7 in 10 constructions are residential buildings

• In 2017, there were 1,303 new private constructions recorded in the Cordillera region in 2017. This was an increase of 8.4 percent from 2016 with 1,202 constructions. These constructions had a total area of 383,183 square meters worth PHP 4.7 billion

Figure 1. Percentage Distribution of Building Constructions by Type, CAR: 2017

• Residential houses shared 72.8 percent of the new building constructions for the year or 952 new buildings for dwelling purposes (Figure 1). These units costed PHP 2.7 billion with total floor area of 246,940 square meters.
• New non-residential buildings, shared 16.7 percent of the new building constructions. Alterations and repairs made up 7.0 percent while additions to existing buildings comprised 3.1 percent of the total constructions in the region. (Figure 1)
• More constructions (343 buildings) were approved in the last quarter of 2017, during the months of October, November and December, than in other quarters of the year (Figure 2). Approved constructions in each quarter shared more or less a quarter of the year’s figure, wherein the least number of approved constructions was in third quarter with 309.
• Two in three approved constructions (67.4 percent) in 2017 were located in Benguet province with 878 buildings (Figure 2). These constructions costed about PHP 4.1 billion with total floor area of 314,860 square meters.

Figure 2. Approved Building Constructions by Quarter and Province, CAR: 2017

Cost of residential buildings up by 35.2 percent

• Value of new residential buildings increased by 35.2 percent from PHP 1.9 million in 2016 even though the number of units only increased by 1.5 percent from 938 approved constructions in the previous year.

Figure 3. Distribution of Single Residential Building Constructions by Province, CAR: 2017

• Single occupancy units had the biggest share among residential buildings with 94.7 percent and with an accumulated floor area of 185,120 square meters and cost of nearly PHP 2.0 billion.
• New single residential buildings in Benguet province and Baguio City area amounted to Php 1.7 billion for 627 units in 2017 (Figure 3). This was 69.5 percent of the total single occupancy houses approved in the region.

New condominiums double cost of multiple occupancy residential units

• Additional of 49 units of multiple occupancy residential buildings were issued building permits in 2017. These had an accumulated value of PHP 720.4 million, almost twice the cost of approved constructions in 2016 (PHP 368 million).

Figure 4. Cost of Multiple Occupancy Residential Constructions by Type, CAR: 2017

• The cost of residential condominium units shared 65.2 percent to the total construction costs of multiple occupancy residential units or an aggregated value of PHP 469.8 million. This amount was a significant increase from previous year’s cost of PHP 38.6 million (Figure 4). However, apartments, duplex houses and similar constructions declined in number and cost in 2017.
• All new multiple occupancy units in 2017 were constructed in Baguio City and Benguet area, with exception to a PHP 4.2 million unit located in Ifugao with an estimated 447 square-meter floor area.

Non-residential building constructions value Php 1.6 billion

• Construction of new non-residential units across the region for the year was recorded at 219 buildings that costed Php1.6 billion and floor area of 121,080 square meters. These cover new constructions of commercial, industrial, institutional and agricultural buildings and other non-residential types (Figure 5).
• Commercial (55.3 percent) and institutional (34.7 percent) buildings comprised the majority of the non-residential constructions with value of
  PHP 747.1 million and PHP 738.9 million, respectively.

• Two in five non-residential units (43.4 percent) were situated in Baguio City and Benguet area with total cost of PHP 1.3 billion. The rest of the units were in Kalinga (23.3 percent), Apayao (16.0 percent), Ifugao (14.2 percent) and Abra (3.2 percent). No approved non-residential building constructions was recorded for Mountain Province in 2017

Two in five commercial buildings are intended for trade

• Stores made up 41.3 percent of the total non-residential units for construction in the region. These had an accumulated floor area of 12,981 square meters for 50 units that costed PHP 133.8 million. Among these units, 19 stores were built in Kalinga province, 16 in Ifugao, 10 in Benguet and Baguio City area, and 5 new units in Abra.
• There were recorded 19 units of buildings for accommodation, most of which (84.2 percent) were in Benguet province. The total approved construction amounted to PHP 434.4 million with combined floor area of 36,626 square meters.
• Two new banks were constructed in 2017 in CAR, particularly in Benguet province with estimated cost of PHP 2.6 million. Four new units of office buildings on the other hand were installed in Benguet and Kalinga provinces, with a total value of PHP 52.8 million.
• Another 46 constructions of other new commercial units with aggregated value of PHP 123.4 million were reported from all provinces, except Mountain Province.

Technical Notes

Residential building is a building for which its major parts or more than half of its gross floor area is built for dwelling purposes. This type of building can be of the single type, duplex, an apartment and/or accessoria and residential condominium.

Non-residential building includes these type commercial, industrial, agricultural and institutional buildings.

Addition refers to any new construction which increases the height or area of an existing building/structure.

Alteration is a construction in a building/structure involving changes in the materials used, partitioning and location/size of openings, structural parts, existing utilities and equipment but does not increase the overall area thereof.

Repair is a remedial work done on any damaged or deteriorated portion/s of a building/structure to restore its original condition.

Demolitions refer to the systematic dismantling or destruction of a building/structure or in part.

Street furnitures are street structures consisting of monuments, waiting sheds, benches, plant boxes, lampposts, electric poles and telephone poles.

Other non-building constructions include cemetery structures, street furniture, waiting sheds, communication towers, etc.

Single house is a complete structure intended for a single family or household, i.e. bungalow, 2-storey house, nipa hut.

Duplex house is a structure intended for two households, with complete living facilities for each; it is a single structure divided into two dwelling units by a wall extending from the floor to the ceiling.

Apartment is a structure, usually of two storeys, made up of independent living quarters, with independent entrances from internal walls and courts.

Accesoria is a one or two-floor structure divided into several dwelling units, each dwelling unit having its own separate entrance from the outside.

Residential condominium is a structure, usually of several storeys, consisting of multiple dwelling units.

Other residential constructions consist of school or company staff houses, living quarters for drivers and maids and guardhouses.

Commercial buildings refer to office buildings and all buildings which are intended for use primarily in wholesale, retail and service trades; i.e. stores, hotels, restaurants, banks, disco houses, etc.

Industrial buildings are all buildings used to house the production, assembly and warehousing activities of industrial establishments; i.e. factories, plants, mills, repair shops, machine shops, printing press, storage plant, electric generating plants.

Institutional buildings are buildings which primarily engaged in providing educational instructions and hospital/health care; ports, airports and other government buildings; i.e. school, museums, libraries, sanitaria, churches, hospitals.

Agricultural buildings are buildings used to house livestocks, plants and agricultural products such as barn, poultry house, piggeries, stables, greenhouses and grain mill.

Building permit is a written authorization granted by the Local Building Official (LBO) to an applicant allowing him to proceed with the construction of a specific project after plans, specifications and other pertinent documents have been found to be in conformity with the National Building Code (PD 1096).

Building refers to any independent, free-standing structure comprised of one or more rooms or other spaces, covered by a roof and enclosed with external walls or dividing walls, which extend from the foundation to the roof.

Construction refers to an all on-site work done from site preparation, excavation, foundation, assembly of all the components and installation of utilities and equipment of buildings/structures.

Floor area of building refers to the sum of the area of each floor of the building measured to the outer surface of the outer walls including the area of lobbies, cellars, elevator shafts and all communal spaces in multi-dwellings. Areas of balconies are excluded.

Total value of construction refers to the sum of the cost of building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and others. The value is derived from the approved building permit and represents the estimated value of the building or structure when completed.