But the Zobel family-led Ayala Land Inc. is moving early, making the rare and unprecedented call to pause one of its biggest luxury towers, Laurean Residences in the heart of the Makati central business district, despite booking over P10 billion in pre-sales.
An industry insider said ALI may extend the pause to its The Heights Katipunan project, as war jitters dampen demand and drive up construction costs.
Other developers are expected to implement similar delays in their development pipelines as the war drags on, a second industry insider said.
“[Ayala Land is] brave to put it out there,” the second insider said.
Ayala Land to reassess now, executive “with conviction” later
“We’ve decided to put both development and sales of Laurean on hold. This decision is driven by the level of uncertainty today on cost, timelines and execution risks,” Jose Quimpo II, Ayala Land chief financial officer and treasurer, told InsiderPH.
“We chose to pause so that we can reassess and execute with conviction,” he added.
Buyers offered swap option, refunds
“We will be speaking to each buyer and offer clear options—they can transfer to another Ayala Land project or stay with Laurean. They can also opt to cancel and will be refunded in full plus interest,” he added.
Ayala Land is gathering its sales team to reach out to affected buyers in the coming days.
Global energy crisis
The second industry insider said this is the first time Ayala Land, the developer behind some of the country’s most prestigious business and residential addresses, has decided to pause its projects in this manner.
Previous high-profile projects like Two Roxas Triangle have been delayed, but the current move suggested a greater sense of urgency.
It also comes against the backdrop of external pressures, as developers navigate a more volatile global environment and rising costs linked to the global energy crisis.
“It’s really that construction costs have gone up. So before they spend further, they bit the bullet,” the insider said.
Developers with thinner margins are more exposed, with less buffer to absorb rising costs.
“There might be other projects on hold to be announced,” the insider said.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
