Permit delays disrupt property launches

CEBU, Philippines — Delays in the issuance of government permits are forcing Philippine property developers to postpone project launches, raising the risk of tighter housing supply and weaker construction activity even as demand remains resilient.

Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) President and Chief Executive Officer Franco Soberano said delays in securing Licenses to Sell, or LTS, have effectively disrupted about a year’s worth of the developer’s planned launches, limiting the amount of new residential inventory it can bring to the market.

“The challenge … has really affected our one-year source of launches,” Soberano said during an online briefing for investors and analysts.

The bottleneck has consequences beyond developers’ sales pipelines, Soberano said, as delayed projects mean fewer orders for construction materials and fewer jobs generated by new developments.

The slowdown comes as the Philippine housing market continues to face a substantial supply gap. Soberano said more than 30,000 units are expected to be delivered across the market this year, underscoring the potential impact of delays in bringing additional projects online.

CLI is now preparing to accelerate launches after regulators reversed a move to centralize LTS reviews and returned the process to a decentralized system in recent weeks.

The company expects to launch four projects within the next month, including its Alto condominium project in Cebu, housing developments in Ormoc City and Bogo City, and an economic housing project in southern Cebu.

The Bogo development is aimed at meeting housing demand in the city, which was affected by last year’s earthquake. CLI’s economic housing projects are priced between about P3 million and P7 million, targeting middle- and lower-income households.

For developers, the ability to replenish inventory is critical as regulatory delays can push back sales, construction schedules and the deployment of capital.

The issue has also prompted broader concern across the property industry.

Anthony Leuterio, national president of A Better Real Estate Philippines, said the pace of LTS approvals has fallen sharply. He said only about 93 permits had been issued so far this year, compared with roughly 800 to 900 in 2025.

The LTS, issued by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, is required before developers can legally market and sell subdivision lots and condominium units.

“We have to push this because they are very slow in processing LTS,” Leuterio said. “They need to catch up because there will be an issue on the economic side.”

A prolonged slowdown could result in a widening mismatch between housing demand and new supply, with knock-on effects on construction employment, building-material demand and government revenues from taxes and fees, Leuterio said.

The concern extends beyond the property industry. Real estate and construction generate activity across a wide network of contractors, architects, engineers, brokers, suppliers and transport providers, making project delays a potential drag on broader economic activity.

Colliers Philippines has also identified LTS processing as a key regulatory risk for the residential market.

Joey Roi Bondoc, head of research at Colliers Philippines, said developers cannot market residential projects until an LTS is secured, effectively keeping completed plans and capital commitments in the regulatory pipeline.

“The LTS issue would be a major concern,” Bondoc said.

Slower approvals could restrict the number of projects entering the market, potentially putting further pressure on residential prices as developers contend with higher land and construction costs.

“You’re restricting the available supply in the market,” Bondoc said. “If you don’t build now, how can you entice potential buyers?”

The delays also have financial implications for developers, potentially postponing revenue generation while capital remains tied up in projects awaiting regulatory clearance. For an industry already managing higher development costs, extended approval periods can affect investment timing and project economics.

Bondoc said faster processing would allow developers to expand their project pipelines across price segments, giving buyers more choices while helping address the country’s housing shortage.

“We need to launch more projects and approve more Licenses to Sell because more options in the market will benefit both developers and buyers,” he said.

For CLI, the immediate priority is to make up for delayed launches and convert projects held back by the approval bottleneck into new inventory.

Soberano said the company remains confident in the regulatory process and expects the return to decentralized reviews to improve processing times.

“We’re just happy that we can restart and then bring that new inventory,” he said.

The resumption of launches comes at a critical juncture for the Philippine housing market. If approvals accelerate, developers could begin rebuilding their pipelines and releasing projects that have been held back. If delays persist, however, the resulting supply constraints could increasingly weigh on housing affordability, construction activity and investment.