THE Philippine Statistics Authority said the Philippine housing stock was at 28.5 million units, citing the May 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH).
The inventory of registered housing units includes 25.19 million occupied units, against the 24.22 million housing units in 2015 and 21.29 million in 2010.
Between 2020 and 2015, the number of occupied housing units increased by 2.77 million, 12.4%, higher than the 2.70 million recorded between 2010 and 2015.
The occupancy rate in the 2020 CPH was 88.4%, down from 92.6% in 2015.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao recorded the highest occupancy rate of 98.8% in 2020, followed by the Zamboanga Peninsula (92.5%) and Bicol and Cagayan Valley (both at 90.8%). The lowest occupancy rate was recorded in the Cordillera Administrative Region at 81.6%.
Calabarzon had the most number of occupied housing units at 3.82 million, accounting for 15.2% of the national total. This was followed by National Capital Region (3.26 million or 12.9%) and Central Luzon (2.89 million or 11.5%).
In the 2020 housing census, 87.6% of registered housing units were single homes (22.06 million), while apartments/accessorias/row houses accounted for 6.5% (1.63 million) and duplexes 3.0% (746.77 thousand).
The census also found that 34.6% of occupied housing units were built 10 years prior to the 2020 CPH, while 20.6% were built between 2001 and 2010. The remaining 35.4% were built more than 20 years prior. Some 15.5% were built between 1991 and 2000, 9.1% between 1981 and 1990, and 10.8% built in 1980 or earlier. — Lourdes O. Pilar