Convention to tackle the many facets of the Philippine housing industry
Developers’ continued push to build more houses and unique residential communities around the country clearly demonstrates how investors have returned to the market with renewed enthusiasm and how confidence in the Philippines’ property market has grown.
“Prospects for the Philippine housing industry continue to be bright as key growth drivers of the economy, namely: the remittances from overseas Filipino workers and an ever-growing BPO (business process outsourcing) industry are fueling demand for housing. The growth of the country’s population is expected to further heighten this demand as the industry’s market is highly dependent on the number of households which need to be provided housing,” noted Rodel Racadio, national president of the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc. (SHDA), the country’s largest association of private developers.
This issue will be highlighted in the SHDA National Convention that will be held at the Iloilo Convention Center in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, from Sept. 22 to 23.
Taking cue from the convention theme, “The Many Faces of Housing—‘Enhancing Lives,’” the annual gathering of SHDA’s 200 members from chapters across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will take into account the number of Filipinos that is projected to grow by more than a million annually, from around 95 million in 2011 to 126 million by 2030.
Armenia Ballesteros, SHDA chair, said: “This growth translates into 19 million Filipino households in 2011 to about 25 million by 2030 or an additional six million households within a period of 19 years. Based on these numbers, the demand for living space is expected to increase continuously. We, as practitioners in the housing industry must be prepared to supply the housing units that should meet this demand. The impact of the industry’s growth on the Philippine economy will definitely be felt as the value chain of the housing industry cuts across various sectors.”
Examine
According to SHDA first vice president and convention chair Fely Ramos, the two-day event, in line with its theme, will examine the different aspects of housing.
On the first day, the convention will first explore the topic, “Housing as provider of roof to every Filipino.”
Ramos said: “Shelter is a basic need of every Filipino family. To ensure that this need is addressed regardless of the family’s economic status, we, as housing developers offer homes that cater to different market segments (a reason why socialized housing, low-cost housing and economic housing exist). The need is more felt among the lower-income levels, which has spurred us housing developers to innovate in the area of housing production in order to provide affordable housing units that meet the industry’s quality standards.”
Second topic to be discussed would be the “People behind housing,” wherein importance of the human component of the housing industry will be highlighted.
Skill sets
John Paul Dy, SHDA chair of the ways and means committee, explained that the development of a housing project—from conceptualization to completion—entails the services of people with different skill sets, which are necessary for the performance of technical and non-technical functions.
Such requirement for component people even prompted the Department of Labor and Employment to design its own roadmap to keep pace with the requirements of the housing industry’s roadmap.
“Considering job creation is an inherent factor in housing developments, the improvement in the quality of life of the people behind the housing industry is unquestionable,” Ramos added.
Late in the afternoon, the convention will proceed to tackle another facet of housing: As a tool to attending to social responsibilities.
Ballesteros explained: “Aware of the industry’s impact on human lives, housing developers have remained mindful of the changing environment. Along this line, the industry has espoused green building initiatives to minimize the effects of global warming, at the same time that it addresses the need to preserve nature. Moreover, housing developers undertake corporate social responsibilities through non-housing related activities, such as the provision of educational function and livelihood opportunities for their homeowners, in addition to the upbuilding of the communities within their housing projects.”
Changes
On the second day, the national convention will discuss the issue “Housing industry in 2016 and beyond” that takes into consideration the recent changes in the country’s political leadership and thus, bringing up the issue “where does the Philippine housing industry go from here?”
“Since the government, in partnership with the private sector, is mandated to undertake a comprehensive and continuing urban development and housing program under Republic Act (RA) 7279—the policy directions of the government agencies, which practitioners in the housing industry deal with—shall be very crucial in crafting short-term as well as long-term plans,” said Racadio.
He added that the importance of having a clear-cut legislative agenda with regard to housing development as this would mean taking a positive step toward enabling housing developers to sustain their efforts.
Racadio said: “In this regard, we have also invited key resource persons from the government. This national convention is indeed an excellent opportunity for us developers to ask them, perhaps seek their opinion on some very important issues, which would help us adopt a convention resolution that we would present to Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council at the conclusion of the event,” said Racadio.
