Preparing for Post-Pandemic Property Boom in National Capital Region
Two national capital region real estate agencies, PHILGEMS Realty Corp. and IQI Caliver, announced their merger today. The merger will leave them well-positioned for the post-pandemic boom they expect in Ortigas Center, Bonifacio Global City and Makati City. The two companies will operate under the IQI Caliver brand.
IQI Caliver is a fast-growing residential and commercial real estate agency that completed P600 million of transactions during the pandemic in 2020 and has offices in Makati City and Bonifacio Global City. The company was established in 2018 and continuously expands its market share thru partnerships and establishing new offices in key areas. It is part of the Asian real estate technology group, Juwai IQI, which transacted more than 17,000 properties in 2020.
The agency PHILGEMS specializes in residential real estate, primary sales and advisory in Ortigas Center business district. PHILGEMS completes approximately P600 million in transactions per year.
Emanuel Andrew Venturina, Managing Director of IQI Caliver, said:
“The government already has its plan to vaccinate 70 million Filipinos in 2021. The health experts say that achieving that number of vaccinations should let us achieve herd immunity against COVID-19.
“The economy contracted 8.7 per cent last year, but in 2021 it is expected to bounce back. We are looking at a V-shaped recovery and a projection of 7 per cent growth in 2021.
“We expect the recover and vaccination effort to put new energy into the office, retail and residential sectors in the capital region. Household income and employment will rise, pushing sentiment into a rapid improvement.
“By around mid-year, consumer and business psychology will shift from defensive to optimistic. Consumers will be ready to make major purchases, including real estate. Businesses will be prepared to invest in expansion and taking up office, manufacturing and logistical space.
“We are tremendously excited to be joining hands with the PHILGEMS group. They are extremely strong at project selling. Richard Carvajal’s leadership and experience as a realtor, Real Estate Management Professor and CEO will add significant value to the group.”
Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group CEO Kashif Ansari said:
“We all know that the end of the pandemic is most likely coming this year. There is a very good chance that the Philippine economy we recover strongly once the health crisis has waned. This is the time for the real estate industry to position itself for that post pandemic recovery.
“Those who will perform best as the pandemic winds down will be ready to move quickly and deliver real value as the economy returns to rapid growth. The IQI Caliver and PHILGEMS merger is worthy of commendation because it positions the team for the rapid property recovery that we expect in several key markets. It is my pleasure to warmly welcome Richard and the entire PHILGEMS group to Juwai IQI.
“At Juwai IQI, we invest heavily in technology. Our platform enables us to scale rapidly and thus to welcome new agents and new teams into the group. We use technology to empower our more than 15,000 agents to increase their earnings and to continuously improve the service they provide.”
PHILGEMS Realty Corp. former President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Carvajal is now Vice President of IQI Caliver. Carvajal is the author of the bestselling book, “The Millennionaire: Becoming the Next Millennial Millionaire,” and is a columnist for Business Mirror newspaper, a writer for MoneySense Magazine and a popular real estate trainer and seminar leader in the Philippines and abroad. He was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Filipino Achiever Award.
Carvajal said:
“The Ortigas Center CBD is one of the prime locations for the post-pandemic property market rebound. The area is adjacent to the C5 Corridor. This new hotspot for new developments offers a more affordable price per square meter of approximately P240,000 to P280,000. That compares to P280,000 to P400,000 in Makati and BGC.
“Ortigas will benefit from two new subway stations, which will drive further development, leasing, sales and economic activity.
“We believe that by joining forces with IQI Caliver, we will open the door to nearly unlimited opportunities. We serve clients across 40 countries, so we will benefit from Juwai IQI’s globe-spanning relationships with consumers and the industry.
“The value of IQI training, network opportunities, technological advancement will be an advantage for our team.”
