Property developer Ayala Land Inc.'s (ALI) Amaia unit plans P1.08 billion of capital spending in three years.

This, as the parent firm said it is "bullish" on home sales and expects to sell a record of more than 9,000 units this year, said Bobby Dy, head of the company's residential business group. The company yesterday disclosed a plan to launch 12,000 units in the next three years under its Amaia Land Corp. brand.

This will help Amaia Land, which was formally launched yesterday, grow to become the biggest-earnings contributor to the real estate conglomerate's residential group in a period of five years.

"The mandate of management is for us to grow this product line as quickly as possible," said Amaia Land president Leo Montenegro.

The traditionally high-end developer is considered a latecomer in the economic housing segment, where homes cost between P600,000 to P1.25 million with a monthly amortization of P4,000. Amaia plans to sell homes valued at P1.25 million and below, targeting families with P20,000 to P50,000 of monthly income, the company said. That's 34 percent of all households in the country, it said.

ALI said this sector alone accounts for a third of the 17 million households in the country.

The property developer launched yesterday Amaia Scapes Laguna which will offer a total of 1,800 units spread over 20 hectares. ALI expects to generate P1.6 billion in sales for the whole project until 2014.

Amaia Scapes-located in Calamba, Laguna-will offer homes with living areas ranging from 25 square meters (sqm.) to 56 sq m on lots from 40 sqm to 75 sqm.

The first phase-covering 500 units from bungalow-type homes to the larger single-detached residences-is expected to be turned over to buyers by December this year. After this, the company plans to develop six more Amaia locations within the next two years.

Montenegro said the new locations will be in the Calabarzon area referring to the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon. "We are also looking north, in Pampanga and Tarlac," he added.

The company's expansion into the low-cost segment will likewise allow ALI to attract a broader base of customers such as civil servants, manufacturing employees, small business owners and overseas Filipino workers. "We want to break the stereotype that to own an Ayala Land product you have to be well-off," said Dy.

ALI currently serves the high-end market through Ayala Land Premier (ALP), while it is also tapping the middle-income and affordable segments through Alveo Land and Avida Land, respectively.

At present, ALP accounts for 40 percent of earnings of the residential group, with the remainder split evenly between Alveo and Avida.

"Our goal is to make Amaia the biggest brand in the residential group in the next five years," Dy said.

Ayala Land is launching a record 9,275 residential units this year across all brands, which Dy said reflects the company's bullishness after it noticed a recovery in the real estate sector in the second half of 2009.