Internet reaching wider market of Filipinos abroad--Century

By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net


MAKATI CITY, Philippines -- A local real estate developer said its Internet marketing strategy has helped them reach a "broader" market of Filipino expatriates most likely thinking of investing in property, an executive said Tuesday.

"The Internet is allowing us to reach a broader market of Filipinos abroad who have the spending power," said Jay Estaris, director of information technology of the Century Properties Group., in an interview.

About 80 percent of inquiries have come from the Internet, added Estaris.

During the launch of its P5-billion private residential project called Gramercy, Jose Eduardo Antonio, chairman of the Century Properties Group., acknowledged that retiring Filipino expatriates are now buying more prime properties in the country.

Despite the US economic crunch that has sent ripples throughout the world, the executive said he has not seen a decrease in the demand for its properties. He stressed that today's buyers are mostly "users" and not "speculators" who buy property with the objective of selling it when prices go up.

In an interview, Jose Marco Antonio, managing director of Centuries Properties Group, added the company has used both traditional and newer strategies to reach out to potential buyers abroad.

"But it is really best to target [Filipino expats] on the Internet," he added, noting that the company has used more creative ways to effectively engage potential clients using today's technology and the Internet.

Apart from its presence in at least 22 countries, Antonio said the company has established a real estate academy that trains sales people on various aspects of its business, including Internet marketing. It currently maintains two websites that promote and accept sales inquiries on the Internet.

But Estaris noted that the developer has been investing a lot on Internet marketing through online advertising and other "push technologies" such as e-mail campaigns. He declined to disclose how much the developer is investing on online advertising.

"The boom in the real estate property is now different because a lot of the buyers then were speculators. We now have a new set of buyers," Antonio said.

Third-party studies show that at least 30 percent of $14 billion worth of remittances of overseas Filipino workers now go to real estate-related spending, the executive added.