(Sept 25): Home prices in the Philippines increased at their slowest pace in seven years in the second quarter, as economic expansion decelerated and speculative buyer demand waned.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Friday said its home price index rose 0.4% year-on-year in the three months through June 30, down from 4.5% in the first quarter of 2026. That marked the slowest pace for overall home prices in the Southeast Asian nation since the first three months of 2019, before Covid, when the central bank introduced a new price methodology.

For residences in Metro Manila, prices rose 5.2%, while for homes outside the capital, prices slumped 2.7% from a year ago, their first ever year-on-year decline.

The softer prices reflect weaker demand as the economic fallout from the Iran war continues and a government corruption scandal curbs consumer spending. Real estate developers have also shifted their focus to buyers who actually want to purchase property to live in, rather than those who see it merely as an investment, Joey Roi Bondoc, a research director at Colliers International Philippines, said.

“It’s no longer speculative demand that’s driving prices,” Bondoc said.

Property developers also continue to grapple with large inventories. “It’s a buyer’s market now,” said Raffy Mendoza, an analyst at Maybank Securities, noting that developers are offering aggressive discounts to clear unsold units.

The central bank said residential real estate lending mirrored regional property price trends. 

While loan growth was more robust for condominium units, particularly in key urban centres, loans for houses declined, reflecting weaker lending activity outside the capital.

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