SHDA seeks review of price ceiling for socialized housing

CEBU, Philippines — The Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) is reiterating its call to the government to review the price ceiling adjustments for the socialized housing segment.

SHDA president May Rodriguez said socialized segment accounts for the bigger slice in the housing demand, explaining further that adjustments are much urgent as this will affect the supply and production of housing stocks.

To foster renewed commitment to addressing the housing backlog, raising the price ceiling for socialized, economic, and low-cost housing units has always been one of the advocacies of SHDA.

“The organization believes that increasing the price ceiling attracts more developers to produce units under economic and socialized housing,” she added. 

This essential strategy will help wipe out the housing backlog in the Philippines, which is forecast to reach 6.57 million by 2030. If neglected, it is expected that the housing need of the Philippines will hit over 22 million by 2040. To close the gap, the industry needs to build 250,000 houses a year.

According to SHDA, the housing sector is a great avenue to quickly bounce back from the pandemic slump hand in hand with the government’s Build, Build, Build Program.

Boosting the industry will also spur countryside economic development, bringing in a more balanced regional distribution of population and regional economic growth and development.

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and  the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) recently signed the joint approval on the adjustment of the price ceiling for economic housing from P1.7 million to P2.5 million.

The resolution states that for the projects with existing licenses to sell, the new price ceiling will be applied to unconstructed economic housing units, while unsold units have to sustain the old price ceiling.

The private sector welcomes this move as it has earlier espoused the adjustments in the price ceiling because of the increases in costs for all the inputs to production i.e land, labor, construction materials, and all the other costs of doing business.

Correspondingly, SHDA has been requesting the DHSUD for the immediate issuance of the Department Order which will outline the implementation of the said adjustments.