Philippine Residential Real Estate Market Sees A Price Increase In Q4 2018

2 min read By eCompareMo on April 3, 2019

On March 29, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) posted a media release showing a marginal increase in the prices of residential properties nationwide. This was for the fourth quarter of 2018.

According to the BSP, the entire country saw a small but notable increase of 0.5 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Townhouses and condos increased the most

The Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) increased to 118.0, from last year’s 117.4. According to the report, it was the townhouses that got the most increase, followed by condominium units:

• Townhouses grew by 11.4%
• Condominium units grew by 0.6

On the other hand, there was a decrease in the prices of single detached housing and duplex units:

• Single detached housing unit declined by 1.9%
• Duplex unit declined by 3.7%

The year saw a 1.3% increase in the RREPI quarter-on-quarter, compared to that of 2017.

The RREPI, as explained in the report, “measures the average change in the prices of various types of housing units, which are comprised of single detached houses, duplexes, townhouses, and condominium units, based on data from housing loans granted by universal, commercial, and thrift banks.”

The whole of 2018 saw a 2.9% increase on average compared to that of 2017.

NCR prices increased, AONCR prices decreased

The National Capital Region (NCR) saw a residential property price increase, while Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) saw a decrease.

The BSP reported a 1.6% year-on-year increase in residential property prices in the NCR. The increase in the price of single-detached houses and townhouses was reported to offset the price decrease for duplexes, and the steady prices of condominium units.

AONCR saw a price decrease of 0.8%. This decline was seen in the prices of single-detached houses, said to have outweighed the price increase of duplexes, townhouses, and condominium units.

(Read: 5 Important Things To Look For When Buying Your First Home In The Philippines)

Residential Real Estate Loans mostly for new homes

The fourth quarter of 2018 showed 75% of Residential Real Estate Loans (RRELs) were taken out for the purchase of new housing units.

Below is the breakdown of the percentages of RRELs by the type of housing units purchased:

The major difference for RRELS in NCR was that the majority of purchases were for condo units, and most AONCR RREL grants went to single detached houses.

(Read: 5 People Share How They Bought Their First Home)

The BSP gathered their data from “all universal/commercial banks (UBs/KBs) and thrift banks (TBs) in the Philippines to submit a quarterly report on all RRELs granted for the generation of the RREPI,” as required by the law.

How the real estate prices will grow this year will be worth watching for, as it’s been said that “real estate, buoyed by rentals from offshore online gaming and business process outsourcing entities, has become the second biggest revenue source next to OFW remittances,” according to property consultant Sheila Lobien at the Manila Times’ 9th Business Forum.