Housing Markets in Philippines Appear to be an Outlier

Nationwide residential property prices grew by 27.1 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020, recording the highest growth rate since quarter one 2016. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s report cited stronger demand for high-end projects as a key driver, pushing the average price per square meter upwards. The greatest contributors to the price uptick were loans for the purchase of condominium units, particularly those in Metro Manila (the National Capital Region, NCR) and single attached or detached houses. In Q1 of 2020, total sales reached close to 20,000 units – still a pretty good take-up compared to 22,000 units a year ago. That is a decent sales performance given the country, particularly Metro Manila, was under a strict lockdown during the period.

On the pre-selling market, the mid-income, upscale, and luxury units (from US$65,855) accounted for 80 per cent of the take-up in the first half of this year, exceeding their 71 per cent share recorded during the same period in 2019. Price increases were especially evident in luxury projects in Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Makati fringe, and Ortigas Center. Developers’ willingness to offer affordable and flexible payment terms has buoyed recent results, noting some developers are reporting a better international response. Another silver lining of the pandemic is that the real estate sector in the Philippines, including developers, may be more willing to move towards the digital space, having used tools like virtual inspections and online payments effectively.

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