HOUSING prices continued to rise in the second quarter of 2022, according to the least report by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).The Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) rose by 2.6 percent and 1.6 percent compared with year-ago and quarter-ago levels, respectively. Housing prices recovered from the quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) contraction in the first quarter of the year.Residential property prices in the National Capital Region (NCR) grew by 6.3 percent year-on-year, primarily driven by the increase in the prices of townhouses and condominium units, which outweighed the decrease in the prices of single-detached/attached houses.Similarly, property prices in the areas outside NCR (AONCR) rose by 2.2 percent year-on-year as all types of housing units registered an upturn, except for townhouses, which declined marginally.On a quarter-on-quarter basis, residential property prices rose by 0.2 percent and 2.2 percent in the NCR and areas outside NCR, respectively.During the quarter, all types of housing units contributed to the year-on-year growth in the nationwide RREPI as the prices of duplex housing units, condominium units, townhouses, and single-detached/attached houses increased by 11.3 percent, 8.6 percent, 4.1 percent, and 0.8 percent, respectively.Housing loansLoan availments for new housing units also increased year-on-year.During the quarter, the number of residential real estate loans (RRELs) granted for all types of new housing units in the Philippines increased by 6.5 percent year-on-year due largely to the 17 percent growth in the AONCR, outweighing the 7.7 percent contraction in the NCR.The average appraised value of new housing units in the country stood at P73,751 per square meter (sq.m) in the second quarter of this year.The average appraised value per sq.m in the NCR was at P119,841, higher than the average appraised values of P73,751 and P47,094 in the nation and AONCR, respectively. (KOC WITH PR)