The number of building constructions improved in September 2024, reaching 14,063 on a 4.4-percent growth from 13,475 in the same month last year.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that by type of construction, residential buildings reported the highest number at 9,354 or 66.5 percent of the total in September. It was up 10 percent from 8,501 constructions in September 2023.
Most residential constructions were single-type houses with 7,293 constructions (78.0 percent), the PSA said, based on building permits issued.
Non-residential constructions reached 2,987 or 21.2 percent of the total. This went down by 2.0 percent from a year earlier. Most of the non-residential constructions were commercial buildings with 1,989 constructions (67 percent).
Additions, which refer to any new construction that increases the height or area of an existing building, alteration and repair of existing structures, and other constructions contributed 3.2 percent, 7.1 percent, and 2.0 percent to the total number of constructions, respectively.
Compared with their respective numbers in the same period of the previous year, the annual rates for these types of construction declined by 19.3 percent for addition, 7.7 percent for alteration and repair, and 5.0 percent for other constructions.
The total value of constructions amounted to P40.34 billion in September 2024, an annual decline of 4.8 percent from P42.35 billion in the same month last year.
Residential building constructions valued at P18.97 billion accounted for almost half (47 percent) of the total value of constructions during the period. This represented a decline of 3.0 percent from P19.57 billion a year ago.
The construction value of non-residential buildings amounted to P18.61 billion or 46.1 percent of the total. This reflects an increase of 5.8 percent from P17.60 billion a year ago.
The total floor area of constructions was recorded at 3.11 million square meters in September, excluding alteration and repair, other non-residential such as facade, helipad, niche, water tank, etc., and other constructions, which include demolition, street furniture, landscaping, and signboards, since there is no reported floor area for these types of constructions.
The total floor area in September 2024 registered an annual decline of 1.8 percent from the recorded 3.16 million square meters floor area in the same period in 2023.
Residential constructions posted 1.55 million square meters or 49.9 percent of the total floor area of constructions in September. This reflects an annual decline of 3.7 percent from the floor area of residential constructions in the same month of 2023 at 1.61 million square meters.
Non-residential constructions recorded 1.52 million square meters or 49.0 percent of the total floor area and increased at an annual rate of 0.4 percent from the previous year’s 1.51 million square meters.
The average cost of construction in September 2024 was recorded at P12,192.54 per square meter. This was 2.8 percent higher than the average cost of P11,861.23 per square meter in September 2023.
