Philippine construction activity, based on approved building permits, fell 22.6 percent in October 2025 from a year ago, continuing a downtrend as both residential and non-residential projects declined.
Total constructions reached 12,705 in October, down from 16,405 in the same period last year. This followed an 18.5-percent annual decrease recorded in September 2025.
Residential projects, which made up more than three-fifths of the total, led the decline with a 27.4 percent drop to 7,900 units. Within the residential sector, single-type houses remained the most common project, accounting for 6,847 units or 86.7 percent of the category.
Non-residential constructions fell 6.6 percent to 3,097 units, representing 24.4 percent of the total. Commercial buildings comprised the majority of these projects at 2,032 units. Other categories including additions, alterations and repairs, and miscellaneous constructions also saw annual decreases of 54.1 percent, 14.6 percent, and 16.0 percent respectively.
The total value of construction projects in October 2025 also dropped 13.5 percent to P43.63 billion from P50.45 billion a year ago. Despite the lower volume, non-residential buildings accounted for P22.84 billion or 52.4 percent of the total value.
Institutional buildings represented the highest value within this segment at P9.07 billion. Residential construction value fell 31.2 percent to P15.20 billion, with single-type houses contributing P11.37 billion.
While the overall value of new projects fell, spending on existing structures showed resilience. Alterations and repairs rose 35.6 percent in value to P4.27 billion, while other constructions grew 57.0 percent to P1.09 billion. The value of additions to existing buildings plunged 50.3 percent to P0.23 billion.
Total floor area for the month was recorded at 3.48 million square meters, a 20.2-percent decrease from 4.36 million square meters in October 2024. Non-residential projects accounted for 2.19 million square meters, while residential projects totaled 1.26 million square meters.
Average construction costs rose 2.8 percent to P10,980.98 per square meter from P10,679.13 in the previous year. Residential buildings saw the highest average cost at P12,078.24 per square meter, led by residential condominiums which averaged P20,721.82 per square meter.
Non-residential costs averaged P10,366.65 per square meter, led by institutional buildings at P15,147.71 per square meter.
