Philippine building construction rebounds in May

Building construction in the Philippines bounced back in May 2025, rising by 1.1 percent to 16,282 approved building permits, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This followed an 8.2 percent drop in April.

Residential buildings 
Residential projects made up the largest share, with 11,331 permits or 69.6 percent of the total. This was up 10.4 percent from 10,266 in May 2024. Most of these were single-type houses, which accounted for 9,664 or 85.3 percent.

Non-residential buildings 
Non-residential constructions came second with 2,930 permits or 18 percent of the total, but this was down 14.9 percent from a year ago. Commercial buildings were the most common type, with 1,994 permits or 68.1 percent of non-residential projects.

Other types of construction

• Additions to existing buildings: 3.4 percent of total, down 17.3%

• Alterations and repairs: 6.7 percent, down 17.6%

• Other constructions: 2.4 percent, down 6.9%

Construction value 
The total value of construction projects in May was %u20B142.09 billion ($716.27 million), a 22.7 percent drop from %u20B154.48 billion a year earlier.

• Residential buildings were worth %u20B121.25 billion (50.5% of total), down 17.2%

  • Single-type homes: %u20B113.81 billion (65.0% of residential value)

• Non-residential buildings totaled %u20B116.80 billion (39.9% of total), down 23.2%

  • Commercial buildings: %u20B16.39 billion (38.0% of non-residential value)

• Additions: %u20B10.54 billion (1.3%), down 1.5%

• Alterations and repairs: %u20B12.61 billion (6.2%), down 56.5%

• Other constructions: %u20B10.89 billion (2.1%), up 127.9%

Floor area and construction costs
Total construction floor area in May was 3.22 million square meters, down 17.8 percent from 3.92 million square meters in May 2024. This excludes works like repairs and other types without reported floor area.

• Residential floor area: 1.68 million sq.m. (52.1% of total), down 8.1%

• Non-residential: 1.49 million sq.m. (46.3%), down 26.6%

The average cost of construction was %u20B111,955.76 per square meter, down 2.3 percent from %u20B112,236.79 last year.