Solving the housing problem

“Home is the starting place of love, hope and dreams,” the singer Lana Del Rey once said.

It’s no different for us Filipinos, which is why part of the great Filipino dream is to have one’s own home. The ultimate dream is home ownership, not a rented bungalow or a few square meters of space, for which one is burdened with monthly rental payments.

Unfortunately, it remains a challenge to afford a house here in the Philippines, not just for those in the lower-income bracket but also for the middle class. Some people in these economic brackets live with their parents or, in some cases, with in-laws from hell, because they can’t afford to buy their own place. Many live in rented homes, but this makes it difficult for the household to set aside savings for the future because a large portion of their salary goes to monthly rent.

Even our Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is finding it daunting to meet its original plan of building six million homes by 2028 to address the housing backlog.

Opportunity for the government

I recently sat down with renowned Filipino architect Gilbert Yu, who shared with me the success story of his pioneering build-to-own concept, which he developed in the early 2000s to the joy of happy and satisfied homebuyers, some of them first-time homeowners.

I realized that this is something Arch. Yu can revive in partnership with the government, providing the current administration a golden opportunity to help more Filipinos afford their own homes.

The middle class would especially benefit, as it would strengthen this segment. They could save on rent, live near their workplace, save on transportation costs or even find better jobs. They would be able to pay more taxes and afford more goods and services. All this would, in turn, have a ripple effect on the economy and help boost growth in the country.

He explained his concept to me, and I was blown away. I told him I should have met him earlier so I could have participated in his build-to-own concept as well.

Arch. Yu’s pitch is simple and practical. The build-to-own method, simply put, is building a home at direct cost by engaging the services of a professional construction team. This is different from buying from the big developers in the country who hire construction industry professionals, develop residential projects and sell the units to buyers at higher prices.

Under his build-to-own method, Arch. Yu’s company at the time, G&W, built seven residential condominium projects at The Fort near Burgos Circle.

He organized potential buyers, who then employed a depository and disbursement bank with strict instructions that all funds go directly to the project for construction costs and the architect’s management fee. The method also assured homeowners of faster turnover – two to three years – enabling homeowners to immediately use their homes or rent them out. There was no pre-selling waiting period, which is the common practice among developers now.

During our chat, held in one of Arch. Yu’s developments, Sapphire Blue, I saw for myself a well-designed residential condominium with a hotel-like lobby and amenities, including an enticing swimming pool. I visited the penthouse unit, which had its own pool and a view of the moon and the stars at night.

I also checked out a smaller, perhaps 80-square-meter unit with three bedrooms, including a helper’s quarters, which had its own toilet and bath. The unit’s layout is well thought out, with every square meter put to good use.

Government as partner

Using Arch. Yu’s pioneering concept, the government can spearhead the development of affordable residential condominiums for the working class to address the housing backlog.

The DHSUD, led by Secretary Jose Acuzar, could subsidize the land costs to make it more affordable for more Filipinos to own their homes, as is done in Singapore and Japan.

The projects can be developed in areas near Filipinos’ workplaces – for example, in industrial zones or provinces.

This way, it’s not only the super-rich who can afford to buy their own homes but also the middle class, including the lower middle class, who make up the working Filipinos.

“Access to housing should be everyone’s right,” Arch. Yu said in one of our chats. I strongly agree.

Now retired in his 80s, he is happy and fulfilled with the build-to-own projects he has developed, hearing from his satisfied homebuyers, some of whom have even bought multiple units in his Fort Bonifacio developments.

The government could surely take inspiration from this method, building homes at lower cost – not necessarily in the now very expensive Fort Bonifacio area.

During the time of president Ramon Magsaysay, the government developed housing projects in Quezon City, drawing from a similar program of president Manuel Quezon, who wanted to entice people to move into what was then a new city.

Hundreds of homes were built and then raffled off to blue-collar workers under an installment payment plan. My maternal grandmother is among the beneficiaries of that housing project.

Today, some of these homes still stand, found in Project 2, 4, 8, etc., areas named after the projects themselves.

The government must strive to provide similar housing projects again. It is, after all, its duty to provide Filipinos access to livable homes, where they can grow their families and nurture their dreams.

Now, wouldn’t that be a good legacy for the government to bequeath to its citizens?

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter  @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.