By LEE C. CHIPONGIAN
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said property prices are rising with the residential real estate segment increasing by 10.4 percent in the third quarter this year, the highest growth rate observed since the first quarter of 2016.
MB file photo.
Based on the Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI), the BSP said prices of all types of housing units went up by 9.5 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
The BSP said the RREPI for the third quarter was higher by 0.4 percent compared to what was reported in the second quarter and also the “highest growth rate observed since the first quarter 2016.”
As of end September, prices of condominium units increased at 29.1 percent, duplexes at 24.8 percent, single detached/attached houses at 2.4 percent, and townhouses at six percent.
The average residential property prices in both the National Capital Region (NCR) and areas outside NCR increased by 22.2 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, compared to year-ago prices.
“In the NCR, the increase in prices of duplexes and condominium units outweighed the decline in prices of single detached houses and townhouses. Meanwhile, price increases were observed across all types of housing in areas outside NCR,” said the BSP.
The central bank also noted that in the third quarter, the purchase of new housing units accounted for 74 percent of residential real estate loans or RRELs.
About 51.8 percent of residential property loans were used for the acquisition of condominium units, while 38.1 percent were used to buy single detached/attached houses and 9.5 percent for townhouses.
The BSP said the RRELs released in the NCR were mostly used to buy condominium units or accounting for 43.1 percent of total loans. Outside of NCR, 35.5 percent were used to buy single detached/attached houses.
By region, 48.7 percent of total RRELs were in the NCR. In areas outside NCR, CALABARZON accounted for 25.1 percent of RRELs, Central Luzon has 7.6 percent, Central Visayas has 6.5 percent, Western Visayas has 3.6 percent. Davao Region, in the meantime, accounted for 2.8 percent of RRELs, followed by Northern Mindanao with 2.3 percent. “Together, NCR and these six other regions accounted for 96.6 percent of total housing loans granted by banks,” said the BSP.
As explained by the BSP, the RREPI “is a measure of the average change in the prices of various types of housing units (based) on banks’ data on loans used to acquire new housing units.”
“The RREPI is used as an indicator for assessing the real estate and credit market conditions in the country,” said the BSP. The RREPI was first reported using the first quarter 2016 data.