Residential price index barely changed

Residential real estate prices grew marginally by 0.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019 as the residential real estate price index.

The cost of acquiring a home in the Philippines posted an uptick in the quarter ending June 2019, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

“Residential real estate prices grew marginally by 0.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019 as the residential real estate price index (RREPI) rose to 117.5 from 117 for the same quarter a year-ago,” the BSP said.

The RREPI, a measure of the average change in the price of various housing units, declined 2.1 percent as prices for such, except for condominium units, posted price cuts.

Duplexes posted the highest hikes for the quarter with 12.5 percent, followed by condominium units at 9.6 percent and townhouses at 4.3 percent. Collectively, the units accounted for 58.7 percent of the total new housing units for the period.

Real property prices in the National Capital Region grew at a faster rate than in areas outside NCR (AONCR) as home prices for the former inclined 5.2 percent year-on-year while slowing by 1.1 percent for the latter.

“In NCR, the higher growth in prices of duplexes and condominium units offset the decline in prices of single-detached houses and townhouses,” the BSP said.

“In AONCR, the drop in the price of single detached houses outweighed the increase in prices of other types of housing units,” it added.

Banks reported that in the second quarter of 2018, property loans were booked to acquire new homes, with 45.8 percent of the total amount used to buy condominium units.

In terms of area, nearly half of the mortgages were taken out by residents from NCR, followed by CALABARZON at 27.4 percent, Central Luzon at 8.9 percent, Central Visayas at 6 percent, Western Visayas at 4.3 percent, Northern Mindanao at 3.3 percent and Davao Region at 3 percent.