LOCAL demand in the real-estate market has started to show strength in the first quarter of the year, according to Eton Properties Philippines Inc., citing “encouraging” sales.

In a statement, Danilo Ignacio, Eton president and chief operating officer, said the start of 2009 showed “very good” signs that the irrational fear of investors besetting the market has been reduced.

“We had very encouraging sales in the first quarter,” Ignacio said without giving any figures.

He said the second half of last year was a challenge for many developers that were grappling with the almost daily barrage of dire news about the world economy.

The improvement comes from both local and international markets, the Eton executive said.

“We’ve concentrated our efforts away from the US towards countries less affected by the economic crisis. Local market demand has started to show strength, particularly with product offerings targeting a specific niche,” he said.

Gearing up on its cautiously bullish outlook on the real-estate market, Eton recently launched two new projects in Quezon City and Manila, which are the company’s second and third new project offerings since the start of the year.

“A key strength of the company [is] its access to the huge land bank of the Lucio Tan group of companies. We can identify a market demand and quickly develop a particular project to meet that specific demand,” Ignacio said.

The first of the two new project introductions is the American-inspired West Wing Residences, a 2.2-hectare residential enclave situated in the 13.8-hectare North Belton Communities project of subsidiary Belton Communities Inc.

The second project is West Tower of the 31-story One Archers Place condominium beside De La Salle University in Taft Avenue in Manila.

Eton began its entry into the Philippine real estate scene in 2007 with the launch of residential projects including its 1,000-hectare township project in Santa Rosa, Laguna named Eton City.

“To date, we have 12 project sites in full construction mode, with more sites to go into construction within the year. These are very busy times for the company as we continue our march into becoming a full-range developer in the Philippines,” Ignacio said.