THE Philippine real estate has always been a continuously evolving landscape as it adjusts to the ever-changing needs of the local property market. Alongside arising trends and practices in the real-estate industry, there is the frequent emergence of new industry challenges and opportunities that require modern, up-to-date approaches.
One such challenge is the advent of a young and increasingly tech-savvy market whose purchase decisions depend largely on how property companies are able to engage them through technological platforms.
Indeed, technology has always been a catalyst for change in any business, and the real-estate market is no exception—blurring the lines between the physical and digital spheres. This is the reason why real-estate companies have started offering tech-based solutions that offer the market what they need and prefer in these modern times.
One such real-estate company is PRIME Philippines, a company known for its nontraditional approach in business while being an emerging tech innovator in the property sector. With the vision to become the most technologically advanced real-estate advisory firm, PRIME Philippines has pursued the creation of innovative solutions that will influence the industry standards.
For instance, to push this vision, PRIME Philippines has developed PRIMECore—a property tech portal, powered with state-of-the-art technology, including artificial intelligence, cloud-computing and augmented reality.
Jet Yu: Young, driven, tech-savvy
The man behind PRIME Philippines is Jettson “Jet” Yu, who started the company at only 23 years old. Young and serious about offering real-estate solutions to what he claims as the foreseen gaps in the industry, Jet has engaged with people who were twice or even thrice his age. However, his continued pursuit of delivering his commitment consistently overcame all biases associated with being young.
In just a short time, Jet has successfully steered PRIME Philippines to gain market dominance in many key areas in the country. What sets PRIME apart, though, is its commitment to enable cities toward sustainable development. With this in mind, Jet ensures that it remains up-to-date with the latest technological advancements.
With a nontraditional approach continuing to drive it toward growth and expansion, the company has explored numerous investment opportunities, especially in emerging cities and provinces.
PRIME: Beginnings and growth
As a young real-estate brokerage firm based in Quezon City, PRIME Philippines started with the purpose of reviving underperforming commercial developments in the city. Just one year after its inception, PRIME Philippines already gained market dominance in Quezon City, brokering more than two-thirds of the city’s commercial lease transactions and several big-ticket acquisitions in the city.
It’s also worthy to note that in 2014, PRIME Philippines brokered the largest single transaction in Quezon City. From that point, it has grown exponentially and has begun to cater to the real-estate demands in major cities of Metro Manila, as well as in key provinces and emerging hot spots.
With Jet’s able leadership, PRIME Philippines has expanded its operations in Davao City to meet the increasing real-estate demands of Visayas and Mindanao. PRIME Philippines was the first real-estate brokerage and consultancy firm to have a significant presence in the area. In fact, during that same year, PRIME Philippines was awarded by the local government of Davao City with the Business Development and Entrepreneurship Award, recognizing its city-enabling efforts particularly in the real-estate industry.
Testament to Jet’s excellent stewardship, PRIME currently has over 200 projects completed, over 4,000 clients successfully served, over 10 countries transacted with, and over P30 billion worth of successful deals.
Just this November 2019, PRIME Philippines was recognized at the Asia Leaders Awards 2019, which acknowledges leaders who are making a global difference, as a finalist for Real Estate Company of the Year. Aside from that, Jet Yu was awarded as the Young CEO of the Year and Young Businessman of the Year.
“There are a lot of things that are changing in this industry but one thing ensures PRIME Philippines of its continued aggressive growth—challenging traditions and enabling cities,” Jet shared.
‘The Final Pitch Season 5: Real Estate and Livable Cities’
Jet Yu returns as the youngest investor-judge for the fifth season of The Final Pitch. Jet shared that his return to the show was because he wants to continue his mission to share his knowledge in real estate and inspire a young generation of entrepreneurs.
The Final Pitch is the country’s first and only business reality show, where young entrepreneur contestants pitch their businesses to an esteemed panel of investor-judges who are looking to invest in their proposed ventures.
For the first time in the show’s history, the upcoming season will have a theme, which is: Real Estate and Livable Cities—a perfect fit for Jet and his colleagues in the show—Victor Consunji, CEO of Victor Consunji Development Corp.; Cary Lagdameo, first vice president of Davao-based Damosa Land Inc.; Cesar Wee Jr., president of Wee Community Developers Inc.; and George Royeca, chief transport advocate of pioneering app-based motorcycle-hailing service Angkas.
The Final Pitch is produced by Streetpark Productions and airs every Sunday at 8 p.m., with replays every Monday at 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 1 p.m., on CNN Philippines. Do check it out.