Construction activities in PH slowed in Q2

MANILA  -Construction activities in the Philippines are slowing down significantly as the number of building permits approved nationwide dropped by 15 percent to 36,136 in the second quarter .

The Philippine Statistics Authority also said in its latest report on the private construction sector, released on Wednesday, that the value of construction projects — both residential and non-residential — in the April-June period fell by 17 percent to a total of P87.83 billion from P106 billion posted a year ago.

The data came out as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, in its second-quarter survey on consumer sentiment said households’ confidence on buying big-ticket items remained pessimistic.

Permits for the construction of residential structures alone were counted at 24,175 or 20 percent lower than 30,221 in the previous year.

In terms of value, planned residential buildings amounted to P41.36 billion or 21 percent lower than P52.13 billion in the second quarter of last year.

With a total floor area of 3.49 million square meters, residential buildings chalk up an average cost of P11,864.46 per sqm.

On the other hand, approved permits for non-residential buildings decreased in number to 7,928 or by 10 percent from 7,200.

These represent a total value of P39.59 billion or a decrease of 14.9 percent from P46.53 billion.

Approved permits for alterations and repairs ran up to a total of 2,480 or 33 percent lower than the 3,703 permits given the go-ahead a year earlier.

This group of permits account for an estimated value of P5.38 billion, down by 11.8 percent from P6.1 billion.

Results from the central bank’s Consumer Expectations Survey in the second quarter of 2023 show that the consumer sentiment on buying big-ticket items during that period was less pessimistic as the confidence index turned less negative to -67.7 percent from -72.8 percent in the previous quarter.

READ: Businesses, households turn less upbeat about Q3

Similarly, the consumer sentiment on buying big-ticket items for the next 12 months remained pessimistic at -75.2 percent from -74.9 percent previously.

Yet, the percentage of households that plan to acquire real property within the next 12 months edged up to 4.7 percent from 4.6 percent.

The BSP said that, in particular, a higher percentage of households were planning to acquire single-detached houses and agricultural lots during the second quarter compared to the previous quarter.