2019 Philippines Property Awards Winners

The Philippines’ finest developers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao have been accorded the real estate industry’s highest honours at the 7th Annual PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, presented by global brand Kohler at an exclusive gala dinner and ceremony on Friday, 5 July 2019, at the Fairmont Makati hotel.

Cebu Landmasters, Inc earned the highest honour for Best Developer, besting established industry names. The company chaired by Jose R. Soberano III earlier this year reported increased earnings of 23 percent as it continues to focus on quality mid- to high-end properties.

“Cebu Landmasters projects capture the imagination magnificently, winning Best High End Condo Development (Cebu) for New-York-inspired 38 Park Avenue, whilst the wellbeing of residents’ lifestyles extends out to the community attracting a Special Recognition in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award for an emerging, world-class developer,” said the independent panel of judges.

Manila-based Torre Lorenzo Development Corporation, the team behind two new Dusit-branded properties in Davao, won a grand slam of four trophies, including the award for Best Boutique Developer, further boosting its regional profile amongst real estate investors. Torre Lorenzo’s Dusit Thani Residence Davao is the first Best Housing Development (Philippines) winner to be located in Mindanao.

The main highlight of the black-tie ceremony was the presentation of the 2019 Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year award to the biggest name in Philippine real estate and business sectors: the late Henry Sy Sr, and the entire Sy Family of SM Investments Corporation, who are celebrating the 25th anniversary as a publicly listed company on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The prestigious ‘Real Estate Personality of the Year’ title is traditionally given to an individual by the editors of PropertyGuru Property Report magazine, but the team made an exception this year to recognise the Sy Family and their immense and invaluable contributions and legacy not only in the Philippines but across Asia.

The achievements of Henry Sy Sr and his family include building a small shoe store business, which became “ShoeMart” or “SM”, leading to the establishment of more than 70 SM Supermalls in the region. The SM Group today includes 2015 Best Developer winner SM Prime Holdings, SM Development Corporation, resorts, offices, banking, and other businesses. Sy passed away in January 2019 at 94 years old as the richest man in Southeast Asia.

Sy’s grandson, Hans Sy, Jr, president of SM Engineering Design and Development Corp (SMEDD) and other Sy family members were joined by SM’s top executives at the gala dinner to accept the special award from PropertyGuru Group’s executive leadership team.

Three-time Best Developer titleholder Megaworld Corporation and its subsidiaries Empire East Land Holdings Inc and Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI) collected a total of 12 golden trophies, including the Best Housing Development (Philippines) award for Newcoast Village by GERI.

Other big winners and Highly Commended awardees include green developer ArthaLand Corporation (5 wins), Ayala-owned Alveo Land (4 wins), and Grand Land (2 wins).

A total of 39 competitive awards and special honours were presented at the annual ceremony and gala dinner, after a rigorous and independent selection process, supervised site visits and deliberations overseen by BDO Roxas, Cruz, Tagle & Co.

Special awards in 2019 include accolades for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainable Development, and Design and Construction, as well as the Special Recognition for Public Facility to the already-operational Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) by the consortium MWM Terminals, Inc.

In addition, a new Special Recognition in Digital Innovation was awarded to FireCheck, an “urban fire hazard mapping and fire spread modelling” project developed by young research professionals and select students of the University of the Philippines Cebu and backed by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD). UP Cebu Chancellor Atty. Liza D. Corro supported project leader Prof. Aileen O. Vicente to accept the honour.

Highly regarded as the gold standard for excellence in Philippine real estate, recognising development, design and innovation, the annual PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards programme has been held since 2013. Main category winners are now eligible to compete for more international accolades at the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final ceremony to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2019 with representation from more than a dozen property markets around Asia-Pacific region.

Hari V. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer of PropertyGuru Group, said: “Congratulations to all the awardees at this year’s PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards. It is indeed an exciting time for the country’s real estate sector, with developers and non-developers pursuing innovation and using new technologies and best practices to provide consumers quality projects and experiences, and investment opportunities in the biggest metropolitan areas and resort destinations across the country. I’m delighted that the awards continue to build its reputation as the trusted gold standard in real estate in its seventh year.”

Hosted by awards director Jules Kay, the event is part of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards series.