What 882 License to Sell Records Reveal About Where the Market Is Heading

Data source: Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) License to Sell Database Report date: February 2025

Executive Summary

In 2025, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) issued 882 new License to Sell (LTS) authorizations covering 619,937 total authorized units, including approximately 329,852 residential units, across the Philippines. This report analyzes the complete 2025 LTS dataset to surface the patterns shaping Philippine real estate.

Three structural shifts define the 2025 market:

The CALABARZON surge. Region IV-A received 40% of all new LTS issuances. Cavite alone accounted for 136, nearly double its 2024 figure of 78. Naic, Tanza, General Trias, and Imus are now the country's most active development corridor.

The vertical-to-horizontal pivot. Condominium unit authorizations dropped 56% in two years, from 175,590 units in 2023 to 77,357 in 2025. Meanwhile, house-and-lot units nearly doubled from 108,940 to 192,478. The market is building out, not up.

The affordable housing acceleration. Economic and socialized housing (BP 220) authorizations rose from 245 LTS in 2023 to 299 in 2025, now comprising 34% of all issuances. Mid-tier developers, not the largest national brands, are driving this segment.

Note on Q4 figures: November and December 2025 show 25 and 19 LTS issuances respectively, well below the January to October average of 84 per month. This likely reflects processing lag at DHSUD rather than a market slowdown. Year-end figures may be revised upward as pending applications are processed.

Methodology

This report is based on the complete License to Sell records from DHSUD's official database, structured and analyzed by Ren.ph. A License to Sell is a regulatory authorization issued by DHSUD that permits a developer to market and sell units in a housing or condominium project. LTS issuance does not equate to construction start. It indicates that a project has met regulatory requirements and is authorized for sale.

The dataset covers 8,554 total LTS records from 2016 to December 2025. For year-over-year comparisons, this report focuses on the 2023 to 2025 period, representing 2,656 records.

All figures represent LTS issuance counts and authorized unit volumes, not completed construction, actual sales, or occupied units.

Data was extracted from the DHSUD LTS portal on February 24, 2026, cleaned for duplicate entries, and normalized for province and city naming inconsistencies (e.g., "CEBU" and "Cebu" merged). Project types were categorized based on BP 220 and PD 957 classifications as assigned by DHSUD. Unit counts were parsed from DHSUD's composite unit description field. Some LTS records contain non-residential components (memorial parks, commercial lots, parking) which are included in total unit counts but excluded from residential unit breakdowns where noted.

Data Dictionary

Each LTS record in the DHSUD database contains the following fields:

Field	Description	Example
LTS Number	DHSUD-assigned license identifier	LS 0003311
Date Issued	Date the LTS was granted	23-Dec-2025
Project Name	Name of the housing project or development	Pasinaya Homes Timog Naic
Owner/Developer	Registered developer or owner entity	Raemulan Lands, Inc.
Region	DHSUD administrative region	Region 04A
Province	Province where the project is located	Cavite
Municipality/City	City or municipality	Naic
Street/Barangay	Street address or barangay	Brgy. Sabang
Date of Completion	Expected or actual completion date	15-Dec-2030
Project Type	DHSUD classification code	EH Subd - BP 220
Number of Units	Composite description of unit counts by type	688 - Residential Condo Unit, 41 - Commercial

Transformation Notes

Unit count parsing. DHSUD stores unit counts as a composite text field (e.g., "688 - Residential Condo Unit, 41 - Commercial Condominium Unit, 40 - Parking"). Numeric values were extracted using pattern matching on the "[count] - [type]" format. 37 records (4.2%) had empty unit fields and are excluded from unit-based analysis.

Location normalization. Province names are used as provided by DHSUD. City/municipality names contain known variants (e.g., "Calamba" vs. "City of Calamba" referring to the same location). Where noted, these have been merged for ranking purposes. Province-level aggregations are unaffected as all variants map to the correct province.

Project type classification. This report uses DHSUD's own project type labels without reclassification. The subdivision/condominium distinction is based on the presence of "Subd" or "Condo" in DHSUD's project type field. 151 records (17.1%) fall outside both categories, including memorial parks (MP), columbaria (COL/OS), and records with blank project types.

Duplicate records. The dataset as published by DHSUD contains 25 LTS numbers that appear more than once, producing approximately 26 duplicate records (3% of total). These include apparent data entry duplicates and cases of LTS number reuse across different projects. Figures in this report use the raw dataset without deduplication to maintain fidelity to the source. Readers should treat all counts as approximate within a +/- 3% margin.

Non-residential units. The total authorized units figure (619,937) includes non-residential projects such as memorial parks and columbaria, which represent individual plots or niches in DHSUD's system. Residential units (house-and-lot, condominium, and lot-only) total approximately 329,852.

Limitations

This analysis is based on a single snapshot of the DHSUD database taken on February 24, 2026. DHSUD's processing timelines mean that November and December 2025 issuances are likely underrepresented. Based on the January to October monthly average of 84 LTS, we estimate approximately 124 additional records may be added retroactively, bringing the probable full-year total closer to 1,006.

Data was extracted from DHSUD's public-facing verification portal. Transformation logic, parsing rules, and deduplication criteria are documented above but source code is not published. Researchers seeking to verify specific figures may cross-reference against DHSUD's portal directly or contact Ren.ph for data access.

The Big Picture: Three-Year Trends (2023-2025)

The Philippine real estate market is undergoing a structural transformation visible across three years of LTS data.

Metric	2023	2024	2025	Trend
Total LTS issued	923	851	882	Stable
Active developers	437	425	404	Consolidating
Total authorized units	877,143	567,225	619,937	Recovering
House-and-lot units	108,940	130,204	192,478	+77% (2yr)
Condo units	175,590	143,330	77,357	-56% (2yr)
Lot-only units	33,195	54,052	60,017	+81% (2yr)
Subdivisions (LTS count)	436 (47%)	499 (59%)	556 (63%)	Dominant format
Condominiums (LTS count)	70 (8%)	73 (9%)	175 (20%)	Rising count
Economic housing (BP 220)	245	277	299	Steady growth
Open market (PD 957)	446	401	370	Declining share

Total LTS volume remained relatively stable (882 vs. 923 in 2023), but the composition of what's being built has shifted dramatically. House-and-lot units now represent the dominant residential product, and subdivisions account for nearly two-thirds of all new authorizations.

The number of active developers declined from 437 to 404 over the period. That suggests market consolidation even as new entrants continue to appear.

Where the Growth Is: Geographic Analysis

CALABARZON Dominates

Region IV-A (CALABARZON) received 356 of 882 LTS issuances in 2025, more than triple the next-highest region. This concentration has intensified year over year.

Region	2025 LTS	Share
Region 04A (CALABARZON)	356	40.4%
Region 03 (Central Luzon)	123	13.9%
NCR (Metro Manila)	93	10.5%
Region 07 (Central Visayas)	68	7.7%
Region 11 (Davao)	39	4.4%
Region 06 (Western Visayas)	36	4.1%
Region 01 (Ilocos)	34	3.9%
Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN)	32	3.6%
All others	101	11.5%

Within CALABARZON, development is concentrated in three provinces:

Province	2024 LTS	2025 LTS	Change	Authorized Units (2025)
Cavite	78	136	+74%	67,650
Batangas	74	96	+30%	46,605
Laguna	45	61	+36%	58,510
Rizal	34	42	+24%	14,623
Quezon	9	21	+133%	8,190

Cavite's growth is concentrated in specific municipalities. Naic led the entire country with 29 LTS issuances, followed by Tanza (23), General Trias (22), and Imus (17). These four municipalities alone account for more LTS activity than the entire National Capital Region.

The NCR Pullback

Metro Manila issued 34 fewer LTS in 2025 compared to 2024: a 30% decline from 115 to 81.

NCR City	2024	2025	Change
Quezon City	26	12	-54%
City of Manila	17	9	-47%
City of Mandaluyong	8	3	-63%
City of Las Pinas	9	0	-100%
City of Caloocan	3	0	-100%
City of Pasig	13	12	-8%
City of Paranaque	8	12	+50%
City of Makati	11	11	Stable
City of Taguig	6	6	Stable

The project mix tells the story: 67 of 81 LTS (83%) in NCR are for open-market condominiums. The region has become almost exclusively a vertical market, while horizontal development has migrated to surrounding provinces.

Emerging Locations

Several cities recorded their first significant LTS activity in 2025, signaling new development frontiers:

City	2024 LTS	2025 LTS	Province
City of General Santos	2	17	South Cotabato
Naic	10	29	Cavite
Silang	2	11	Cavite
Calamba	4	22	Laguna
City of Binan	2	10	Laguna
Lucban	0	7	Quezon
Capas	0	7	Tarlac
Cainta	1	7	Rizal
San Vicente	2	8	Palawan
Kawit	0	5	Cavite
Mariveles	0	5	Bataan
Daet	0	5	Camarines Norte

General Santos stands out. Its jump from 2 to 17 LTS suggests a significant development push in Mindanao's southernmost metro. San Vicente, Palawan, home to Megaworld San Vicente Coast's resort developments, is establishing itself as a tourism-residential corridor.

Top 20 Cities by LTS Activity (2025)

Rank	City	Province	LTS Count
1	Naic	Cavite	29
2	Tanza	Cavite	23
3	City of Lipa	Batangas	22
4	City of General Trias	Cavite	22
5	Calamba	Laguna	22
6	City of Imus	Cavite	17
7	City of General Santos	South Cotabato	14
8	Santa Maria	Bulacan	14
9	City of Pasig	Metro Manila	12
10	Quezon City	Metro Manila	12
11	City of Parañaque	Metro Manila	12
12	City of Lapu-Lapu	Cebu	12
13	City of Makati	Metro Manila	11
14	Silang	Cavite	11
15	City of Cebu	Cebu	11
16	Sto. Tomas	Batangas	11
17	City of Tanauan	Batangas	10
18	City of Antipolo	Rizal	10
19	City of Biñan	Laguna	10
20	City of San Pablo	Laguna	10

Note on city names: DHSUD's dataset uses inconsistent naming conventions (e.g., "Calamba" and "City of Calamba" for the same municipality). This table merges known variants using the province field for disambiguation. See Methodology for details.

Six of the top 20 cities are in Cavite. Only four are in Metro Manila.

The Developer Landscape

Top Developers by LTS Issuance (2025)

Rank	Developer	2024 LTS	2025 LTS	Change	Provinces	Primary Segment
1	Raemulan Lands, Inc.	7	37	+429%	5	Economic Housing
2	Filinvest Land, Inc.	11	22	+100%	6	Open Market Condo
3	Phirst Park Homes, Inc.	15	18	+20%	6	Economic Housing
4	Axeia Development Corp.	9	13	+44%	2	Economic Housing
5	Megaworld Corporation	3	11	+267%	4	Open Market Condo
6	Ayala Land, Inc.	17	11	-35%	5	Open Market Subd
7	Robinsons Land Corp.	2	11	+450%	4	Open Market Condo
8	Forest Lake Development	5	10	+100%	6	Memorial Parks
9	DDC Land, Inc.	1	9	+800%	1	Economic Housing
10	Landco Pacific Corp.	0	9	New	2	Commercial Subd
11	Sta. Lucia Land, Inc.	12	9	-25%	3	Open Market Subd
12	Rockwell Land Corp.	8	8	Stable	4	Open Market Subd
13	Fiesta Communities, Inc.	7	8	+14%	2	Socialized Housing
14	Borland Development Corp.	16	8	-50%	4	Economic Housing
15	Avida Land Corp.	2	7	+250%	4	Open Market Subd

The Raemulan Surge

The most notable developer story of 2025 is Raemulan Lands, Inc. The company went from 7 LTS in 2024 to 37 in 2025, a fivefold increase that placed it ahead of every major national developer. Raemulan operates across 5 provinces, with 20 of its 37 LTS concentrated in Cavite. Its primary product is economic housing under BP 220. Those 37 LTS authorize an estimated 27,735 housing units, making Raemulan the single largest contributor to the affordable housing pipeline in 2025.

Year-Over-Year Developer Movement

The developer landscape showed significant shifts between 2024 and 2025:

Major gainers: Robinsons Land (2 to 11), Megaworld (3 to 11), DDC Land (1 to 9), and Avida Land (2 to 7) all expanded aggressively.

Major decliners: Amaia Land Corporation dropped from 15 to 4 LTS. Borland Development halved from 16 to 8. Performance Builders went from 14 to 0.

Developer churn: 302 developers active in 2025 had no LTS in 2024. Conversely, 323 developers active in 2024 had no LTS in 2025. Only 102 developers were active in both years. This high churn reflects a fragmented market where smaller developers enter and exit rapidly.

Geographic Strategies

Developer geographic strategies split into two camps:

Diversified national players. Phirst Park Homes (6 provinces), Filinvest Land (6 provinces), and Forest Lake Development (6 provinces) spread their activity across multiple regions.

Concentrated regional players. DDC Land operates exclusively in Cavite (9 LTS). Sun Valley Golf is concentrated entirely in Rizal (7 LTS). Megaworld San Vicente Coast is focused on Palawan (6 LTS). These developers are betting on deep local market knowledge rather than national coverage.

The Affordable Housing Picture

BP 220 vs. PD 957: A Shifting Balance

Philippine housing regulation classifies projects into two main categories: BP 220 covers economic and socialized housing, while PD 957 governs open-market developments. The balance between these two is shifting.

Year	BP 220 (Affordable) LTS	BP 220 Units	PD 957 (Open Market) LTS	PD 957 Units
2023	245	84,137	446	271,937
2024	277	110,683	401	231,848
2025	299	142,792	370	158,834

Affordable housing LTS grew 22% over two years while open market LTS declined 17%. In terms of authorized units, the gap narrowed significantly. Affordable housing units grew 70% while open market units dropped 42%.

Who's Building Affordable Housing?

The affordable housing segment is dominated by mid-tier developers rather than the largest national brands.

Rank	Developer	BP 220 LTS (2025)
1	Raemulan Lands, Inc.	24
2	Phirst Park Homes, Inc.	11
3	Axeia Development Corp.	8
4	Fiesta Communities, Inc.	8
5	Borland Development Corp.	6
6	Calmar Land Development Corp.	6
7	Bria Homes, Inc.	6
8	DDC Land, Inc.	5
9	Cumberland Development Corp.	5
10	Lynville Land Development Corp.	6

Where Affordable Housing Is Being Built

Economic housing construction in 2025 is concentrated almost entirely in CALABARZON and Central Luzon.

Province	BP 220 LTS (2025)
Cavite	58
Batangas	46
Laguna	24
Bulacan	24
Rizal	20
Quezon	17
Pampanga	16
Cebu	15
Bataan	12
Bohol	7

The top five provinces are all within the Greater Manila commuter belt. This pattern suggests that affordable housing development is closely tied to proximity to Metro Manila employment centers, consistent with the growing population of workers who commute from surrounding provinces.

Condo vs. Subdivision: The Format Shift

The most pronounced structural change in the market is the shift from vertical (condominium) to horizontal (subdivision) development.

Year	Subdivision LTS	Share	Condominium LTS	Share
2023	436	47%	70	8%
2024	499	59%	73	9%
2025	556	63%	175	20%

Condo LTS count increased in 2025 (from 73 to 175), but the authorized unit volume tells a different story. Condo units dropped from 175,590 in 2023 to 77,357 in 2025, a 56% decline. The increase in LTS count with a decrease in unit volume suggests smaller condo projects are being authorized.

In Metro Manila, the picture is distinct: 83% of NCR's 2025 LTS are for condominiums. The vertical market persists in NCR, but the rest of the country is building horizontally.

Project Scale Analysis

The 2025 LTS data reveals a wide range of project sizes.

Largest Authorized Projects (2025)

Project	Developer	Residential Units
Urban Deca Homes Manila	Euson Realty and Development Corp.	9,178
Deca Homes GenSan 2	8990 Housing Development Corp.	7,481
Grand Villas Place	Brilliant 5J Construction	4,108
Pasinaya Homes Timog Naic	Raemulan Lands, Inc.	3,840
Bayanihan Town Batangas (Phase 2)	Piccadilly Premier Land	3,186
Deca Homes Pampanga	8990 Housing Development Corp.	3,116
Pasinaya Heights Cabuyao	Raemulan Lands, Inc.	2,754
Quantum Residences	Horizon Land Property Development Corp.	2,653

Project Size Distribution

Size Bracket	Number of Projects
1-10 units	18
11-50 units	92
51-100 units	99
101-500 units	363
501-1,000 units	126
1,001-5,000 units	56
Over 5,000 units	4

The typical Philippine housing project authorized in 2025 falls in the 101 to 500 unit range (363 projects, or 48% of those with residential units). The market is predominantly mid-scale subdivision development, not mega-projects.

Monthly Issuance Pattern

LTS issuance follows a seasonal pattern with a mid-year peak.

Month	LTS Issued	Authorized Units
January	62	47,325
February	77	33,302
March	56	46,724
April	85	62,775
May	132	96,996
June	84	37,505
July	106	87,477
August	66	35,382
September	98	95,191
October	72	53,844
November*	25	8,419
December*	19	14,997

November and December figures are likely incomplete due to DHSUD processing timelines.

May 2025 was the peak month with 132 LTS authorizing nearly 97,000 units. The January to October average was 84 LTS per month. Q2 2025 (April to June) was the most active quarter with 301 LTS, roughly one authorization per calendar day.

Key Takeaways

For developers: The data points clearly toward horizontal, affordable housing in CALABARZON as the dominant growth play. Cavite's corridor, particularly Naic, Tanza, General Trias, and Imus, shows the strongest momentum. Developers entering or expanding in these areas should note the competitive density: Raemulan Lands alone holds 20 LTS in Cavite.

For homebuyers and investors: The geographic shift away from NCR continues to accelerate. Buyers looking for new developments will find the widest selection in CALABARZON, Central Luzon, and Central Visayas. The decline in NCR condo authorizations may signal a maturing market with limited new supply, which could affect prices for existing inventory.

For policymakers: Economic housing (BP 220) is growing but remains geographically concentrated in provinces surrounding Metro Manila. Regions outside Luzon, particularly Mindanao, account for a small fraction of affordable housing authorizations despite significant housing demand. The high developer churn rate (only 102 of 404 developers were active in both 2024 and 2025) may warrant examination of barriers to sustained market participation.

For the industry: The Raemulan Lands story, from 7 LTS to 37 in a single year, demonstrates that rapid scaling is possible in the affordable housing segment. The broader trend of mid-tier developers outpacing major brands in BP 220 activity suggests that the affordable housing market rewards operational focus and regional expertise over brand recognition.

About This Report

This report was produced by Ren.ph, the Real Estate Network of the Philippines. Ren.ph provides free verification tools, broker directories, and real estate data analysis for Filipino consumers and professionals.

The data analyzed in this report is sourced from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) License to Sell database. Ren.ph structures and analyzes this publicly available government data to make it accessible and actionable for the Philippine real estate industry.

Verify any project's LTS status at ren.ph.

For corrections, questions, or data inquiries, contact us at Ren.ph.

Changelog

Date	Version	Changes
March 1, 2026	1.1	Fixed city name deduplication (7 city pairs merged: Calamba, Sto. Tomas, Bacolod, San Fernando, San Pablo, Santa Rosa, Talisay). Corrected Top 20 Cities ranking. Clarified total units figure (619,937 total vs 329,852 residential). Added Methodology section with data dictionary, transformation notes, and limitations.
Feb 2026	1.0	Initial publication based on DHSUD LTS data extracted Feb 24, 2026.

State of Philippine Real Estate 2025: What 882 License to Sell Records Reveal