Why homebuyer happiness—not just sales—is the true measure of success for developers
In the past, the final quarter of the year always felt like the start of frenzy and chaos.
It was a season of chasing performance targets, preparing for the upcoming year, and basically surviving the rhythm of the uniquely Filipino Christmas rush. Everything feels urgent, and the focus was on racing to the finish line.
A time for clarity
But as my own leadership journey has evolved and as our organization has matured, I have learned to approach this season differently.
Instead of being consumed by the yearend rush, I now see the final quarter as a time for clarity: a moment to reflect on the year that is about to close and to welcome the new one with renewed focus and purpose.
It seems like only yesterday when, amid the pandemic, we charted our 10-year growth plans. At that time, the idea seemed preposterous. How could we dare speak of bold plans when the world around us was so uncertain? But I remember JJ Atencio urging us: without great plans, there will be no great outcomes.
That was almost six years ago. If I had told myself then that we would hit those goals, I probably would not have laughed out loud.
Yet here we are today, delivering an eight-fold growth in revenue over the past five years—proof that clarity of purpose, discipline in execution, and faith in the journey can make even the most ambitious visions possible.
What truly matters
I know there is no easy journey for any organization. From finding the right people to fit into our team, to the trial and error of systems we implement, to constantly fine tuning our business and financial models—many times, it feels like the list of things to do only gets longer and longer. There are days when it seems like the challenges multiply faster than the solutions.
But I also knew this was not how I wanted our organization to run, and not the kind of leadership I wanted to embody. At some point, we had to ask ourselves a simple but profound question: of all the numbers and metrics available to us, which one truly matters the most?
The answer was clear. For Ovialand, it has always been and will continue to be the happiness of our homebuyers.
This metric became our north star. And I knew that for us to truly keep our homebuyers happy, we had to know them intimately. Beyond demographics and market segments, we needed to understand their dreams and aspirations.
We listen to their questions and concerns, doing our best to understand their motivations. We are not just in the business of selling and building houses. We are also creating the settings where lives unfold, milestones are celebrated, children grow, and families find rest and dignity.
These encounters keep me grounded, because they reveal the human truths that no demographic study or sales chart can fully capture.
Beyond four walls
This is why I believe that as developers, we must look beyond the four walls we construct.
Our responsibility does not end with turnover. It extends to ensuring that the families who cross those thresholds find not just shelter, but also a place where they will lay the foundations of their family’s future.
The author is the president and CEO of Ovialand Inc.
