THE residential real estate prices of various types of new housing units in the Philippines have continued to rise in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to the sustained demand for residential property, particularly for townhouses and condominium units, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Friday, March 25.
The Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) sustained its growth trend in the fourth quarter last year, rising by 4.9 percent and 1.1 percent compared with year-ago and quarter-ago levels. This is consistent with the outcome of the Fourth Quarter 2021 Consumer Expectations Survey, which showed a higher percentage of consumers preferring to buy real estate property during the last quarter of 2021.
The RREPI is a measure of the average change in the prices of various types of housing units, like single-detached/attached houses, duplex housing units, townhouses, and condominium units, based on banks’ data on actual mortgage loans granted to acquire new housing units only.
By area, residential property prices in the National Capital Region increased by five percent year-on-year albeit lower than 11.4 percent in the third quarter of 2021. Similarly, property prices in the areas outside NCR went up by 5.1 percent year on year. Prices in both areas were driven mainly by the rise in the prices of condominium units and townhouses, which more than offset the decline in the prices of duplex housing units and single-detached/attached houses.
By type of housing units, the rise in prices of townhouses and condominium units at 22.6 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively, drive the growth in property prices. In the case of condominium units, the upward trend in prices was mainly attributed by the units in the areas outside NCR. By contrast, prices of duplex housing units and single-detached/attached houses contracted by 10.2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
Residential loans
Meanwhile, the number of residential real estate loans (RRELs) granted for all types of new housing units in the Philippines contracted by 11.5 percent year-on-year but expanded by two percent quarter-on-quarter. The same pattern was observed in the areas outside the NCR.
The average appraised value of new housing units in the country stood at P74,347 per square meter (sq.m). The average appraised value per sq.m. was higher in the NCR (at P115,235) than both the national average and areas outside the NCR average (at P49,905).
In the fourth quarter last year, almost a third (73.5 percent) of residential real estate loans (RRELs) were used to purchase of new housing units. Meanwhile, by type of housing unit, most of the residential property loans were used for the acquisition of condominium units (44.6 percent), followed by single-detached/attached houses (39.3 percent) and townhouses (15.6 percent).
By region, 40.1 percent of the total number of RRELs granted were from the NCR, while the rest were distributed in the areas outside the NCR Calabarzon (27.9 percent), Central Luzon (12 percent), Central Visayas (4.7 percent), Western Visayas (4.4 percent), Davao Region (4 percent) and Northern Mindanao (1.6 percent). The NCR and the said six regions combined accounted for 94.7 percent of total housing loans granted by banks.