With releases posting record highs, home loans granted to Pag-IBIG Fund borrowers could hit P110 billion this year, officials said yesterday.
Pag-IBIG said in a statement its home releases in the last three quarters rose 27 percent to P83.31 billion, the highest ever amount released by the agency for any January to September period.
Same period home releases in 2021 amounted to P65.48 billion.
Pag-IBIG said the number of financed homes also grew 17 percent year-on-year to 74,708.
“Pag-IBIG Fund’s performance in the first nine months of 2022 now stands as the best in our history. Higher loan releases and an increasing number of borrowers mean that more and more Filipino workers are being helped by Pag-IBIG Fund to have their own homes,” said Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar of the Department of Human Settleents and Urban Development and chair of the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.
Acuzar said of the total amount of home loans, P5.72 billion were released as socialized home loans benefitting 13,131 Pag-IBIG Fund members belonging to the minimum-wage and low-income sectors.
Marilene Acosta, Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive officer, said in the third quarter alone, home release reached a record-high P31.35 billion.
Acosta said at this record-setting pace, the agency expects to again surpass P100 billion in home loans this year.
“With our home loan releases amounting to P83.31 billion in the last nine months, we have nearly surpassed the amount released for the entire year in 2018, which was one of our best performing years. By the end of 2022, home loan releases may reach P110 billion, surpassing yet again the P100 billion housing loan takeout level for a single year. …this figure will translate to over 100,000 Filipino workers who shall fulfill their dreams of homeownership,” said Acosta.
Acosta added the strong demand for the agency’s home loans can be attributed to its interest rates which remain low despite the current market trend, high loan-to-appraised value ratio, long repayment period and much-improved insurance terms.
