Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s housing sector remains “very vibrant,” according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
The housing sector continues to thrive despite the adverse impact of the pandemic on the national economy, Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said.
It remains on track and is performing well despite the health crisis, he added.
The housing production has been posting an average surge of 15 percent since 2016, he cited.
It peaked in 2019, he said.
Del Rosario said they earlier expected another 15 percent increase in 2020 but the Covid-19 situation slowed down the production.
“But surprisingly, in 2021, figures showed that the housing production went up higher than during the period of 2019’s first semester,” he noted.
More Filipinos tend to buy housing units than save their money in the banks, he said.
“The housing sector is very vibrant in 2021. And we did this through helping housing developers. We adopted various intervention to be able to resume construction,” he said.
The housing czar dismissed claims that the housing sector is experiencing a “crisis” amid the pandemic.
“Actually, it is not actually the crisis. We see that reality on the ground,” he said.
“Housing is capital intensive. We need funds. We have been saying that we need at least P50 billion a year to build (homes) and transfer the informal settler families to safer grounds,” he added.