Number of constructions during the Fourth Quarter of 2017 up by 3.6 percent

1. Total number of constructions in the Fourth Quarter of 2017 reached 33,445, according to the preliminary results of construction statistics from approved building permits. This reflects an increase of 3.6 percent from the 32,282 constructions recorded during the same quarter in 2016.

2. The number of residential building constructions declined by 4.3 percent to 23,693 from 24,752 reported during the same period of 2016. All types of residential constructions except other residential showed decrements in number as follows: residential condominiums (46.6%), apartment/accessoria (10.2%), single-type houses (3.5%) and duplex/quadruplex  (4.0%).

3. Meanwhile, non-residential constructions posted 23.2 percent increase from 3,981 recorded during the same period of previous year to 4,903 projects. The growth was brought about by the increase in number of constructions of the following: agricultural buildings with 281 (51.1%), commercial buildings with 3,129 (25.9%) other non-residential type of constructions, 109 (22.5%), industrial buildings with 554 (14.2%) and institutional building 830 (12.8%).

4. Additions to existing structures increased by 30.1 percent to 1,149 projects from 888 recorded during the same period of 2016. Likewise, combined number of alterations and repairs of existing structures increased by 38.8 percent with 3,700 from 2,666 recorded of previous year.

Figure 1 compares the number of constructions by type for the Fourth Quarters of 2017 and 2016.

5. The top five regions, in terms of number of constructions, comprised 56.5 percent of the total. CALABARZON led other regions where a total of 7,292 (21.8%) constructions were registered. Central Luzon ranked second with 3,611 (10.8%) constructions. Other regions in the top five in the Fourth Quarter of 2017 were:

• Region VII (Central Visayas) with 2,804 (8.4%) constructions
• National Capital Region (NCR)  with 2,625 (7.8%) constructions
• Davao Region with 2,575 (7.7%) constructions

Figure 2 shows the distribution of constructions by region.

6. At the provincial level, the top ten provinces in terms of the number of construction projects accounted for 44.3 percent of the total. Cavite topped the list of provinces with 3,129 (9.4%) constructions, followed by Batangas and Cebu with respective shares of 1,636 (4.9%) and 1,593 (4.8%) constructions. Completing the top ten provinces with the most number of constructions are:

• Iloilo with 1,378 (4.1%) constructions
• Davao del Sur with 1,297 (3.9%) constructions
• Laguna with 1,252 (3.7%) constructions
• Fourth District of NCR with 1,221 (3.7%) constructions
• Bohol with 1,168 (3.5%) constructions
• Bulacan with 1,081 (3.2%) constructions
• Davao del Sur with 1,070 (3.2%) constructions

7. Iloilo and Pampanga climbed to 4^th and 10^th place respectively displacing Negros Oriental and Leyte in the top ten provinces in the Fourth Quarter of 2017.

Total value of constructions slightly declines by 0.9 percent

8. Total value of constructions estimated at PHP81.7 billion was lower by 0.9 percent compared with PHP82.4 billion recorded during the Fourth Quarter of 2016.

9. Residential constructions valued at PHP41.6 billion decreased by 12.4 percent from PHP47.5 billion recorded during the same quarter of 2016. This was attributed to the decline in construction values of residential condominiums (31.6%), and single house type of construction (4.5%).

10. Construction value of non-residential buildings amounting to PHP34.7 billion increased by 19.6 percent compared with PHP29.0 billion recorded during the fourth quarter of previous year. This was due to the increase in the construction values of other non-residential (91.1%) agricultural (63.5%), commercial (26.1%), and institutional (20.1%) buildings.

11. Similarly, construction values for addition to existing structures at PHP1.2 billion increased by 66.3 percent from PHP0.7 billion recorded during the same period in 2016. Combined construction values of alteration and repair of existing structures estimated at  PHP4.2 billion declined by 19.6 percent compared with PHP5.2 billion recorded in the same quarter 2016.

Figure 3 compares the value of constructions by type for the Fourth Quarters of 2017 and 2016.

12. In terms of value of construction, the share of the top five regions amounting to PHP59.0 billion comprised 72.3 percent of the total. NCR, ranking third in the number of constructions projects, however, occupied the top slot in terms of value of construction estimated at about PHP22.7 billion or 27.8 percent of the total. Other regions in the top five list for the Fourth Quarter of 2017 were:

• CALABARZON, PHP13.8 billion (16.8%)
• Central Visayas, PHP9.3 billion (11.4%)
• Central Luzon, PHP7.8 billion (9.6%)
• Davao Region, PHP5.5 billion (6.7%)

Average cost per square meter of residential-type construction decreases by 11.2 percent

13. Average cost per square meter of residential constructions for the Fourth Quarter of 2017 was estimated at PHP10,777, lower by 11.2 percent compared with previous year’s average cost of PHP10,514. This was brought about by the decreases in the average cost per square meter of residential condominiums (26.4%), single house type (3.4%) and duplex/quardruplex (3.3%).

14. Single-type houses numbering to 20,168 projects dominated all other types of residential constructions comprising 85.1 percent of the total. Total value of construction for this type amounted to PHP19.4 billion covering a total floor area of 2.1 million square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP9,320.

15. Apartment/accessoria-type units with 3,079 projects or 13.0 percent of the total residential constructions. This type of construction valued at PHP7.7 billion had a total floor area of 836.05 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP9,252.

16. Duplex/quadruplex-type dwellings came in next with 314 projects, sharing 1.3 percent of the total residential constructions. Construction value for this type amounted to PHP0.5 billion with a total floor area of 53.0 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP9,664.

17. Residential condominiums numbering to only 31 projects made up of only 0.1 percent of the total. Total value of construction for this type amounted to PHP13.7 billion with a total floor area of 870.6 thousand square meters or an average cost of PHP15,701 per square meter.

Figure 4 displays the number and value of residential constructions by type for the Fourth Quarter of 2017.

Average cost per square meter of non-residential constructions is PHP9,299

18. Average cost per square meter of non-residential construction was recorded at PHP9,299. This figure was 3.5 percent lower than the PHP9,634 recorded value during the same period of 2016. The decline was attributed to the drop in average cost per square meter of industrial (12.8%) and commercial (7.7%). On the other hand, an increase on the average cost per square meter for agricultural 36.4 and institutional constructions 2.1 percent were recorded.

19. Among non-residential constructions, commercial-type buildings recorded the most number with 3,129 or 63.8 percent of the total. Construction value for this type was estimated at PHP21.2 billion with a total floor area of 2.0 million square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP10,420.

20. Institutional-type buildings distantly followed with 830 or 16.9 percent of the total. This type of construction valued at PHP7.0 billion had a total floor area of 639.8 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP11,007.

21. Industrial-type buildings came in next with 554 (11.3%) units. Total construction value for this type was estimated at PHP5.0 billion with a total floor area of 788.4 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP6,287.

22. Agricultural-type buildings recorded the least number with 281 or 5.7 percent of the total. Construction value for this type amounted to PHP1.4 billion with a total floor area of 273.9 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP5,051.

Figure 5 shows the number and value of non-residential constructions by type for the Fourth Quarter of 2017.

CONSTRUCTION STATISTICS FROM APPROVED BUILDING PERMITS

Introduction

This Special Release presents the preliminary data on construction statistics from approved building permits for the fourth quarter of 2017, generated 60 calendar days after the reference quarter.

For this publication, data for the provinces of Mountain Province, Sulu, Tawi-tawi and Lanao del Sur are not included in the tabulation as these provinces did not submit any approved building permit before the generation of preliminary tables. However, if any, these are to be included in the annual tabulation.

Data are presented at the provincial level by type of construction in Tables 1 to 7.  Data for Negros Island Region, comprising the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, are also included in this publication.

Scope and Coverage

Construction statistics from approved building permits relate to administrative-based data on new constructions and additions, alterations and repairs of existing residential and non-residential buildings and other structures proposed to be constructed in all cities and municipalities of the country in a specific period.

Sources of Information

Construction statistics are compiled by the Philippine Statistics Authority from the copies of original application forms of approved building permits as well as from the demolition and fencing permits collected every month by PSA field personnel from the Offices of Local Building Officials (LBOs) nationwide.

Limitations

1. Data on building constructions refer to those approved applications during the reference period and not to construction work completed during the reference period.

2. The completeness of the number of building permits collected relies on the approval of applications filed with the LBOs. Hence, private building constructions without approved building permits are excluded in the tabulation of data.

3. For this quarter, a total of 534 out of 1,634 cities/municipalities in the country reported that there were no approved building permits for the quarter.

 Geographic Classification

Building constructions are classified and presented by geographic area using the Philippine Standard Geographic Classification (PSGC) as of December 2016. The PSGC contains the latest updates on the official number of regions, provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays in the Philippines.

Industry Classification

Construction statistics utilizes the 2009 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC) to identify the industrial classification of the structure proposed for construction through its use or character of occupancy.

Collection

The number of building permit forms accomplished by the applicant comes in five (5) copies. The “NSO copy” of the approved building permit is made available within the first five (5) working days after each reference month. Collections of these documents from the LBO in city/municipality are undertaken by PSA field personnel within this period.

Collected documents for each month are properly checked as to its completeness by verifying the beginning and ending numbers indicated in the permit numbers. Missing numbers are indicated, with corresponding reasons, in the transmittal. In cases where there is no construction in a given month in a municipality, a certification that there was no approved building permit during the reference period is provided by the LBO to the PSA field staff.

Data Processing

Data processing of approved building permits is done both manually and mechanically. Copies of documents collected from the offices of LBOs are properly controlled, sorted, edited and coded, folioed and encoded in the PSA provincial offices. During machine validation, inconsistent and invalid entries which are flagged in an error listing are corrected in the data file. This process is repeated until there are no more inconsistent or erroneous entries found in the error listing. The data files are then forwarded to PSA Central Office for validation, consolidation and generation of preliminary tables. Data files received after the cut-off dates of submission set for each quarter are included in the generation of annual tables.

Preliminary results are based from data files that have undergone data processing in the provincial offices and have been validated at the Central Office. The preliminary tables are revised to include building permit documents received after the cut-off period in the annual tabulation. 

Statistics Generated

Construction statistics generated from approved building permits provide monthly administrative-based data on building construction at the municipality level nationwide. Statistics generated are the following:

• number
• floor area
• type of construction
• value of construction

Statistical Tables

The statistical tables are presented at the regional and provincial levels by type of construction and by period according to form of ownership. 

Unpublished Data

Aside from the preliminary tables posted in the PSA website, annual, quarterly and monthly statistical tables at the municipality level by type of construction and by form of ownership are available at the Industry Statistics Division of the PSA.

Other special tabulations may also be made available upon request, addressed to the National Statistician, Philippine Statistics Authority, 2^nd  Floor TAM Building, East Avenue, Quezon City.

Dissemination

Preliminary and final results of construction statistics generated from approved building permits are made public in the form of Quarterly Special Releases posted in the PSA website (www.psa.gov.ph) 65 calendar days after the reference quarter and Annual Special Release, eight months after the reference year, respectively. The Quarterly Special Releases are reports containing the preliminary results of construction statistics generated 60 days after the reference quarter while the Annual Special Release is a consolidated report of the quarterly preliminary data incorporating documents which are submitted after the cut-off dates for each quarter.

Definition of Terms (Adopted from the Revised and Updated IRR of the National Building Code)

Building permit is a written authorization granted by the LBO to an applicant allowing him to proceed with the construction of a specific project after plans, specifications and other pertinent documents have been found to be in conformity with the National Building Code (PD 1096).

Building refers to any independent, free-standing structure comprised of one or more rooms or other spaces, covered by a roof and enclosed with external walls or dividing walls, which extend from the foundation to the roof.

Construction refers to all on-site work done from site preparation, excavation, foundation, assembly of all the components and installation of utilities, machineries and equipment of buildings/structures.

Residential building is a building for which its major parts or more than half of its gross floor area is built for dwelling purposes. This type of building can be of the single type, duplex, an apartment and/or accessoria and residential condominium.

Single house is a complete structure intended for a single family or household, i.e. bungalow, 2-storey house, nipa hut.

Duplex house is a structure intended for two households, with complete living facilities for each; it is a single structure divided into two dwelling units by a wall extending from the floor to the ceiling.

Apartment is a structure, usually of two storeys, made up of independent living quarters, with independent entrances from internal walls and courts.

Accesoria is a one or two-floor structure divided into several dwelling units, each dwelling unit having its own separate entrance from the outside.

Residential condominium is a structure, usually of several storeys, consisting of multiple dwelling units.

Other residential construction consists of school or company staff houses, living quarters for drivers and maids, and guardhouses.

Non-residential building includes commercial, industrial, agricultural and institutional buildings.

Commercial buildings refer to office buildings and all buildings which are intended for use primarily in wholesale, retail and service trades; i.e. stores, hotels, restaurants, banks, disco houses, etc.

Industrial buildings are all buildings used to house the production, assembly and warehousing activities of industrial establishments; i.e. factories, plants, mills, repair shops, machine shops, printing press, storage plant, electric generating plants.

Institutional buildings are buildings which primarily engaged in providing educational instructions and hospital/health care; ports, airports and other government buildings; i.e. school, museums, libraries, sanitaria, churches, hospitals.

Agricultural buildings are buildings used to house livestock, plants and agricultural products such as barn, poultry house, piggeries, stables, greenhouses and grain mill.

Other non-building constructions include cemetery structures, street furniture, waiting sheds, communication towers, etc.

Addition refers to any new construction which increases the height or area of an existing building/structure.

Repair is a remedial work done on any damaged or deteriorated portion/s of a building/structure to restore its original condition.

Renovation is any physical change made on structures to increase the value, quality and to improve the aesthetic.

Alteration is a construction in a building/structure involving changes in the materials used, partitioning and location/size of openings, structural parts, existing utilities and equipment but does not increase the overall area thereof.

Conversion is a change in the use or occupancy of structure or any portion thereof, which has different requirements.

Demolitions refer to the systematic dismantling or destruction of a building/structure, in whole or in part.

Street furniture are street structures consisting of monuments, waiting sheds, benches, plant boxes, lampposts, electric poles and telephone poles.

Floor area of building refers to the sum of the area of each floor of the building measured to the outer surface of the outer walls including the area of lobbies, cellars, elevator shafts and all communal spaces in multi-dwellings. Areas of balconies are excluded.

Total value of construction refers to the sum of the cost of building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and others. The value is derived from the approved building permit and represents the estimated value of the building or structure when completed