Constructions in the region increase by 9.9%

• The total number of private constructions for the year 2019 in the region reached 1,526, higher by 9.9 percent from 1,388 constructions recorded in 2018. These constructions had a total value of 7.5 billion and with total floor area of 639,328 square meters.
• In 2019, CAR shared 0.9 percent to the country’s total number of private constructions.

Table 1. Number, Floor Area, and Value of Construction, CAR: 2019 and 2018

Benguet tops number of building constructions in 2019

• Among the provinces in the region, Benguet including Baguio City recorded the highest number of constructions with 915 units or 60.0 percent share to the region’s construction, followed by Apayao with 262 units, and Kalinga with 246 units. The three provinces with the least number of constructions were Ifugao with 52 units, Mountain Province with 26 units, and Abra with 25 units.

Figure 1. Percentage of Construction Activities, CAR: 2019

Construction cost at PhP 11,723 per square meter

• The region’s total average cost per square meter of constructions in 2019 was PhP 11,723.00. This was a 1.4 percent decrease from the PhP 11,886 average cost per square meter recorded in 2018.

Figure 2. Average Cost of Construction, CAR: 2019 and 2018

7 out of 10 constructions are residential dwellings

• Across all types of constructions, residential constructions recorded the highest number of 1,110 or 72.7 percent share of the total constructions in the region. This meant a growth rate of 11.2 percent from the 998 residential constructions reported in 2018.
• Aside from residential construction that posted a positive growth rate, increases were also recorded for the following types of constructions: non-residential with 293 constructions, alteration and repair with 104 constructions, and street furniture/landscaping/signboard with 15 constructions.
• Addition, a type of construction that refers to any new construction that increases the height or area of an existing building, and alteration and repair of existing structures, posted a negative growth rate with 19 constructions recorded in 2019 from 27 constructions in 2018.

Most residential constructions are single-type houses built mostly in Benguet

• Among residential constructions, single-type house recorded the highest share with 93.1 percent (1,033 constructions) of the total residential constructions. This was followed by apartment/accessoria with 63 constructions, residential condominiums with five constructions, and other types of residential constructions with two units.

Figure 3. Percentage of Residential Constructions by Type, CAR: 2019

• Most of the single-type houses were built in Benguet with 659 building permits, followed by Apayao with 204. Mountain Province recorded the least number of single-type constructions with three buildings.
• In 2019, only Benguet including Baguio City were able to record building permits to construct duplex/quadruplex, residential condominiums, and other residential buildings.

Duplex/Quadruplex building had the highest average cost of residential constructions

• Residential building constructions in 2019 had an average cost of PhP 11,716 per square meter.
• Among the types of residential constructions, building of duplex/quadruplex type of houses in the region had an average cost of PhP 23,039 per square meter in 2019; while residential condominiums posted the lowest average cost of PhP 10,385 per square meter.
• Other types of residential houses, consisting of school or company staff houses, living quarters for drivers and maids, and guardhouses, ranked second in terms of the value of construction with an average cost of PhP 16,373 per square meter.

Figure 4. Average Cost of Residential Constructions by Type: CAR, 2019

• Across CAR provinces, the cost of constructing residential buildings was highest in Benguet with an average cost of PhP 12,208 per square meter. This was followed by Kalinga with an average cost of PhP 10,519 per square meter. Mountain Province recorded the lowest average cost of residential constructions with PhP 4,849 per square meter.

2 out 5 non-residential constructions are for commercial activities

• Among the non-residential constructions, construction of commercial buildings such as stores, office buildings, bank, hotels/motels made up the highest share with 47.8 percent. Institutional buildings came next with 45.4 percent share. Industrial buildings ranked third with 3.1 percent share, while other non-residential constructions shared 2.0 percent. Agricultural buildings had the least share with 1.7 percent.
• Non-residential buildings were mostly built in Kalinga and Benguet with 35.5 percent and 27.6 percent shares, respectively. Constructions in Mountain Province shared 15.0 percent, while Apayao shared 9.8 percent. Only 2.4 percent of the total number
  of non-residential constructions were built in Abra.

• More than half of commercial constructions in 2019 were for store buildings with a total of 77 building permits to construct stores. These had an average cost of PhP 9,314 per square meter. Majority of the stores were built in Apayao with 24 units, followed by Kalinga with 21. Ifugao ranked third with 18 stores, Benguet with 12 stores, and Abra with 2 stores.
• Constructions of hotel/motel came next with 32 construction activities, and with an average cost of PhP 10,300 per square meter. The least number of construction activities were for banks with only three constructions recorded in 2019. These had an average cost of PhP 13,384 per square meter.
• Most of the building permits for commercial building constructions in 2019 were in Benguet with 44 units, and with a total floor area of 119,938 square meters.