Construction boom in PH to continue

Private developers remain confident in the country’s property sector and say the construction boom is here to stay for the next couple of years, as a result of the country’s healthy economic fundamentals.

But on Friday, during the National Housing Summit 2017 in Cebu City, they asked the government to do its part by minimizing delays in the licensing and related applications and do away with policies they consider unsupportive to the housing industry.

“The boom has a momentum by itself. We just have to continue it, and if we can improve it, it (construction boom) will continue,” said Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines (OSHDP) president Marcelino Mendoza.

A constructiom boom is characterized by a rapid increase in construction activities driven by a strong demand.

On average, developers said it takes a year and a half to comply with all the documents needed before they can start building their projects. Aside from red tape in government, they also aired the inconsistencies in policies on housing.

Some of the key concerns of developers have are the two-year moratorium on agricultural land conversions, lack of mechanisms for the full implementation of socialized condominiums, imminent removal of VAT exemptions on low-cost and socialized housing, and delisting houses above P2 million from the government’s proposed Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) 2017-2019.

Economic conditions

Despite these setbacks, Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) national president Christopher Narciso said the property and construction sector, specifically the residential subsector, has managed to grow.

“The boom is a result of good economic conditions. There are several factors there, it’s supply and demand. The numbers speak for itself. The supply is far less than that of new demand every year plus the backlog,” said the SHDA official.

“The fundamentals alone will always have a healthy housing market. With better initiatives in place, by addressing all the issues, then that would sustain the boom,” Narciso added, considering other factors like low interest rates.