STATE run-Pag-Ibig Fund Visayas reiterated its call for members to take advantage of its credit facilities, especially for residential ownership.
According to Pag-Ibig Fund Visayas Department Manager for Business Development Rio Teves, the Cebu hub, which includes Tacloban, has an allocation of P6.198 billion.
As of June this year, the agency has financed 2,234 housing units valued at P2.785 billion, hitting 98 percent of its 2018 target takeout of 3,685 units worth P2.840 billion.
The number of homes financed in Cebu North stood at 1,066 units valued at P1.327 billion. Cebu South shelled out P1.320 billion for 1,046 units while Tacloban lent P91.548 million for 122 units.
Pag-ibig Visayas initially aimed to release P4.7 billion worth of housing loans for 6,096 units, but it released an actual home loan value of P3.889 billion, which translated to 3,461 units, as of June.
According to Teves, the most in-demand housing package is the economic housing, which ranges from over P450,000 to P1.7 million in value.
Early this year, Pag-ibig Fund Officer-in-Charge and Chief Executive Officer Acmed Rizaldy Moti noted a low takeout of credit facilities, particularly housing loans among members.
He said that out of the 17.3 million members, about 95 percent of their members are only pure savers, which means that these members are not availing themselves of housing loans and other facilities from the agency.
Filipino Homes founder Anthony Leuterio said housing demand is high in the cities of Talisay, Mandaue, Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Minglanilla.
He, however, pointed out that while the house buying appetite continues to remain high, real estate agents are running out of projects to sell.
Leuterio, who runs a realty brokerage firm, said many projects are stalled in the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) awaiting the release of licenses to sell (LTS).
“HLURB keeps changing requirements and all developers are having problems,” he said. “We hope this government will focus on housing.”
Leuterio’s sentiment mirrored the concerns low-end housing developers have against HLURB’s alleged unclear policies, confusing issuances, and red tape. These reportedly delay new housing projects, applications of new registrations and issuances of license to sell.
HLURB 7 Director Francis Ordineza earlier admitted a slowdown of projects awarded with LTS in the first half of this year. He cited the agency’s stricter rules in documentary compliance implemented at the start of the year.
He said developers have to comply with and submit all documentary requirements before they are given the LTS.
Ordineza pointed out that some developers had difficulty obtaining building permits, among other documentary requirements, which are secured from the local government units.
According to lawyer Christopher Ryan Tan, general counsel and past president of the Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines (OSHDP), it normally takes developers an average of three years before they are given the go-signal to commence construction, making it difficult for them to help the country address the housing backlog.
“This is a major setback we face. The quickest we know--so far--is one year (approval),” he said, adding that the country’s permitting process is one of those that are highly regulated.
For a subdivision to be erected, a developer has to secure 73 permits and must obtain 146 signatures before it can proceed with the ground breaking.
In the first half of 2018, 10 subdivision projects across all segments worth P2.5 billion were granted LTS and certificate of registration by the HLURB 7. This translates to 2,093 house-and-lot units and 365 lot-only units.
The figure, however, is lower than the 2017 levels. During the same period last year, 18 projects were granted LTS by the agency, with total project cost amounting to P4.2 billion.