Strong condo demand buoyed housing market in Q2t2

Average Philippine housing prices remained relatively stable in the second quarter of the year, with a closely watched index inching up only slightly thanks to fresh demand for condominium units in Metro Manila, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

In a press statement, the central bank said residential real estate prices grew marginally by 0.4 percent year-on-year in the April-to-June period of 2019—reflected in the increase in Residential Real Estate Price Index, which rose to 117.5 from 117 during the same period last year.

The year-on-year prices across most types of housing units increased, except for single detached/attached houses, which declined by 4.2 percent.

Prices of duplexes, condominium units and townhouses—which collectively accounted for 58.7 percent of total new housing units reported—grew by 12.5 percent, 9.6 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, compared to the second quarter of 2018.

On a quarterly basis, the real estate price index edged lower to 117.5 from 120 as all types of housing units registered price decreases, except for condominium units, which recorded a growth.

By area, the average residential property prices in Metro Manila increased by 5.2 percent, while those of provincial areas declined by 1.1 percent in the second quarter of 2019 compared to prices during the same period last year.

In Metro Manila, the higher growth in prices of duplexes and condominium units offset the decline in prices of single-detached houses and townhouses. In areas outside Metro Manila, meanwhile, the drop in prices of single-detached houses outweighed the increase in prices of other types of housing units.

For the second quarter of 2019, 73.4 percent of residential real estate loans were for the acquisition of new housing units. By type of housing units, 45.8 percent of these loans were for the purchase of condominium units, followed by single detached/attached houses (43 percent) and townhouses (10.5 percent).

By area, most of the property loans granted in the Metro Manila were for the purchase of condominium units, while loans granted in provincial areas were mostly for single detached/attached houses.

By region, Metro Manila accounted for 43 percent of the total number of real estate loans granted, followed by the provincial areas of Calabarzon (27.4 percent), Central Luzon (8.9 percent), Central Visayas (6 percent), Western Visayas (4.3 percent), Northern Mindanao (3.3 percent) and the Davao region (3 percent).

Together, Metro Manila and these six other regions accounted for 95.9 percent of total housing loans granted by banks.