4 in 10 Pinoys shun socialized housing

MANILA, Philippines — About four in 10 Filipinos do not want to live in socialized housing units, finding these accommodations too small, poor in quality and unaffordable, a study conducted by the University of the Philippines (UP) in Mindanao showed.

In a statement, the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs said the study asked 401 respondents in Davao City if they were interested in moving into a socialized housing unit and whether they found these projects in the city satisfactory.

The study, authored by Micah Amor Yares of the UP Mindanao College of Humanities and Social Sciences Department of Architecture, found six of 10 respondents rating the housing product as satisfactory and were interested in moving in.

 However, the remaining respondents did not wish to avail themselves of socialized housing, saying the units are too small for an average Filipino family.

Among areas for improvement, the respondents highlighted the issues of substandard quality and expensive selling price.

According to UP, the study emphasizes the crucial need for the government to prioritize the voices of potential users to ensure that housing projects match the needs.

It also showed that compromises  were made in the design standards, especially in the economic and socialized housing categories.

The study noted that while socialized housing units are sold at relatively lower prices, these housing units have design specifications that are inferior to those prescribed under the National Building Code.

UP said the study aims to provide feedback to government housing agencies to help improve current housing standards.