Every Filipino dreams of home ownership. However, housing requires a hefty price, which many Filipinos cannot afford. This is evident in the country’s huge housing backlog, which is estimated at 6.5 million units.
Fortunately, efforts are being made by both the government as well as the property developers to support more Filipinos to achieve their goal of home ownership.
A key initiative in this area is socialized housing. Socialized housing encompasses housing programs and projects that provide houses, lots, and residential condominiums for underprivileged and homeless citizens. The government or private sector carries out these initiatives and includes site development and long-term financing options.
Under Republic Act 10884 or the Amended Balanced Housing Act, subdivision developers are required to develop socialized housing equivalent to 15 percent of their main project’s total area or cost and five percent for condominium developers.
According to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), socialized subdivision projects are those that cost no more than P850,000 with a minimum floor area of 28 square meters with a loft of at least 50 percent of the base structure or 32 sqm, subject to existing rules and regulations.
In contrast, socialized condominium projects are those priced at P933,320 for 22 sqm; P1,060,591 for 25 sqm, and P1,145,438 for 27 sqm for a four-storey building. For projects composed of five to nine storeys, the pricing is P1 million for 22 sqm; P1,136,364 for 25 sqm and P1,227,273 for 27sqm, and for 10 floors above projects, 22 sqm units cost P1,320,000; 25 sqm at P1,500,000 and 27 sqm at P1,620,000, according to the DHSUD.
It added that with the inclusion of land development cost, socialized condominium projects’ price ceiling is set at a maximum of P1,800,000.
Better Socialized Housing Delivery Sought
Last month, the House of Representatives approved on final reading House Bill (HB) 10772, which seeks to improve the delivery of socialized housing programs.
HB 10772, which seeks to amend pertinent sections of R.A. 7279, aims to make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to the underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas.
Among the amendments pushed by the bill is the addition of direct purchase and unsolicited proposals as modes of land acquisition for socialized housing.
The bill also seeks to institutionalize incentivized compliance as a mode of compliance with the balanced housing program and simplify local government unit requirements to hasten the delivery of housing units to their intended beneficiaries.
Affordable Home Loans from Pag-IBIG
As heavy payments come with purchasing a home, availing of financing options offered by housing-oriented government agencies can help you lessen the load.
One agency that offers housing loans for minimum-wage and low-income earners is the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG with its Pag-IBIG Fund Affordable Housing Loan Program which is designed for minimum-wage and low-income members who earn up to P15,000 a month within the National Capital Region (NCR) and earn up to P12,000 per month outside the NCR.
Under the loan program, Pag-IBIG Fund offers loans up to P580,000 in socialized subdivision projects and special low rates for home loans of up to P750,000 for socialized condominium projects.
The loan program has a maximum payment period of 30 years, but should not exceed the difference between 70 and the present age of the principal borrower.
In 2023, Pag-IBIG financed 11,257 socialized housing units, which accounted for 12 percent of P126.04 billion home loans released by the agency last year.
Other Gov’t Financing Options
Aside from Pag-IBIG, another government agency offering financing options for housing is the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) and the Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC).
The NHMFC is mandated to increase the availability of affordable housing loans to finance Filipino homebuyers on their acquisition of housing units through the development and operation of a secondary market for home mortgages.
A key program of the NHMFC is the Socialized Housing Loan Takeout of Receivables (SHeLTeR) program which aims to purchase socialized housing loan receivables from socialized housing developers as well as microfinance institutions, cooperatives, LGUs, national government agencies, and civic organizations.
The SHeLTeR Program offers more affordable terms as it targets the socialized housing market. Under the program, the agency can purchase up to 100 percent of the appraised value of a property.
With various financing options offered by government agencies coupled with other programs aimed at addressing the country’s housing backlog, more Filipinos will be aided in their dream of being homeowners.
