Building permit applications rise 9.3 percent

Okay, first off, let me apologize for the journalese headline. There's really no other way to write it except "More people putting up more buildings" or something like that. With that out of the way, let's get to the story at hand.

Well, this increase in building permit applications bodes well for the Philippine economy, particularly concerned industries such as real estate and construction. Despite fears that the global financial crisis is putting an end to the construction boom, the government, led by Vice President Noli de Castro, remains optimistic that the property sector can weather the storm and continue to grow.

Here's an excerpt from a Business Mirror article on De Castro's reaction:

Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council chairman Noli de Castro, reacting to the "boom's over" prognosis for the Philippine property sector, said the housing sector would be able to weather the global financial storm arising from the subprime problem in the United States.

De Castro made the rebuttal after the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines noted that the "boom's over" for the real estate industry in the Philippines, as indicated by the entry of speculation into the local property sector.

The Vice President explained that the growth of the real property sector in the Philippines was fueled by the favorable policy environment in the housing sector and the Filipinos' desire to own a home.

It seems that De Castro is right as the latest National Statistics Office report on private building construction shows.

The report says approved building permits nationwide have reached 25,145 in the second quarter of 2008, indicating an increase of 9.3 percent compared with 23,003 applications during the same period in 2007.

Similarly, an increase in applications for both residential and non-residential building construction have been observed.

"Residential building construction went up by 16.9 percent to 18,451 from 15,781 approved building permits during the same quarter of 2007. Non-residential constructions, likewise, increased by 7.5 percent to 2,707 from 2,518 recorded during the same quarter of 2007," the report adds.

Six provinces posted more than a thousand applications each. This list includes Bulacan, with 1,377 applications, Cavite (1,719), Laguna (1,014), Rizal (1,108), Cebu (1,069), and Davao del Sur (1,077).