Philippines building permits for homes fall 40.7% in August 2026

Approved residential constructions in the Philippines dropped to 6,355 in August, while the average build cost per square metre rose by 21.9%.

The facts

Approved residential constructions fell to 6,355 in August 2026 from 10,712 a year earlier, a drop of -40.7%, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on 20 October.
Approved constructions of all types fell 31.0% to 10,968, and their combined value fell 38.9% to PhP 39.22 billion.
Residential floor area approved came to 1,211,377 square metres, down 32.1%, worth PhP 16.86 billion, down 23.7%.
The average cost of construction across all types rose 21.9% to PhP 14,357.01 per square metre, from PhP 11,778.22 in August 2025. For residential work it stood at PhP 13,920.54 per square metre.
The August 2026 figures are flagged preliminary; July 2026 and August 2025 are marked revised.

A 40.7% drop in approvals thins the 2028 pipeline. Build costs up 21.9% make anything new more expensive to deliver.
Glopra data put the Philippine average at $3,104 per square metre with a bubble-risk score of 42 out of 100, in the moderate band. That is the valuation starting point this supply drop lands on.
An owner already holding Philippine stock faces less new competition two years out: approved residential floor area fell 32.1% to 1,211,377 square metres.
Value fell less than volume on the residential side, 23.7% against 40.7%, which says the projects still being approved are larger or dearer per unit than those that were dropped.

These are monthly permit counts published with a two-month lag, so a single month does not establish a trend.
The 31.0% headline refers to the number of approved constructions, not their value, which fell 38.9%.
The preliminary flag matters here: last year's August figure has already been revised once.

Sources: Philippine Statistics Authority https://psa.gov.ph/content/construction-statistics-approved-building-permits-august-2026