Number of constructions during the second quarter of 2017 drop by 9.2 percent

1. Total number of constructions in the second quarter of 2017 reached 35,983, according to the preliminary results of construction statistics from approved building permits. This reflects a decrease of 9.2 percent from the 39,635 constructions recorded during the same quarter in 2016.

2. The number of residential building constructions declined by 11.7 percent to 26,827 from 30,366 reported during the same period of 2016. All types of residential constructions except duplex/quadruplex showed decrements in number as follows: residential condominiums (45.7%), apartment/accessoria (19.9%), other residential constructions (12.8%), and single-type houses (11.0%).

3. Meanwhile, non-residential constructions posted 6.9 percent increase from 4,548 recorded during the same period of previous year to 4,861 projects. The growth was brought about by the increase in number of constructions of the following: other non-residential type of constructions, 145 (15.1%), commercial buildings with 3,026 (13.1%), industrial buildings with 564 (5.4%) and agricultural buildings with 222 (2.8%).

4. Additions to existing structures declined by 16.3 percent to 1,208 projects from 1,444 recorded during the same period of 2016. Likewise, combined number of alterations and repairs of existing structures decreased by 5.8 percent with 3,087 from 3,277 recorded of previous year.

Figure 1 compares the number of constructions by type for the second quarters of 2017 and 2016.

5. The top five regions, in terms of number of constructions, comprised 59.2 percent of the total. CALABARZON led other regions where a total of 9,448 (26.3%) constructions were registered. Central Luzon ranked second with 3,699 (10.3%) constructions. Other regions in the top five in the second quarter of 2017 were:

• National Capital Region (NCR) with 2,858 (7.9%) constructions
• Region VII (Central Visayas)  with 2,667 (7.4%) constructions
• Ilocos Region with 2,645 (7.4%) 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 45.7 percent of the total. Cavite topped the list of provinces with 4,089 (11.4%) constructions, followed by Batangas and Laguna with respective shares of 1,715 (4.8%) and 1,674 (4.7%) constructions. Completing the top ten provinces with the most number of constructions are:

• Cebu with 1,518 (4.2%) constructions
• Iloilo with 1,445 (4.0%) constructions
• Bulacan with 1,304 (3.6%) constructions
• Fourth District of NCR with 1,274 (3.5%) constructions
• Rizal with 1,272 (3.5%) constructions
• Bohol with 1,109 (3.1%) constructions
• Davao del Sur with 1,061 (2.9%) constructions

7. Rizal climbed to 8^th from 11^th place displacing Negros Oriental in the top ten provinces in the second quarter of 2017.

Total value of constructions declines by 35.1 percent

8. Total value of constructions estimated at PHP75.9 billion was lower by 35.1 percent compared with PHP116.9 billion recorded during the second quarter of 2016.

9. Residential constructions valued at PHP35.7 billion decreased by 29.8 percent from PHP50.8 billion recorded during the same quarter of 2016. This was attributed to the decline in construction values of residential condominiums (62.0%), duplex/quadruplex (17.8%) and apartment/accessoria (12.7%).

10. Construction value of non-residential buildings amounting to PHP33.8 billion also declined by 42.4 percent compared with PHP58.7 billion registered during the second quarter of previous year. This was due to the decrease in the construction values of industrial (59.8%), commercial (45.4%), agricultural (12.1%), and institutional (5.4%) buildings.

11. Combined construction values of alteration and repair of existing structures estimated at PHP5.4 billion declined by 8.4 percent compared with PHP5.9 billion recorded in the same quarter 2016. In like manner, construction values for addition to existing structures at PHP0.9 billion dropped by 39.2 percent from PHP1.5 billion recorded during the same period in 2016.

Figure 3 compares the value of constructions by type for the second quarters of 2017 and 2016.

12. In terms of value of construction, the share of the top five regions amounting to PHP56.0 billion comprised 73.9 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 PHP22.0 billion or 29.0 percent of the total. Other regions in the top five list for the second quarter of 2017 were:

• CALABARZON with PHP14.1 billion (18.6%)
• Central Visayas with PHP8.2 billion (10.8%)
• Central Luzon with PHP6.9 billion (9.1%)
• Davao Region with PHP4.9 billion (6.4%)

Average cost per square meter of residential-type construction decreases by 3.9 percent

13. Average cost per square meter of residential constructions for the second quarter of 2017 was estimated at PHP10,104, slightly lower by 3.9 percent compared with previous year’s average cost of PHP10,514.

14. Single-type houses numbering to 23,802 projects dominated all other types of residential constructions comprising 88.7 percent of the total. Total value of construction for this type amounted to PHP21.2 billion covering a total floor area of 2.4 million square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP8,939.

15. Apartment/accessoria-type units with 2,432 projects or 9.1 percent of the total residential constructions ranked second. This type of construction valued at PHP5.0 billion had a total floor area of 620.8 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP8,113.

16. Duplex/quadruplex-type dwellings came in next with 527 projects, sharing 2.0 percent of the total residential constructions. Construction value for this type amounted to PHP0.6 billion with a total floor area of 67.2 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP8,234.

17. Residential condominiums numbering to only 25 projects made up of only 0.1 percent of the total. Total value of construction for this type amounted to PHP8.8 billion with a total floor area of 464.2 thousand square meters or an average cost of PHP19,014 per square meter.

Figure 4 displays the number and value of residential constructions by type for the second quarter of 2016.

Average cost per square meter of non-residential constructions is PHP9,745

18. Average cost per square meter of non-residential construction was recorded at PHP9,745. This figure was 26.7 percent lower than the PHP13,286 recorded value during the same period of 2016. The decline was attributed to the dropped in average cost per square meter of industrial (51.7%), commercial (24.1%) and agricultural constructions (12.5%). On the other hand, average cost per square meter of institutional constructions increased by 3.6 percent.

19. Among non-residential constructions, commercial-type buildings recorded the most number with 3,026 or 62.3 percent of the total. Construction value for this type was estimated at PHP20.6 billion with a total floor area of 1.9 million square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP11,072.

20. Institutional-type buildings distantly followed with 904 or 18.6 percent of the total. This type of construction valued at PHP7.2 billion had a total floor area of 598.6 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP12,038.

21. Industrial-type buildings came in next with 564 (11.6%) units. Total construction value for this type was estimated at PHP4.9 billion with a total floor area of 824.0 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP6,004.

22. Agricultural-type buildings recorded the least number with 222 or 4.6 percent of the total. Construction value for this type amounted to PHP0.8 billion with a total floor area of 189.7 thousand square meters or an average cost per square meter of PHP4,301.

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

TECHNICAL NOTES

CONSTRUCTION STATISTICS FROM APPROVED BUILDING PERMITS

Introduction

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

For this publication, data for the provinces of Mountain Province, Sulu 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 the newly created 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 520 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, 3^rd Floor CVEA 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.