Prices of various types of residential properties throughout the country continued to surge in the second quarter of the current year, according to the data of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The BSP data showed Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) rose by 2.6 percent and 1.6 percent compared with year-ago and quarter-ago levels, respectively.

But despite the unprecedented price uptick, housing prices recovered from the quarter-on-quarter contraction in the first quarter of 2022.

By area, residential property prices in the National Capital Region and Areas Outside the NCR or AONCR also grew year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.

The BSP said residential property prices in the NCR grew by 6.3 percent YoY, primarily driven by the increase in the prices of townhouses and condominium units, which outweighed the decrease in the prices of single-detached/attached houses.

Likewise, property prices in the AONCR rose by 2.2 percent YoY as all types of housing units registered an upturn, except for townhouses, which declined marginally.

On a QoQ basis, residential property prices rose by 0.2 percent and 2.2 percent in the NCR and AONCR, respectively.

Prices rise across housing types
In Q2 2022, all types of housing units contributed to the YoY growth in the nationwide RREPI as the prices of duplex housing units, condominium units, townhouses, and single-detached/attached houses increased by 11.3 percent, 8.6 percent, 4.1 percent, and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the 1.6 percent QoQ growth in the RREPI may be attributed to the higher prices of single-detached/attached houses (by 5.5 percent), duplex housing units (by 2.7 percent), and condominium units (by 0.1 percent) (Figure 2).

Meanwhile, the nationwide residential real estate loan availments for new housing units increase YoY and QoQ
In Q2 2022, the number of residential real estate loans or RRELs granted for all types of new housing units in the Philippines increased by 6.5 percent YoY due largely to the 17 percent growth in the AONCR, outweighing the 7.7 percent contraction in the NCR.

On the other hand, on a QoQ basis, the nationwide availment of housing loans rose by 12.2 percent, which was due to the 32.9 percent and 3 percent increase in RRELs in the NCR and AONCR, respectively.

The average appraised value of new housing units in the country stood at P73,751 per square meter in Q2 2022. The average appraised value per sqm in the NCR was at P119,841, higher than the average appraised values of P73,751 and P47,094 in the nation and AONCR, respectively.

The BSP data said the weight of each type of housing unit in the RREPI is determined by dividing the total floor area (in sqm) of a specific type of housing unit over the total floor area of all housing types.
In Q2 2022, single-detached/attached houses in the RREPI continued to constitute the largest weight at 58.2 percent. In the interim, condominium units, townhouses, and duplex housing units accounted for 23.3 percent, 17.7 percent, and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Real-estate loans
In Q2 2022, 82.6 percent of residential real estate loans or RRELs were used to purchase new housing units, while by type of housing unit, most of the residential property loans were used for the acquisition of single-detached/attached houses (49.4 percent), followed by condominium units (37 percent) and townhouses (13 percent).

"Most of the RRELs granted in the NCR were for the purchase of condominium units, while RRELs granted in the AONCR were for the purchase of single-detached/attached houses. By region, 34.2 percent of the total number of RRELs granted were from the NCR, while the rest were distributed in the AONCR as follows: CALABARZON (34.5 percent), Central Luzon (11.8 percent), Central Visayas (6.2 percent), Western Visayas (4.4 percent), Davao Region (3.6 percent), and Northern Mindanao (1.8 percent). NCR and the said six regions combined accounted for 96.5 percent of total housing loans granted by banks," the BSP report read.