Housing, real estate sectors in good shape, says Noli By Jose Rodel Clapano Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Vice President Noli de Castro assured the public yesterday that the local housing sector is in good shape despite the global financial crisis that was triggered by the foreclosure of mortgaged houses in the United States. De Castro, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said the growth of the real property sector in the Philippines is fueled by the favorable policy in the housing sector and the desire of Filipinos to own a house. He said the housing sector would be able to weather the global financial storm arising from the US financial meltdown. "The problems in the United States came about because of excessive leveraging on primary mortgages, which worked as long as real estate prices were going up. We do not have that in the Philippines. Our housing financial sector is anchored on strong fundamentals. The upside potential of the real estate industry is still there, because this is a long-term trend that goes beyond the present crisis of confidence in the global financial markets," De Castro said. "Among the policy factors in favor of the real estate industry are the substantial allocation of P30 billion by the Pag-ibig Fund in addition to the funds that are available through private banks, the improvements in the regulatory environment as a result of the collaboration between the government and private developer groups, and the guarantee provided by the government to housing loans through the Home Guaranty Corporation," De Castro said. Courtesy from: Land Asia Institute Philippines