Philippines' Residential Property Market Analysis 2025

The Philippines’ housing market continues to lag, burdened by subdued demand and an increasing supply of unsold units, particularly in Metro Manila’s central business districts (CBDs).

This extended overview from the Global Property Guide covers key aspects of the Philippines housing market and takes a closer look at its most recent developments and long-term trends.

Table of Contents

• Housing Market Snapshot
• House Price Variations
• Historic Perspective
• Demand Highlights
• Supply Highlights
• Rental Market
• Mortgage Market
• Socio-Economic Context

Housing Market Snapshot

In the first quarter of 2025, the average price of a luxury 3-bedroom condominium unit in Metro Manila's central business districts (CBDs) fell slightly by 0.7% to PHP203,360 (US$3,638) per square meter (sqm) as compared to the same period last year, based on figures from Colliers International. It was in contrast to the prior year's 3.22% growth and the first year-on-year decline since Q1 2022.

When adjusted for inflation, prices of luxury properties in the CBDs were down by 2.41% over the same period.

On a quarterly basis, house prices were down slightly by 0.21% in Q1 2025 (-0.29% inflation-adjusted).

The Philippines' house price annual change:

[hp_graph]

The Philippines experienced a house price boom from 2010 to 2018, with house prices in CBDs rising by 125% (77% inflation-adjusted). But with a slowing domestic economy, coupled with the US-China trade war, the housing market slowed sharply in 2019, with house prices rising by a meager 0.9% and falling by 1% when adjusted for inflation. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic aggravated the situation, sending the housing market to its knees. Philippine house prices fell by 14.55% (inflation-adjusted) in the third quarter of 2020, and by the end of the year was ranked among the worst-performing housing markets in our Global Residential Real Estate Market Report of 2020. Metro Manila CBD house prices plunged by 20.16% (inflation-adjusted).

The housing market started to recover in 2022, with prices increasing by 3.93%, but still declined by 3.82% in real terms due to high inflation. During 2023, prices in the CBDs were up by another 3.98% but remained more or less steady when adjusted for inflation.

However, Metro Manila CBD housing markets noticeably cooled again by the end of 2024, with prices edging up by a negligible 0.12% in nominal terms and falling by 2.7% in real terms.

The housing market is likely to remain weak throughout the rest of the year, with limited house price increases, as property demand continues to weaken.

"Colliers believes that the central bank's decision to reduce interest rates should help revive demand in the residential market. In 2025, the central bank cut basic interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.5%. Analysts are expecting the central bank to cut policy rates by at least 25 bps for the remainder of 2025," said the Colliers report.

"Lower interest rates should result in lower mortgage rates, and this should guide developers with their promos and payment schemes. Colliers recommends that developers continue offering more attractive and curated promos, particularly firms with a substantial number of yet to be sold ready-for-occupancy (RFO) units," added the same report.

Despite challenges in the housing market, the broader economy continues to demonstrate strong fundamentals. During 2024, the Philippine economy grew by 5.7% from the previous year, following annual expansions of 5.5% in 2023, 7.6% in 2022, and 5.7% in 2021 and a pandemic-induced contraction of 9.5% in 2020, buoyed by strong domestic demand, which was evident in higher household consumption and investments.

In the first quarter of 2025, the country posted an economic growth of 5.4% from a year earlier, at par with prior expansions of 5.3% in Q4 2024, 5.2% in Q3, 6.5% in Q2, and 5.9% in Q1, based on figures from the PSA. All key economic sectors registered gains in Q1 2025, indicating a broad-based expansion.

The Philippine government expects the economy to grow between 6% and 8% this year and in 2026. To achieve these targets, the government should continue accelerating infrastructure investments, enhancing the ease of doing business, and boosting national competitiveness.

House Price Variations:

Sharp variations in prices across property types

Nationwide, house prices continue to increase. During 2024, the nationwide residential real estate price index rose by 6.7% (3.7% in real terms) as compared to a year earlier, according to figures released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's central bank. This followed annual growth of 6.5% in 2023, 7.7% in 2022, 4.9% in 2021, and 0.8% in 2020.

Quarter-on-quarter, the index was up by 5.3% in Q4 2024 (4.2% inflation-adjusted), in contrast to the quarterly decline of 1.6% in the preceding quarter.

The residential real estate price index, published every quarter, is based on bank reports on residential real estate loans.

By property type:

• For single detached/attached houses, prices rose strongly by 12.8% y-o-y in 2024 (up by 9.6% when adjusted for inflation). Quarterly, prices were up by 6.1% in Q4 2024 (4.9% inflation-adjusted).
• Duplex house prices saw the biggest y-o-y growth of a whopping 85.9% (80.6% inflation-adjusted) in 2024. Quarter-on-quarter, prices skyrocketed by 108% (105.7% inflation-adjusted).
• For condominium units, prices rose by 5.1% (2.1% inflation-adjusted) during 2024. Quarter-on-quarter, condominium prices increased by 6% (4.8% inflation-adjusted) in Q4 2024.
• Townhouse prices, in contrast, fell by a modest 3.4% (-6.1% inflation-adjusted) in 2024 from a year earlier. Quarterly, nominal prices were up slightly by 0.3% in Q4 2024 but actually down by 0.8% when adjusted for inflation.

Historic Perspective:

Pandemic pushes real house prices further below pre-Asian Crisis levels

Surprisingly, despite so much price appreciation for a decade, the Philippine housing market has still not recovered from the crash after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Between 1997 and 2004, luxury condominium prices dropped 28% (52% inflation-adjusted), in the biggest property crash of all countries affected by the Asian Financial Crisis.

In current price terms, both rental rates and property values are already far above 1997 levels. Yet in 2019, before the new coronavirus outbreak, residential property prices were still about 10% below pre-Asian Financial Crisis levels in real, inflation-adjusted terms.

Worse, the pandemic quickly offset most of the gains in recent years, causing real prices in Q1 2025 to fall back to about 36% below pre-Asian Crisis values.

Demand Highlights:

OFWs buoy the low- to mid-range housing market

A visit to any 'Barrio Fiesta' in any city where Philippine OFWs work abroad is dominated by condominium offerings from developers like Megaworld, DMCI, Ayala Land, etc. The Philippines is one of the world's largest remittance recipients, with 10.8 million Philippine Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs) living and working in 210 countries and territories worldwide. About 47% of them are permanent migrants, 41% are temporary, and the rest are "irregular migrants".

The top destination countries of registered Filipino emigrants in the past decade included the United States, accounting for 46.78% of the total, followed by Canada (29.79%), Japan (5.45%), Australia (5.08%), Italy (3.05%), New Zealand (2.1%), the United Kingdom (1.34%), South Korea (1.14%), Spain (1.01%), and Germany (0.86%), according to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO).

In 2024, total cash remittances amounted to US$34.49 billion, up by 3% from a year earlier, based on figures released by the BSP. It was equivalent to about 7.5% of GDP last year. Remittances have been rising continuously since 2002, with the exception in 2020 when remittances declined slightly by 0.8% y-o-y, mainly due to the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the first quarter of 2025, cash remittances increased further by 2.7% to reach US$8.44 billion as compared to the same period last year.

Yet, the rate of growth has noticeably decelerated. From an average annual growth rate of more than 25% in 1990-98, remittance growth slowed to 9% annually in 1999-2008, and further to less than 5% in 2009-2024.

The World Bank believes the slowdown in remittances is due to:

• Stricter implementation of the migrant workers' bill of rights;
• Political uncertainties in host countries; and
• The slowdown in the advanced economies.

It is estimated that 60% of these remittances go directly or indirectly to the real estate sector, according to the World Bank. These OFW remittances power the low-end to mid-range residential property market, housing projects, and mid-scale subdivisions in regions near Metro Manila, such as Cavite, Batangas, and Laguna Provinces.

There are three identifiable segments in Manila's housing market:

• The high end: Local high-earners and expatriates occupy this segment.
• The middle tier: The mid-end condominium sector, with a monthly amortization of around PHP10,500 (US$188), currently requires a disposable income greater than PHP34,962 (US$626) to obtain a housing loan of PHP2 million (US$35,780). This segment has been targeted by many developers and is attractive to overseas foreign workers (OFWs).
• The low end: This is where the mass of the population lives.

We believe that the middle tier is over-supplied. Many of these lower-middle-class condominium developments have low take-up rates.

Supply Highlights:

Condominium supply continues to increase

The total condominium stock in Metro Manila's CBDs rose by 5% to reach 162,510 units in 2024 from a year earlier, following annual increases of 2.3% in 2023, 6.3% in 2022, 6.5% in 2021, and 2.6% in 2020, based on figures published by Colliers International.

During 2024, completions in the CBDs totaled 7,810 units, which is equivalent to a strong growth of 120.6% from 3,540 completed units in the prior year. Among the projects completed by end-2024 included Filinvest Land's Belize Oasis in Alabang, Megaworld's Gentry Manor (4 towers), Jinxi Group's Jinxi Seaview City in the Bay Area, and Robinsons Land's Sapphire Bloc East in Ortigas Center, according to Colliers.

In Q1 2025, no completion was recorded in any condominium project in Metro Manila. However, Colliers expects the delivery of over 8,600 units in the remaining months of this year, with the Bay Area likely accounting for around 60% of the new supply.

"No new condominium units were delivered in Metro Manila in Q1 2025. However, we anticipate the completion of 8,600 units for FY 2025, up 10% YOY. We expect the Bay Area to be the largest residential hub by end-2025, overtaking Fort Bonifacio with 45,800 units or 27% of total supply in Metro Manila," said the Colliers report.

Completions averaged around 8,000 units in the past 15 years.

New supply is expected to be tempered in the next three years. From 2025 to 2027, Colliers International projects an annual average completion of 5,800 units, down from the 13,000 units average from 2017 to 2019, which was the peak of POGO demand.

The Bay Area will account for about 34% of the expected completions in the next three years, followed by Ortigas Center (20.2%), Alabang (16.1%), Fort Bonifacio (15%), and Makati CBD (14.9%). Rockwell Center and Araneta will see no residential construction activity in the next three years.

Overall, Metro Manila's condominium stock is projected to reach around 179,820 units by end-2027, an increase of 10.7% from 2024.

Residential construction activity increasing

Residential construction activity is improving again, after slowing in 2023. During 2024, the total number of residential building permits issued increased slightly by 1.8% y-o-y to 103,552, following an annual decline of 8.7% in 2023, according to figures released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Similarly, the floor area of residential building permits was up by 4.3% y-o-y to 17.45 million square meters last year, in contrast to the annual contraction of 10.4% in 2023. Total value also rose strongly by 14% to PHP215.72 billion (US$3.86 billion) in 2024, following an annual fall of 4.7% in the preceding year.

The upward trend in the residential construction sector continues this year.

• The number of residential building permits rose by 4.8% to 26,441 in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the previous year.
• The floor area of residential building permits increased strongly by 13.2% y-o-y to 4.45 million sqm in Q1 2025.
• The total value of residential building permits was up by a huge 15.5% to PHP57.09 billion (US$1.02 billion) in Q1 2025 as compared to the same period last year.

In March 2025, about 87.8% of residential constructions in the country were single-type houses.

The average construction cost for a residential unit was PHP11,752 (US$210) per sqm in March 2025. Residential condominium units registered the highest average cost at PHP19,939 (US$357) per sqm. It was followed by single houses, with an average cost of PHP11,903 (US$213) per sqm; duplex/quadruplex with PHP10,853 (US$194) per sqm; and apartments with PHP9,692 (US$173) per sqm.

New 4PH housing program aims to ease the affordable housing shortage

Nevertheless, the Philippines has a huge housing need at the low end. Nationwide, the country has a housing shortage of about 4 million units, according to the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA). But other estimates put the housing backlog at a huge 6.5 million units.

Most of this would need to be socialized housing units with a selling price of under PHP450,000 (US$8,050). In Metro Manila, as many as 300,000 households reside in informal and semi-uninhabitable housing units, comprising 8.7% of Metro Manila's total population. These people live in appalling conditions. Many others live in very poor conditions.

To meet the needs of these families, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. launched in September 2022 the current administration's flagship housing program "Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program" or 4PH, which aims to build a total of 6 million housing units or about 1 million housing units every year until the end of his term in 2028.

Aside from its main goal of providing the Filipino people with decent and affordable housing, the project also aims to generate around 1.7 million jobs every year until 2028.

Construction is now ongoing for 4PH projects in San Fernando City, Pampanga, Davao City, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, Tondo, and San Miguel districts in Manila, and Puerto Princesa, Palawan, among others. Additionally, there are over 100 projects in the pipeline, which is projected to build around 415,000 units.

Despite this, the annual target was not met in the past two years of implementation due to several challenges, including typhoons, procedural delays, and other obstacles.

Recently, newly appointed DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling has pledged to enhance and expand the 4PH Program, shifting its focus toward horizontal housing developments such as townhouses and single-detached units. Aliling plans to prioritize the release of guidelines and implement rules for horizontal projects, aiming to boost the program's performance. This move signals a strategic shift from the vertical, condominium-style housing favored by his predecessor, Jose Rizalino Acuzar.

Before the introduction of 4PH, the government embarked on the National Shelter Program to provide housing for informal settlers and other families who do not have enough income to rent or buy houses at the prevailing market rates.

Socialized housing units or those which cost less than PHP450,000 (US$8,050) can be purchased with a monthly amortization of PHP2,302 (US$41). The Pag-Ibig Fund (which is the Filipino word for love), the country's state-owned and subsidized housing loan provider, provides a fixed rate of 3% for 30 years for socialized housing units. The problem is that these low-end housing units are usually far from work.

Rental Market:

Falling rents, increasing vacancy rates

Residential rents across Metro Manila were down slightly by 0.4% in Q1 2025 from the previous period, according to Colliers International, following a decline of 0.3% in 2024, modest increases of 3.5% in 2023 and 3.9% in 2022, and a cumulative 12% decline in 2020-21.

The Philippines' rent price index:

[rp_graph]

Data Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

"We project rents to correct by 1.5% in 2025, given the elevated vacancy and substantial amount of RFO units in major business districts," said Colliers.

Though there are local variations and not all areas in Metro Manila are experiencing a decline in residential rents. A report released by JLL Philippines showed that the net effective rent for mid-high and luxury residential properties in Makati City and Taguig City increased by 1.9% y-o-y to PHP848 (US$15) per square meter per month in Q1 2025.

The downward trend in residential rents is not surprising given the elevated vacancy registered in Metro Manila CBDs. In Q1 2025, the overall vacancy rate in Metro Manila's secondary market increased by 0.4 percentage points to 24.3%. By end-2025, the vacancy rate is projected to increase further to an all-time high of 26%.

"By end-2025, we expect vacancy to reach 26%, an all-time high given the still-significant delivery of new projects and as the impact of the POGO ban lingers across Metro Manila," noted the Colliers report.

Gross rental yields remain moderately good, but beware of taxes

Rental yield returns in the Philippines are moderately good, at an average of 5.12% in Q1 2025, slightly down from 5.36% in Q3 2024 and 5.19% in the same period last year, according to a recent research conducted by the Global Property Guide. Usually, smaller properties tend to have higher rental yields, but this is not the case in Manila. Return rates are mostly similar for all apartment sizes.

These yields are before taxes and other expenses. They are for the high-end areas: Taguig City, Pasay City, Pasig City, Makati CBD, Ortigas CBD, Rockwell, The Fort, and Eastwood City.

This does not mean that foreign investors should necessarily rush to invest in Manila, because transaction taxes (known as 'capital gains taxes', but not actually such), and (if observed) official income tax rates applicable to non-resident investors are high.

Mortgage Market:

Key interest rates slashed further, as inflation remains manageable

In April 2025, the BSP Monetary Board decided to cut its policy rate - the Target Reverse Repurchase (RRP) Rate - by another 25 basis points to 5.50%. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also reduced to 5.0% and 6.0%, respectively.

The recent move marks the central bank's fourth consecutive rate cut since July 2024, in an effort to buoy economic activity. Prior to this, the policy rate was raised thirteen times from May 2022 to October 2023, amidst stubbornly high inflation.

"On balance, the more manageable inflation outlook and the risks to growth allow for a shift toward a more accommodative monetary policy stance," said the BSP. "Looking ahead, the BSP will continue to take a measured approach in deciding on further monetary easing. The BSP will remain data-dependent in its pursuit of price stability conducive to sustainable economic growth and employment."

Headline inflation eased to 1.3% in May 2025, slightly down from 1.4% in the previous month and far lower than the 3.9% seen in the same period last year. This is now lower than the central bank's target band of 2% to 4%.

Monthly inflation averaged just 2.8% from 2012 to 2021, before accelerating to 5.8% in 2022 and 6% in 2023. With the central bank's efforts, inflation moderated to 3.2% in 2024.

The mortgage market still underdeveloped

A few major banks in the Philippines offer housing loans. And although loan-to-value ratios of 90% are now in theory being offered and loan tenors can be as long as 30 years, in fact, most loans are short-term. Banks are wary because land titling and registration problems are prevalent, as are lengthy delays in the foreclosure process due to the country's very weak court system.

Therefore, approval of loan applications takes a long time. In addition, interbank collusion prevails: different banks' loans have strangely similar terms and conditions.

Property buyers also face high transaction costs, corruption and red tape, fake land titles, and substandard building practices. Plus, the large informal housing sector and its incentives make it less attractive for low to middle-income families to buy or rent properties.

Because of these factors, the ratio of residential mortgage loans to GDP remains small, at less than 5% of GDP in 2024, a slight increase from 2.4% of GDP in 2012. Most houses in the Philippines are sold for cash or pre-sold, with the developers offering financing.

By end-2024, the total outstanding residential real estate loans amounted to PHP1.1 trillion (US$19.77 billion), up by 9.6% from the prior year, according to figures from the BSP.

From an annual average growth of about 17% from 2010 to 2019, the growth in residential real estate loans decelerated sharply to less than 8% annually from 2020 to 2024.

Socio-Economic Context:

Philippine peso strengthens

After appreciating by 5.6% in 2020, the Philippine peso depreciated for the second straight year in 2022, reaching an all-time low of PHP58.681 = US$1 in October 2022, amidst aggressive rate hikes delivered by the U.S. Federal Reserve to rein in inflation during the said year.

After regaining some value in early 2023, the local currency depreciated again in the succeeding months. The peso lost about 6.8% of its value against the dollar from PHP54.717 = US$1 in March 2023 to PHP58.707 = US$1 in November 2024.

The peso has been strengthening since, amidst moderating inflation, a strong economy, and growing investor optimism. In the past six months, the peso appreciated by 5.6% to reach an average monthly exchange rate of PHP55.595 = US$1 in May 2025.

In May 2025, the headline inflation in the country eased to 1.3%, slightly down from 1.4% in the previous month and far lower than the 3.9% seen in the same period last year, according to the PSA. This is now lower than the central bank's target band of 2% to 4%.

In Metro Manila, the headline inflation was higher than the national average, at 1.7% in May 2025.

"The latest inflation forecasts have declined from the forecasts of the February policy meeting. The risk-adjusted inflation forecast for 2025 fell from 3.5 percent to 2.3 percent, while the forecast for 2026 declined from 3.7 percent to 3.3 percent," said the BSP in its April 2025 Monetary Policy Meeting.

"The risks to the inflation outlook have also eased and continue to be broadly balanced from 2025 to 2027. Upside pressures come from possible increases in transport charges, meat prices, and utility rates. Meanwhile, downside risks are linked to the continuing effects of lower tariffs on rice imports and the expected impact of weaker global demand," added the central bank.

Trade gap and BOP deficit persist

During 2024, the total value of exports fell slightly by 0.5% y-o-y to US$73.29 billion while imports increased by 1.1% to US$127.6 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of US$54.33 billion, according to PSA figures.

In April 2025, the country's trade deficit narrowed significantly, dropping by 26.1% y-o-y to US$3.5 billion. This improvement was driven by a 7.2% decline in imports to US$10.2 billion, alongside a 7% increase in exports to US$6.7 billion-marking the fourth consecutive month of export growth. A stronger peso likely contributed to the lower import bill, while global trade uncertainties, partly linked to U.S. tariff policies, helped boost export demand.

For the first four months of 2025, Philippine exports reached US$26.87 billion, marking a 9.5% growth from the previous year. Imports, on the other hand, increased by 5.6% y-o-y to US$42.78 billion over the same period. This resulted in a cumulative trade gap of US$15.91 billion in the first four months of the year.

China continued to be the leading source of imports for the Philippines in April 2025, accounting for US$3.31 billion (28.9% share of total imports). Other major suppliers included Japan with US$845.23 million (8.8% share), South Korea with US$719.9 million (7.5% share), Indonesia with US$664.57 million (7% share), and Thailand with US$660.86 million (6.9% share).

Hong Kong emerged as the country's top export destination, receiving US$1.03 billion worth of Filipino export products (16.5% share of total exports). The United States followed closely with US$948.43 million, equivalent to a 15.3% share. Other top export markets included Japan with US$823.27 million (13.2% share), China with US$702.02 million (11.3% share), and South Korea with US$314.59 million (5.1% share).

Electronic products remained the Philippines' leading export category, valued at US$3.57 billion, a 33.3% growth from the previous year. The country's other notable exports included coconut oil, mineral products, manufactured goods and machinery, and transport equipment.

The country's balance of payments (BOP) deficit widened to US$2.6 billion in April 2025, driven primarily by a larger trade in goods deficit and the government's withdrawal of US dollar stock to settle foreign debt payments. This is a huge increase from the US$639 million shortfall recorded in the same period last year.

"The BOP deficit reflected the national government's drawdowns on its foreign currency deposits with the BSP to meet its external debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures, and the BSP's net foreign exchange operations," said the BSP.

As such, the cumulative BOP deficit reached US$5.5 billion in the first four months of 2025, wider by a whopping 12.7 times compared to the US$401 million shortfall in the prior year.

Economic growth remains robust but labour market weakening

The Philippine economy grew by 5.7% during 2024, following annual expansions of 5.5% in 2023, 7.6% in 2022, and 5.7% in 2021 and a pandemic-induced contraction of 9.5% in 2020, buoyed by strong domestic demand, which was evident in higher household consumption and investments.

"While this is below our target, we continue to be one of the fastest-growing economies in both the region and the world. This is despite external and local challenges such as extreme weather events, geopolitical tensions, and subdued global demand," said Finance Secretary Ralph Recto.

In the first quarter of 2025, the country posted an economic growth of 5.4% from a year earlier, at par with prior expansions of 5.3% in Q4 2024, 5.2% in Q3, 6.5% in Q2, and 5.9% in Q1, based on figures from the PSA. All key economic sectors registered gains in Q1 2025, indicating a broad-based expansion.

The Philippine government expects the economy to grow between 6% and 8% this year and in 2026. To achieve these targets, according to the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), the government should continue accelerating infrastructure investments, enhancing the ease of doing business, and boosting national competitiveness.

"We remain optimistic about our outlook for 2025. A lower inflation rate gives us more room to ease interest rates, which will further boost consumption. With CREATE MORE taking full effect, we anticipate more investments materializing" added Recto.

Before the pandemic, the Philippine economy had been growing by an average of 6.4% annually from 2010 to 2019.

One of the drivers of the country's robust economic growth last year was recovering tourism. During 2024, the total number of international visitor arrivals reached 5.95 million, up by 9.15% from the prior year. Though it was far below the Department of Tourism's target of about 7.7 million tourist arrivals last year. Also, it remains far below the 8.26 million arrivals recorded in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.

South Korea retains its spot as the Philippines' main source of international visitors with 1.57 million tourists, equivalent to over 26% share of the total arrivals in 2024. It was followed by the United States with 947,891 arrivals, Japan with 388,316 arrivals, China with 313,222 arrivals, Australia with 272,215 arrivals, and Canada with 223,944 arrivals.

The country earned about PHP760.5 billion (US$13.61 billion) from inbound tourism expenditures last year, up by 9.04% from the preceding year and by a huge 26.75% compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

However, the tourism sector seems to be slowing this year. In the first four months of 2025, the number of visitors fell slightly by 0.82% y-o-y to 2.1 million, according to DOT figures. This is mainly attributed to a surge decline in South Korean tourist arrivals during the period, due to a surge in criminal incidents targeting Korean nationals. To address this, the DOT is pushing to intensify security measures and enforce stricter safeguards to ensure the protection of tourists during their stay.

In 2024, the country's budget deficit narrowed slightly by PHP5.7 billion (US$101.97 million) to PHP1.506 trillion (US$26.94 billion) as revenue growth outpaced spending. As a percent of GDP, the deficit fell to about 5.7% in 2024, down from 6.2% in 2023, 7.3% in 2022, and 8.6% in 2021. However, it remains far above the 3.4% shortfall recorded during the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

The country's national debt ballooned to PHP16.05 trillion (US$287.13 billion) last year, up by 9.8% from the preceding year, according to the Bureau of Treasury.

"The year-on-year (YoY) increase in the debt stock is primarily attributed to the P1.31 trillion net issuance of debt instruments in line with the government's deficit program, as well as the P208.73 billion valuation effect of US dollar strengthening, albeit advantageous third currency movements significantly trimmed the debt total by P80.74 billion," said the Treasury.

As a percentage of GDP, government debt was equivalent to 60.7% in 2024, from 60.1% in 2023, 60.9% in 2022, 60.4% in 2021, and 54.6% in 2020. It was far higher than the pre-pandemic debt levels of below 40% of GDP in 2018 and 2019.

The labor market seems to be weakening. In April 2025, the nationwide unemployment rate edged higher to 4.1%, from 3.9% in the previous month and 4% in the same period last year, based on figures from the PSA. The underemployment rate stood at 14.6% in April 2025, up from 13.4% in the previous month but at par with the previous year.

Overall unemployment averaged 6.3% from 2010 to 2019, before increasing to 10.4% in 2020 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The jobless rate fell to 7.8% in 2021, 5.4% in 2022, 4.4% in 2023, and finally to a record-low of 3.8% in 2024.

Sources:

• Q1 2025 Metro Manila Residential Report (Colliers International): https://www.colliers.com/
• Residential real estate prices rise in Q4 2024 (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas): https://www.bsp.gov.ph/
• Manila residential vacancy dips to 6.9% in Q1 (Real Estate Asia): https://realestateasia.com/
• Manila (JLL): https://research.jllapsites.com/
• Construction Statistics from Approved Building Permits March 2025 (Philippine Statistics Authority): https://psa.gov.ph/
• Gross rental yields in the Philippines: Manila and Cebu (Global Property Guide): https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/
• Monetary Board reduces target RRP Rate by 25 basis points (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas): https://www.bsp.gov.ph/
• Selected Domestic Interest Rates (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas): https://www.bsp.gov.ph/
• Statistics - Key Rates (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas): https://www.bsp.gov.ph/
• Real Estate Exposure (Bangko Sentral and Pilipinas): https://www.bsp.gov.ph/
• Remittances from overseas Filipinos hit an all-time high in 2024 (Philippine News Agency): https://www.pna.gov.ph/
• Table 11 Overseas Filipino Cash Remittances by country, by source (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas): https://www.bsp.gov.ph/
• Philippine Migration Data at a Glance (Commission on Filipinos Overseas): https://cfo.gov.ph/
• Compendium of CFO Statistics (Commission on Filipinos Overseas): https://cms-cdn.e.gov.ph/
• Aliling aims to deliver more houses for the poor under 4PH (Manila Standard): https://manilastandard.net/
• New DHSUD chief vows improved, expanded 4PH program (MSN): https://www.msn.com/
• Peso seen strengthening to 54.5:$1 (Philstar.com): https://www.philstar.com/
• Summary Inflation Report Consumer Price Index (2018=100): May 2025 (Philippine Statistics Authority): https://psa.gov.ph/
• GDP Expands by 5.2 Percent in the Fourth Quarter of 2024: Brings the Full-Year 2024 GDP Year-on-Year Growth Rate to 5.6 Percent (Philippine Statistics Authority): https://psa.gov.ph/
• GDP Expands by 5.4 Percent in the First Quarter of 2025 (Philippine Statistics Authority): https://psa.gov.ph/
• Trade gap widens to $54.2 billion in 2024 (Philstar.com): https://www.philstar.com/
• Import contraction cuts Philippine trade deficit in April (Inquirer): https://www.msn.com/
• Philippine exports grew 7 percent in April 2025 (Manila Standard): https://manilastandard.net/
• Philippines posts $2.6 billion BOP deficit in April on wider trade gap, dollar withdrawals (Manila Bulletin): https://mb.com.ph/
• Q4, full-year 2024 economic growth revised upward (Philippine News Agency): https://www.pna.gov.ph/
• PH economy maintained steady growth in 2024 despite challenges; outlook for 2025 remains bullish, driven by lower inflation, higher consumption, and investments (Department of Finance): https://www.dof.gov.ph/
• Recto: PH economy continues to grow among the fastest in ASEAN at 5.4% in Q1 2025 despite global uncertainties (Department of Finance): https://www.dof.gov.ph/
• Tourism arrivals increased in 2024 - DoT (Daily Tribune): https://tribune.net.ph/.
• Tourist arrivals still sluggish at 2.1M in January-April '25 (Business Mirror): https://businessmirror.com.ph/
• Unemployment Rate in April 2025 was Estimated at 4.1 Percent (Philippine Statistics Authority): https://psa.gov.ph/
• Government revenue hits 27-year high, budget deficit improves in 2024 (Manila Bulletin): https://mb.com.ph/
• Philippines ends 2024 with P16.05T sovereign debt (GMA News): https://www.gmanetwork.com/