The core: Philippine property’s most overlooked strength
(First of two parts)
In fitness, there is a part of the body that rarely gets the attention it deserves.
It is not the biceps that people flex in the mirror. It is not the shoulders that make a shirt look good. It is not even the chest that tends to get the most attention in a workout. It is the core.
The abdominal and surrounding muscles may not always be the most visible, but they perform some of the body’s most important functions. They help stabilize the body, maintain posture and balance, transfer strength from one part of the body to another and allow us to lift, bend, twist and move efficiently.
When the core is weak, even a body that looks strong on the outside can become vulnerable.
Focusing on core
I believe Philippine real estate works much the same way.
We tend to look at the property sector through its most visible parts: Luxury towers, premium subdivisions, masterplanned townships, office developments and large projects that dominate skylines and advertisements. These are important. They attract capital, create jobs, generate economic activity and contribute significantly to the country’s growth.
But if we want to understand what gives Philippine property its long-term strength, stability and resilience through economic cycles, we need to look at the part that receives less attention.
We need to look at the core. And that core is housing that ordinary Filipino households can realistically afford and finance.
Real strength
At its core, Philippine real estate is about households: How many Filipino families need homes? How many can afford them? How many can secure financing? And how many can sustain ownership over the long term?
Latest estimates from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) offer an important starting point. Under its refined framework for 2023 to 2028, it estimates total housing needs at about 2.9 million to 4.44 million units, depending on assumptions about household size.
The challenge, therefore, is to provide enough decent and attainable housing for a growing population and for families whose current housing remains inadequate.
This gives the affordable and middle-market segments an importance that extends well beyond any property cycle. These are the homes sought by young professionals starting their careers, families moving from renting to owning, overseas Filipino workers turning years of remittances into a permanent asset and entrepreneurs building greater security for their families.
Collectively, these homes give the housing market its depth. That is what a strong core does: it provides the foundation that allows everything else to function.
Housing is an economic activity
The importance of housing is also visible in the country’s construction data.
According to the PSA, 117,832 residential construction projects were approved in 2025, representing 64.8 percent of all approved construction projects in the country. Residential construction was valued at P253.64 billion, or 42.2 percent of the total value of approved construction.
There is an important detail within those numbers: Of these projects, 100,552—or 85.3 percent—were single-type houses. That tells us something about how broad the housing story really is.
Beyond towers, large developers and premium developments, much of the country’s residential activity happens at the household level. A family building a house is participating in the property economy—so is the developer constructing a subdivision, the contractor pouring concrete, the hardware store supplying materials, the bank financing the purchase, the broker facilitating the transaction, and the furniture company furnishing the new home.
Housing creates a chain of economic activity that extends far beyond the property itself. Housing is essentially economic activity wearing a roof.
Once families settle in their homes, another ecosystem begins to form around them. A grocery store becomes viable. A pharmacy opens. Restaurants, schools, daycare centers, small businesses and service providers follow. This makes housing one of the most consequential forms of economic infrastructure we have.
Financially sustainable
Housing demand, however, does not always translate into actual buying power. People may want homes without being able to afford them. This is where income, property prices and financing become critical.
The PSA’s 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey estimated average annual family income at P353,230, while average annual family expenditure stood at P258,050. These figures remind us that the economics of homeownership begin with household cash flow.
If the monthly obligation exceeds a household’s sustainable capacity, the property is not truly affordable for that household. The real calculation includes purchase price, financing cost, transportation, utilities, maintenance and even time.
A P3-million home that requires a household to spend several hours a day commuting may ultimately cost more in financial, physical and human terms than a slightly more expensive home closer to employment, schools and transportation.
Affordability is therefore multidimensional. It is about whether a household can acquire a home and continue living well afterward. That is a much more meaningful definition of affordability. Financing is where aspiration becomes effective demand. So this is why housing finance is so important.
The Philippines does not simply have a housing-supply challenge. It has an affordability and financing challenge. We need homes that people can afford and financial systems that allow qualified households to purchase them.
(To be continued)
