John Keells Properties is playing an informational role in “driving a positive social and urban transformation,” Head of John Keells Properties, Nayana Mawilmada told Business Observer.
John Keells Properties held an event promoting its Tri-Zen apartments at the Vauxhall Street block of land recently. The event featured a presentation by Mawilmada providing insight into property market trends in Sri Lanka.
The presentation focused on broader macro level figures on the Western Province. He spoke on transport, ownership, and occupancy. His comments were reinforced by broader academic figures and JKH statistics. The former Urban Development Policy Advisor to the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, Mawilmada said, Sri Lanka’s condominiums are mostly bought by Sri Lankans. The occupants, however, are mostly expatriates. He debunked myths about the property market.
He showcased an image sourcing figures from the Strategic Cities Development Project and Western Region Megapolis PP graphed onto the Western Province map. It showcased internal migration within the province.
“On top of this the population is also dwindling. Most people live in single-family housing,” he said. On the expat population, Mawilmada said that “expats out of the total population will go up.”
He referred to Department of Immigration and Migration’s figures that expats only make up 0.2% of total population.
He also displayed the average daily rate from tourists on apartments at USD 67. “First time home buyers are mostly out of the city as mortgage financing is a key-bottleneck,” Mawilmada said.