House buyers still active amid COVID-19 pandemic, says DHSUD exec
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The housing sector has not totally slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, with several developers reporting a 25-percent increase in loan takeouts, Secretary Eduardo del Rosario of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said.
Westchester Realty, which has taken over the marketing and management of Xevera subdivisions in Bacolor and Mabalacat City in Pampanga, has reported selling 1,800 units in eight months.
“It’s really a basic need for every family to own a home,” Del Rosario said in a meeting with Central Country Estate Inc. chair Nestor Mangio here last Friday.
The more hard-up firms reported a 10-20 percent decline in sales of units, he said.
Del Rosario announced the one-year extension with zero-penalty in the delivery of units to help developers meet their commitments amid the health crisis.
He said the DHSUD is committed to addressing 1.4 million of the 6.5 million housing needs in the country. The majority is being met by local governments and private firms.
“With the right interventions, we can solve in 10 to 15 years, or break even, the 6.5 million housing needs,” he said in the press briefing.
DHSUD got a budget of P4 billion out of the P77-billion budget it requested this year.
