Published
By James A. Loyola
Socialized housing producers are urging the Housing and Urban
Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the National Economic
Development Authority (NEDA) to reconsider and increase the present
price ceiling for socialized housing from P480,000 to P533,333.
The call is being made by the two largest associations, the
Organization of Socialized and Economic Housing Developers of the
Philippines (OSHDP) and the Socialized Housing Alliance Roundtable
Endeavour (SHARE).
It will be recalled that HUDCC Council approved a new housing ceiling
of P480,000 on April 27, 2018 from P450,000, but also increased the
minimum floor area from 18 sq. m. to 24 sq. m., thus negating whatever
price adjustments that was given.
SHARE President Marcelino C. Mendoza pointed out that an increased
housing ceiling would enable more borrowers to avail of the “socialized 3
percent rate of interest” by the Pag-IBIG Fund.
This would greatly alleviate their cash position considering that inflation is highest at 6.6 percent at present.
OSHDP President Engr. Jefferson S. Bongat said that the unrealistic
price has dampened enthusiasm for new production, and this has already
been evident with the anticipated decline in the licenses to sell issued
by HLURB.
“Such situation is untenable considering that the government budget
has been slashed to only around 4.7 billion in 2018 from a high of 33.4
billion in 2016, and it is the private sector, which is expected to take
the slack,” Bongat added.
He said the housing backlog of 6 million units is nowhere to be met and will continue to pile up.
Mendoza, on behalf of non-government organizations producing houses, said the prices of raw land have increased by more than 15 percent.
The minimum wage has also been increased, to P573 or 49 percent in
Metro Manila, on top of increased competition for both skilled and
unskilled labor from the government’s “Build, Build, Build” Program, and
the usual higher wages demanded by Filipinos working abroad.
The most recent Construction Materials Price Index for the third
quarter of 2018 is at 252.83, up by 18.86 points from 233.97 in the same
period of 2017.
In a letter to HUDCC Chair Eduardo del Rosario, the housing industry
stakeholders – the OSHDP, the Subdivision and Housing Developers
Association, and the National Real Estate Association – requested HUDCC
for a P533,333 price ceiling for a 24 sq. m. house.
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