sponsors such as Food Panda, Zalora, and Lazada also made the event more engaging for the attendees.

Special public auction

Energizing the mood was UnionBank’s Asset Recovery Group headed by UnionBank Vice President Edzel Babas. He gave a short background talk on the team’s role, as well as the auction procedures.

The special auction’s pace was systematic: items sold fast as each went to sole bidders in a matter of seconds. All properties that were bid upon were purchased at their indicative prices. UnionBank also gave special discounts to successful bidders.

It turned out to be another successful auction for UnionBank. This was their fifth Lamudi event and the first in Cebu. Mr. Babas shared that, “We were able to dispose of a total of 27 (properties).” He also commended their partnership with Lamudi. “Lamudi has been the number one online portal in selling properties. UnionBank is very happy to be partnered with them.”

Cebu City’s housing market

The properties auctioned off were mainly from Visayas and Mindanao, with some select items coming from Luzon. Jeff Canonigo Lamudi’s Senior Account Manager for Visayas and Mindanao shared some insights on Cebu’s property market. According to him, pre-selling properties would quickly get sold out, especially those coming from local developers. He also noted that Cebu Business Park is the city’s rental condominium hotspot.

The leading online real estate platform

Without a doubt, Lamudi heads the pack in its industry. It has grown from being a newcomer in 2014 with minimal monthly visits and negligible monthly leads. Fast-forward to 2018 and it has 1.5 million website visits every month delivering over 100,000 monthly leads for its subscribers. Its new Lead Management tool only makes selling much easier for brokers, property developers, and owners alike.

The Lamudi team was readily available to sign-up new subscribers and explain the process at the event. There were also online marketing courses provided by the Lamudi Academy for both days of the Cebu Housing Fair. Lamudi’s Learning and Development Coach Nadine Pacis expertly delivered the classes. These were:

• Converting online leads to sales
• Delivering excellent customer service
• Top channels to use online

The success of Lamudi’s Cebu Housing Fair is proof that the city’s property market is set out to be one of the country’s next real estate center. The influx of waterfront developments is definitely another interesting aspect to look out for. It has the potential to raise property values in the metropolis and even brighter prospects for Cebu City’s unfaltering progress.

Youth Congress for Information Technology Harnesses the Boundless Potential of Technology and the Youth with AWS Educate

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The 16th Youth Congress for Information Technology (Y4IT), an enabling event recognizing young Filipinos as key drivers of the IT industry’s continued advancement, is set to happen on September 24 to 26, 2018 at UP Diliman, Quezon City. About 10,000 senior high school and tertiary students, educators, and IT practitioners from all over the country are expected to attend.

Organizer, UP System Information Technology Foundation, Inc. (UPSITF), will be leveraging the AWS Educate global program to reinforce Y4IT’s aim to provide a venue for learning, exchange of ideas, and dialogues about IT trends, innovations, and breakthroughs.

According to Vincent Quah, APAC Regional Head for Education, Public Sector, Amazon Web Services, “We believe in the value of supporting like-minded organizations that harness the boundless potential of the technology and the youth. This echoes our own initiatives to educate and train the next generation of IT and cloud professionals in view of global digitalization.  We promote accelerated cloud learning so that they will be ready for the future.”

This year Y4IT is themed “I.T. Feels Like Home” as it returns to UP Diliman after years of being held in other venues as it reached out wider audience that continues to grow annually. The three-day congress will hold its main activities at UP Theater, with satellite activities happening at the UPFI Film Center and Ang Bahay ng Alumni.

Highlighting the event is the cloud essentials training led by AWS, which will provide students the opportunity to learn about storage, database, and load balancer services.  With free AWS Educate promotional credits, they will also get to practice cloud architecting and participate in the Gamified Hackathon Challenge using AWS technology where they will solve real world scenarios by innovating solutions using cloud technologies.

The congress will also feature an exhibit showcasing the latest products and happenings from Accenture, AMA Online Education, TaskUs, 3D2Go, Optum, and Manila Bulletin. Also joining in are Cognizant, Converge ICT Solutions Inc., Microgenesis Business Systems, JobStreet.com, Kalibrr, Tanda, Enchanted Kingdom, Maroons, and Healthy Family Purified Water. Throughout the congress, participants will have the opportunity to connect and network with a variety of industry experts who may guide them in their IT journey.

“This year, Y4iT will be back in the University of the Philippines Diliman. It will provide opportunities for learning, interaction, and collaboration between and among participating companies, universities, colleges, and schools,” according to the UPSITF Executive Director Dr. Jaime DL Caro.

For more info about the event you may visit https://y4it.org/

Sigaw ng Kabataan Coalition Celebrates Peace Day and Peace Consciousness Month Through PIYC 2018

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Sigaw ng Kabataan Coalition is one with the world and all its youth in celebrating the International Day of Peace (“Peace Day”), commemorated globally every year on 21 September, as well as the National Peace Consciousness Month in the Philippines with the theme, “Mithiing Kapayapaan: Sama-samang Isakatuparan.”

SKC is a national alliance of youth leaders and a consortium of youth organizations in the Philippines firmly believing that peacebuilding is among the strong foundations of sustainable development in the country. This would require the key role of the youth in securing peace and inclusiveness amidst diversity in all regions, supporting the Sustainable Development Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace. On the other hand, the Philippine celebration of the month of September as National Peace Consciousness Month calls for a unified action towards the shared aspiration for a just, comprehensive, and enduring peace regardless of ideology, religion, and culture. The carrier tagline of this year’s Peace Month is “Peace Na Tayo,” a simple way to communicate the theme’s call for a participative pursuit for peace.

To showcase its strong commitment to peacebuilding and unity towards development, the SKC together with the Rotary Satellite Club of Fort Bonifacio Global City Titans will hold the Philippine Intercultural Youth Convention 2018 on 22-23 September at the Great Eastern Hotel in Quezon City. This convention gathers Filipino youth around the country to unite and embrace the diversity of Philippine cultures, faith, and languages, while discussing with government officials and key experts on the significant contribution of the youth in Philippine development.

"Through the Philippine Intercultural Youth Convention 2018, we celebrate peace with the world and with the country as one youth community that is recipient of peace building efforts of generations before us, and responsible to the next generations that deserve a future with inclusive peace and development."  said Ellirie Aviles, SKC National President and Chiarman of Rotary Satellite Club of Fort Bonifacio Global City Titans.