By Jun Sanchez*

THIS entry is based on the study this author made on the survey released this April by the National Statistics Office on all types of private building construction in the Philippines. The study focused on residential construction since it is meant for prospective Pinoy homeowners and residential developers.

The survey is based on the number of building permits approved by the local building officials in all cities and municipalities in the Philippines; the projects are described as “started.” No figure was given as to how many were finished, still in progress or discontinued. The study shows that:

• Residential projects account for 70% of all private construction in the Philippines. Of which, 85% are single houses, 3% are duplex/quadruplex/townhouses, 9% are apartments and 3% are condos.

• Residential projects have a short boom-bust cycle, i.e., growth cannot be sustained. It’s moderate for single houses and apartments but for townhouses and condos, the cycle is volatile. They enjoy massive growth for a year or two only to plummet later. Condo construction has been declining massively since 2005, indicating a glut in this segment. This, however, is a national trend and does not classify projects into Class A, B or C.

• Apartment construction grows steadily indicating that there’s a growing demand for it from Pinoys who have yet to own their homes.

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By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

MAKATI CITY, Philippines — Issues concerning the housing project of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) agency Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) remained unsettled and continued to divide ITDI employees after two meetings held Thursday.

The housing project involves six parcels of land in barangay Molino in Bacoor, Cavite.

The land, which has a total area of 244,456 square meters, was used as an agricultural research site by the ITDI, formerly known as the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST).

When ITDI was reorganized in 1987, its agricultural research functions were transferred to University of the Philippines Los Baños.

In 1992, a resolution was passed to use the land as housing project for ITDI employees, which was made legal by the issuance of Executive Order 137 signed by President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo in October 2002.

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