By Pinky Concha Colmenares Owning a house is a common aspiration that comes after college, transforms into a dream after one’s first job, and brews into a nagging milestone to be achieved sometime soon. Although in the traditional Filipino family there is no perceived age when a child should live independently, the aim to own a house lies in the minds of the millions of young people today, including those who are living under comfortable and free arrangements in the homes of their parents. The millions of dreams for a first home is what fuels the growth of the Philippine property industry. According to Charlie Gorayeb, national chairman of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association of the Philippines (CREBA), the housing backlog is now at least 6.57 million families nationwide, quoting the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). That’s a number that keeps growing every year, with millions of students graduating and joining the workforce. Each of them nurtures the same dream to own a house. Backing this dream is one of CREBA’s advocacies – A Home for Every Filipino – which aims to address issues on housing finance, land access, and reforms in governance, Gorayeb said. Private developers are building a variety of property projects to make those dreams come true. You can see the signs of new communities coming to life along the national highways outside the Metro. Meanwhile, in- side the cities, many large properties which were once residential estates in the busy city centers have been turned into exclusive enclaves of townhouses and high-rise condo buildings. A 100-sqm condo unit, or a 100- sqm house standing on a 200-sqm lot, is the ideal size for a first home, Gorayeb said in reply to our query on the ideal size to grow a family. That size, though, remains a dream even to many who have acquired their first home in Metro Manila and other urban cities. Affordable condo units come in smaller sizes of 25 sqm for studio units, 50 sqm to 100 sqm for one- to two-bedroom units. And the price does not include the cost of a parking slot. Despite the high cost of living in the Metro, Gorayeb said most home buyers have always looked at urban centers as the most ideal location for homes especially for families. “Accessibility will always bear impact on one’s transportation budget and travel time lost due to traffic problems, amid the need to improve our mass transit systems.” However, the concept of living “far from the city” is changing with the completion of several skyway sectors and elevated highways which cut travel time from Metro Manila to north and south Luzon. Because of the higher cost of hous- ing units inside the Metro, developers are building communities outside the city – presenting them as ideal locations to raise a family in a place where pollution is not a problem. There are so many subdivisions outside Metro Manila that have sprouted in the last decade, transforming the landscapes and even creating traffic problems around their areas. It does not take a lot of time for a once remote area to bloom into a community. Schools, medical facilities, commercial buildings, entertainment centers, houses of worship always soon rise around a subdivision. “This is why real estate and housing development have served as nuclei for new developments because where most people locate, there arise new business opportunities of all kinds,” Gorayeb said. Not known to many, it was CREBA’s 5-point Agenda for Housing that pushed government support to the private sector to build houses so many dreams can come true. Among the laws that CREBA had worked for is the amendment of the Balanced Housing requirement and other provisions of the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) of 1992 to  provide affordable homes in urban areas nationwide. Gorayeb said CREBA had also pushed for another incentive to encourage more people to buy their first homes the VAT exemption for houses priced up to ₱3.2 million. However, under the TRAIN Law, this expires on Jan. 2021 and CREBA is seeking amendments to TRAIN Law to prevent a sudden rise of housing prices, Gorayeb added. PHirst Park Homes Meanwhile, a property development project designed to offer first homes has gone straight to the point, with the company’s name stating it all –PHirst Park Homes, Inc. (PPHI). Since 2017, it has already launched six developments in Tanza (Cavite), Lipa (Batangas), San Pablo and Calamba (Laguna), and Pandi (Bulacan) and secured the LTS of Batulao (Nasugbu, Batangas). This year, it plans to launch three to four more projects within the Calabarzon and Central Luzon Areas, said PPHI president Ricky Celis. He said the company is rolling out a total of 33,000 units in 15 masterplanned communities in the next three years. The sizes of the housing units start at 40 sqm, priced at ₱1.3 million. A single-attached unit at 54 sqm is about ₱2.8 million, he said. Other units are sized at 44 sqm and 60.5 sqm lot areas. Amenities include a Clubhouse, swimming pool, and kiddie pool plus unique outdoor spaces that foster interaction and community bonding. In PHirst Park Homes Tanza, amenities include an outdoor cinema. In its Lipa community, traditional Filipino games are revived with activity nodes for piko (hop pod), patintero (base pod), taguan (maze pod), tumbang preso (treble pod with a giant pamato), and holen (marble pod). Today, there is a long list of property projects that have been designed to deliver homes according to one’s dream, and financial capability. All of them have websites, so you do not need to travel to check it out. Checking out the options to finally acquire your first home gets the dream nearer to reality. Next, check your financial standing to see if you are ready for your first milestone.