A group of developers asked the Board of Investments to adjust the threshold on socialized housing projects to P4.2 million from P2.4 million, following the unabated increase in construction and labor costs over the last 10 years.
Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc. president Leonardo Dayao said the proposed threshold is aligned with recommended ceiling proposed by the National Economic and Development Authority at P4.28 million in order for developers to keep their prices within the affordable limits of consumers.
“In fairness to the BOI, they are receptive in reviewing our petition. Right now, the price ceiling for incentives, in terms of housing, is P2 million, but we are proposing a much higher ceiling of P4.2 million. It can be reasonably concluded that keeping the threshold for mass housing at the P2 million is no longer reflective of the current indices, and the rising costs of construction materials, labor, and land,” he said during the launch of the Philippine Furnitures Furnishings Market 2023.
Developers said that comparing the prices from 2018 to 2022, wholesale prices of construction materials increased by an average of 14 percent, based on the Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index. Along with the increase in the cost of construction materials is the rise in the cost of labor and the zonal values of residential areas in highly-urbanized cities, they said.