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Philippines – BSP: Home property prices fell in Q1

Residential property values plunged in the first quarter of 2021 as prices for various types of housing units declined, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported over the weekend.

The central bank’s Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) contracted by 4.2 percent year-on-year and by 1.6 percent quarter-on-quarter “due to the subdued demand for residential properties amid the pandemic,” the BSP said in a statement.

The fall in property prices in the National Capital Region (NCR), which decreased 10 percent from the first quarter of 2020, marking three consecutive quarters of slides since the third quarter of last year, drove the negative annual growth in overall residential property prices.

“This was due to the decrease in the prices of condominium units, which outweighed the increase in the prices of duplexes, single detached/attached houses, and townhouses,” according to the BSP.

Meanwhile, property prices in areas outside NCR, or AONCR, increased by 0.8 percent year-on-year, thanks to increases in the prices of townhouses and condominium units, which more than offset the decline in the prices of duplexes and single detached/attached houses.

House prices slipped 0.8 percent in the NCR and 2.1 percent in the AONCR in the third quarter, mirroring the national trend.

Prices of duplexes and condominium units contracted by 20.7 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively, in the first quarter, while prices of townhouses and single detached/attached houses rose by 8.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

“This is the third consecutive quarter that condominium prices declined, owing to the lackluster demand for condominiums in NCR. The 4.2 percent YoY (year-on-year) drop in the RREPI was primarily driven by the fall in prices of condominium units and duplexes,” the Bangko Sentral said.

On the other hand, reduced prices of duplexes, townhouses and single detached/attached houses more than offset higher prices of condominium units, resulting in a quarter-on-quarter decline of 1.6 percent in the RREPI.

An overall decrease

The number of residential real estate loans (RRELs) given for all types of new housing units in the country decreased by 14.7 percent year-on-year and 32 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of the year.

NCR and AONCR both showed a similar pattern.

In the first quarter of 2021, the NCR accounted for 48.4 percent of all residential real estate loans approved. Region 4A (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces, or Calabarzon), followed at 25.4 percent; Region 3 (Central Luzon), 9.6 percent; Region 7 (Central Visayas), 5.4 percent; Region 6 (Western Visayas), 3.7 percent; Region 11 (Davao), 3 percent; and Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), 1.3 percent.

The “NCR and the said six regions combined accounted for 96.8 percent of total housing loans granted by banks,” the central bank said.

About 79.5 percent of residential real estate loans were used to purchase new homes. By type, about 52 percent of residential property loans were for condominium units, followed by single detached/attached houses (38.6 percent) and townhouses (8.1 percent).

The RREPI is a measure of the average change in the prices of various types of housing units, based on banks’ data on loans used to acquire new housing units.

Source: https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/28/business/top-business/bsp-home-property-prices-fell-in-q1/1804872