FIABCI forum highlights the industry’s growing role in shaping resilient communities and social progress
As global challenges continue to reshape economies and cities, leaders from across the international real estate sector gathered in Manila with a message that extended far beyond construction and property investment: real estate today is ultimately about people, communities, and the future of society itself.
Held at Solaire Resort North in Quezon City, the FIABCI International Real Estate Forum carried the theme “REIMAGINE REAL ESTATE: Building Integrity and Resilience Amidst Global Challenges,” bringing together global and local industry leaders to discuss housing, governance, affordability, urban resilience, and long-term development strategies.
PhilSTAR Property attended and facilitated the high-level panel discussion, which gathered experts from economics, urban planning, housing finance, infrastructure, and regional real estate development.
The forum opened with welcome remarks from Arch. Nestor S. Mangio, President of FIABCI-Philippines, who emphasized the growing need for resilience amid global uncertainty, including conflicts affecting fuel prices, supply chains, affordability, and economic stability.
In his keynote address, FIABCI World President Antonio Campagnoli emphasized how dramatically the real estate sector has evolved in recent years.
“The market is changing a lot. We are no longer talking only about buildings,” said Campagnoli. “Today, we are talking about resilience — about communities, and about how people live.”
For Campagnoli, resilience now goes beyond structural safety and engineering standards. It also means creating spaces that strengthen communities, improve everyday living, and foster human connection.
“Housing is not only the roof or the windows,” he said. “It is where families live together and where relationships are formed.”
He stressed that this places a major responsibility on the global real estate sector.
“We are called by governments and by the population to be the leaders of this transformation,” Campagnoli said.
Throughout the forum, speakers emphasized that real estate today must move beyond investment value alone. Governance, transparency, trust, and long-term resilience were repeatedly highlighted as critical priorities for the industry.
“We must reimagine real estate not simply as an investment or buildings, but as a force that shapes lives, strengthens communities, and contributes to national and global progress,” said Mangio during the welcome remarks.
Campagnoli likewise underscored the importance of organizations like FIABCI in bringing together different associations and sectors to collectively address housing and urban challenges across markets.
“Housing is the base of happiness of the population,” he said. “If the population is happy, people live better together.”
David Tang, President of the FIABCI Asia Pacific Region, also highlighted the importance of collaboration and firsthand market understanding amid rapidly changing conditions across the region. Tang stressed the value of organizations that connect industry leaders across markets.
“It’s always important to go back to the source,” Tang said, emphasizing why networks like FIABCI remain important in connecting markets, expertise, and on-the-ground insights.
Tang also acknowledged that affordable housing continues to remain a challenge across many markets in the Asia-Pacific region amid rising costs, labor shortages, and shifting economic conditions.
Campagnoli likewise highlighted the growing importance of collaboration among government, private sector, policymakers, and communities — what he referred to as the “5P” model: public, private, people, policy, and partnership.
He noted that resilience today requires long-term strategies that begin even before construction starts, including understanding what communities actually need and designing spaces that encourage connection rather than isolation.
The Philippines, he said, remains an important market because of its growing population and continued housing demand. Campagnoli also described the Philippine chapter as one of FIABCI’s strongest and most active communities globally.
More than a discussion on market trends, the forum ultimately framed real estate as a long-term social responsibility — one that shapes not only skylines, but also the way families live, communities grow, and societies move forward together.
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