The country’s residential property prices posted a 2.3 percent year-on-year drop in the third quarter of 2024, marking the first decline since the pandemic began, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.
Data from the central bank revealed that residential property prices also fell by 1.6 percent compared to the second quarter, reversing two consecutive quarters of growth.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), prices plummeted by 14.6 percent year-on-year, primarily due to lower prices for duplexes, single houses, and condos. This decline occurred despite an increase in townhouse prices.
Conversely, residential property prices outside NCR (AONCR) rose by 3 percent year-on-year.
"Higher house prices in AONCR were attributed to annual price increases in single-detached/attached houses and condominium units, which offset the decline in duplex and townhouse prices," the BSP report stated.
On a quarterly basis, residential property prices in the NCR and AONCR decreased by 3.7 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Year-on-year, prices for duplexes and condominiums decreased, while prices for single houses and townhouses increased.
Quarter-on-quarter, only single houses showed a price increase (2.6 percent), while other housing types recorded declines: duplexes (46.6 percent), townhouses (5.3 percent), and condominium units (5.3 percent).
Weak Housing Loan Demand
The third quarter of 2024 saw a 15.7 percent year-on-year decline in the country's residential real estate loans (RRELs), with significant decreases in both the NCR and AONCR.
According to the BSP, this double-digit contraction, while significant, was less severe than the decline in housing loan availment observed during the pandemic. This trend aligns with the third quarter's Consumer Expectation Survey (CES), which indicated a more pessimistic outlook on buying a house and lot among consumers.
Compared to the second quarter, housing loan availments increased by 3.1 percent in the third quarter. This growth was driven by a 15.8 percent increase in the NCR, despite a 2.4 percent decline in AONCR.The number of residential loans for new single houses dropped by 24.5 percent year-on-year, with declines of 41.2 percent in the NCR and 23.7 percent in AONCR. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, these loans fell by 5.5 percent.
Loans for new duplex housing units fell by 76.7 percent year-on-year and 52.4 percent quarter-on-quarter.
For new townhouses, loans dropped slightly by 0.7 percent year-on-year, with a 9.6 percent decrease quarter-on-quarter.
Loans for new condominium units by 13.2 percent year-on-year, but increased by 19.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, with growth seen in both the NCR and AONCR.
The average appraised value of new housing units in the Philippines was P86,417 per square meter (sqm), a 6.2 percent decrease year-on-year but a 3.2 percent increase quarter-on-quarter.
In Metro Manila, the average value dropped by 13.7 percent year-on-year, while in AONCR, it increased by 10.1 percent.