Residential real estate prices sustain growth in fourth quarter of 2021: BSP
Residential real estate prices of various types of new housing units in the Philippines continued to rise in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to the sustained demand for residential property, particularly for townhouses and condominium units.
The Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) sustained its growth trend in the fourth quarter of 2021, 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 of the 2021 Consumer Expectations Survey (CES), which showed a higher percentage of consumers preferring to buy real estate property during the last quarter of 2021,
Residential property prices in the NCR increased by 5 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 or attached houses.
On a quarter-on quarter basis, residential property prices rose in the areas outside NCR (by 2.6 percent), following the national trend, but declined in the NCR (by 1.2 percent).
The 4.9 percent year-on-year upturn in the nationwide RREPI in the fourth quarter of 2021 was primarily driven by the rise in prices of townhouses and condominium units, increasing by 22.6 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively.
The year-on-year growth in their prices, however, were slower compared with that posted in the third quarter of 2021. 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.
Meanwhile, the quarter-on-gquarter growth of 1.1 percent in the RREPI was attributed to the higher prices of duplex housing units, single-detached/attached houses, and condominium units.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the number of residential real estate loans (RRELs) granted for all types of new housing units in the Philippines contracted by 11.5 percent YoY, but expanded by 2 percent quarter-on-quarter.
The same pattern was observed in the AONCR. However, for the NCR, the number of loans granted declined from year- and quarter-ago levels.
The average appraised value of new housing units in the country stood at P74,347 per square meter. The average appraised value per sqm was higher in the NCR (at P115,235) than both the national average and areas outside NCR average (at P49,905).
The weight of each type of housing unit in the RREPI is determined by dividing the total floor area (in square meter) of a specific type of housing unit over the total floor area of all housing types. In the fourth quarter of 2021, single-detached or attached houses in the RREPI continued to constitute the largest weight at 51 percent.
Meanwhile, condominium units, townhouses, and duplex housing units accounted for 27.5 percent, 21 percent, and 0.6 percent, respectively.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, 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 or attached houses (39.3 percent) and townhouses (15.6 percent).
Most of the RRELs granted in the NCR were for the purchase of condominium units, while RRELs granted in the areas of NCR were for the purchase of single-detached or attached houses. 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 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).
NCR and the six regions combined accounted for 94.7 percent of total housing loans granted by banks.
The RREPI is a measure of the average change in the prices of various types of housing units, i.e., single-detached or attached houses, duplex housing units, townhouses, and condominium units, based on banks’ data on actual mortgage loans granted to acquire new housing units only.
It is a chain-linked index, which is computed using the average appraised value per square meter, weighted by the share of floor area of each type of housing unit to the total floor area of all housing units. The RREPI is used as an indicator for assessing the real estate and credit market conditions in the country.
The BSP has been releasing the report since Q1 2016.
Data for the RREPI are obtained through BSP Circular No. 892 dated 16 November 2015, which requires all universal and commercial banks and thrift banks (TBs) in the Philippines to submit to the BSP a quarterly report on all RRELs granted. BSP
