Approved constructing permits inched up by 0.5% yr on yr in January, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.
Preliminary data showed the variety of constructing projects covered by the permits rose to 13,577 in January from 13,504 a yr earlier.
This was a turnaround from the 11.5% drop in January 2025 and the revised 2.6% contraction in December.
Construction projects covered 2.80 million square meters (sq.m.) of floor area, down 29.4% yr on yr from 3.96 million sq.m.
Approved constructing projects were valued at P37.05 billion in January, lower than the P51.63 billion in the identical month in 2025.
“The uptick in January construction permits could also be attributed to smaller construction projects being done early within the yr,” Marco Antonio C. Agonia, an economist on the University of Asia and the Pacific, said in an email.
“While the headline permit reading looks encouraging, the actual increases were for improvements to existing structures and smaller projects equivalent to streets and billboards,” he added.
Mr. Agonia noted that this contrasts with the year-on-year decline in the overall floor area of approved permits for residential and nonresidential projects.
“The pickup in permits reflects deferred projects moving forward as confidence improves, particularly in industrial and infrastructure-related construct,” Jonathan L. Ravelas, a senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said in a Viber message.
Residential buildings, which made up 60.1% of the overall variety of constructions, inched down by 0.6% in January to eight,156 from 8,204 a yr ago.
This kind of construction amounted to P16.97 billion, down from P21.83 billion in the identical month in 2025.
In accordance with Mr. Agonia, the annual decline in residential constructions may be attributed to developers being “reluctant to commit to large construction projects early on, as a substitute selecting to defer them.”
For Mr. Ravelas, “residential construction stays cautious as affordability and financing costs still weigh on households.”
Single-type houses, which accounted for 82.5% of the residential constructions, fell 8.7% yr on yr to six,727 in January from 7,367.
Meanwhile, nonresidential constructions also dropped 3.8% annually to three,292 from 3,423. This made up 24.2% of the overall variety of constructions in the course of the month.
Permits for nonresidential buildings were valued at P16.25 billion, lower than P25.94 billion registered in January 2025.
Industrial constructing permits contracted 7.2% yr on yr to 2,315 from 2,495. These made up 70.3% of all nonresidential constructions.
Approved constructing permits for addition, or any latest construction that increases the peak or area of an existing constructing, climbed 4.9% annually to 495 from 472 within the previous yr.
However, alteration and repair totaled 1,111, down 0.4% from 1,115, and were valued at P2.68 billion.
By region, Calabarzon had the best variety of approved constructing permits at 3,177, accounting for 23.4% of all permits.
This was followed by Central Luzon (11.7% share with 1,585 permits) and Ilocos Region (8.9% share with 1,204 permits).
Mr. Ravelas sees regular retail price growth looking ahead.
Mr. Agonia expects construction project approvals to stay “the identical” in the approaching months, citing pressure as a consequence of the Middle East war.
“While rate cuts will help, elevated rates of interest from the Middle East war, cost pass-throughs for construction materials, and consumer pessimism will likely hamper developer appetite,” he added. — Isa Jane D. Acabal