As economy fully reopens, property prices rise

MANILA, Philippines — Housing prices continued to rally in the Philippines, picking up further in the fourth quarter last year with the complete reopening of the economy as strict COVID-19 quarantine and lockdown protocols were lifted.

The latest Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed an increase of 7.7 percent to 151.9 in the last quarter of 2022 from 141 in the same quarter in 2021.

The index has been rising steadily from 139.8 in the first quarter to 142.1 in the second, and 148.6 in the third quarter as the economy further reopened after the resumption of strict lockdown in January amid the rise in COVID-19 infections due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.

From October to December, the price of duplex housing units surged by 42.9 percent to 229, followed by condominium units with 12.9 percent to 199.3, and single detached or attached houses with a 10 percent rise to 126.2.

These were enough to offset the 6.8 percent contraction in the index for townhouses to 199.3 in the fourth quarter.

The RREPI, launched in the first quarter of 2016, is used as an indicator for assessing the real estate and credit market conditions in the country.

Property prices in the National Capital Region (NCR) grew by 16.1 percent to 175.5 in the fourth quarter of last year from 151.1 in the same quarter in 2021 as families started to return to the metropolis from the provinces amid the resumption of on-site work as well as face-to-face classes.

Prices of duplex houses jumped by 25.9 percent to 219.4, followed by single detached or attached housing with an 18 percent increase to 107.7, condominiums with 15.9 percent to 204.3, and townhouses with 8.5 percent to 140.

Likewise, housing prices in areas outside NCR also inched up by 4.5 percent to 142.9 from 136.7.

The prices of duplex houses in areas outside NCR jumped by 46.4 percent to 291.2, followed by single detached or attached houses with 8.8 percent to 128.4, and condominiums with 3.9 percent to 183.6.

The prices of townhouses in the provinces fell by 12.1 percent to 237.1 from October to December last year.

To cool inflation and stabilize the peso, the BSP’s Monetary Board has so far raised key policy rates by 425 basis points that brought the benchmark rate to a 16-year high of 6.25 percent from an all-time low of two percent.

According to the central bank, the average appraised value of new housing units in the country stood at P74,776 per square meter in the fourth quarter from P84,589 per square meter in the third quarter.

The average appraised value was higher in the NCR at P127,175 per square meter than both the national and areas outside NCR average at P49,475 per square meter.