Vista Land and Lifescapes’ Camella brand is slating the launch of 22 new developments this year, translating into some 17,500 new homes for Filipino families in different regions.

Camella president Maribeth Tolentino said that the new projects of the Vista Land subsidiary, which pioneered and has maintained its focus on meeting demand in the affordable housing segment for 33 years, will increase its total portfolio to 97 developments nationwide.

The new projects are located in various areas in Mega Manila as well as in key provinces and cities outside Luzon such as Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos.

“We are leveraging the bigness of Camella, in terms of geographical reach, land banking, contribution to group sales, number of houses built and other key attributes,” said Tolentino.

She said they aim to achieve two goals more effectively: To be the first choice of home buyers on the basis of long-term satisfaction based on enduring quality and value and higher levels of financial and operational efficiencies, and, thus, profitability.

Tolentino added that a key element of Camella’s pioneering efforts has been, and continues to be, serving the housing needs of OFWs and their families all over the country.

“The overwhelming majority of Camella home buyers are OFWs. At the same time, as economic pressures erode purchasing power and disposable income, more and more families are considering the possibility of relocating from the metropolis to other areas of the country,” she explained.

Tolentino said that OFWs and their families put a premium on a “relationship-based” lifestyle in the familiar environs of their hometowns.

“For them, the logical and secure approach is to settle down and build their dream homes in the provinces where they were born,” she said explaining that “the Philippines is a culturally and linguistically diverse country, so when OFWs return they tend to choose the more traditional setting of their hometowns, but they want larger homes with highly improved facilities and amenities.”