Nationwide residential property prices up by 12.4 percent year-on-year in Q1 2020
Residential real estate prices of various types of housing units in the Philippines grew at a faster rate of 12.4 percent y-o-y in Q1 2020 based on the Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) (Figure 1). This is the third consecutive quarter that the index has registered a double-digit growth, which is higher than the 10.2 percent growth in the previous quarter and 3.3 percent a year ago. This is also the highest growth rate since Q1 2016. (Figure 1)
By area, residential property prices increase y-o-y in both the National Capital Region (NCR) and in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)
Residential property prices grew at a faster pace in NCR (at 18.3 percent) compared with those in AONCR (at 8.5 percent) (Figure 1). The brisker growth of property prices in NCR can be attributed to the higher increase in the prices of condominium units, which outweighed the decline in prices of single detached/attached houses, duplexes and townhouses. Meanwhile, growth in prices were recorded in all types of housing units in AONCR albeit at a slower pace in townhouses and condominium units.
By category of housing units, residential property prices climb y-o-y across all types of dwelling
Prices picked up across types of housing units in Q1 2020 compared to a year ago. Specifically, prices of condominium units rose by 23.6 percent, followed by those of single detached/attached houses and townhouses, which grew by 7 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. Duplexes, which account for only 0.3 percent of the total number of new housing units reported, registered a price growth of 38.3 percent.
Quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q), the RREPI for the Philippines grew by 3.6 percent (Figure 1), as the price increases in duplexes, condominium units and single detached/attached houses offset the 0.8 percent decline in the prices of townhouses in Q1 2020.
Profile of residential real estate loans for Q4 2019
In Q1 2020, the purchase of new housing units accounted for 74.4 percent of residential real estate loans (RRELs). More than half of residential property loans were used for the acquisition of condominium units (53.8 percent), followed by single detached/attached houses (38.2 percent), and townhouses (7.6 percent). (Figure 3)
Most of the RRELs granted in NCR were for the purchase of condominium units, while RRELs granted in AONCR were for the purchase of single detached houses. By region, NCR accounted for roughly half (49.4 percent) of the total number of RRELs granted in Q1 2020, followed by AONCR―CALABARZON (24.7 percent), Central Luzon (7.7 percent), Central Visayas (6.1 percent), Western Visayas (3.3 percent), Davao Region (2.9 percent) and Northern Mindanao (2.2 percent). NCR and these six other regions combined accounted for 96.3 percent of total housing loans granted by banks.
