One of the benefits of working abroad is that you get to earn more money in currency that’s higher when you exchange it for Philippine peso. Currently, the dirham-peso exchange is 1 AED = Php 13. This is good news if you’re a hard worker because this will allow you to save up more and build a budget for whatever goals you may have, especially in the Philippines.
If one of your goals is to build a house, then here’s a simple reference guide to help. In this post, we will give you an overview on how much it costs to build a house in the Philippines based on a Pinoy Civil Engineer’s assessment.
Disclaimer: This post is for information-sharing only. The tips shared by the vlogger (Donald Doniego) featured in this guide is based on his long years of experience as a registered civil engineer based in Dubai. If you would like to receive notifications for similar content, feel free to subscribe to his channel INGENIERO TV.
OFW Engineer Shares Costs on Building a House
According to Donald, some people think that with just a picture they find online or in a magazine, they can ask or request a quote for the project they want. Realistically speaking, however, to get a sound and educated estimate on the cost of a building project, you need to show a professional a floor plan design at least.
Based on the floor plan, they can produce a list of all the materials you will need for the construction you are targeting. This includes metal, sand, gravel, wirings, and so on. Check out this video where Donald shared several tips and his estimation for the construction of a simple 2-bedroom house he saw online. Moreover, this will help them determine how long it will take to finish the house, and the overall cost you will have for the project, such as the labor and construction materials.
However, if a floor plan is not available, Donald shared that they use a method to estimate the cost of the project known as cost per square meter.
A square meter is a one-meter-wide by one-meter-long area. The cost per square meter is calculated by dividing a property’s or product’s total cost by the total number of square meters in the property or product.
Alternatively, they can also work an estimate just by getting the lot area of the property. Once this has been determined, next would be to identify the finish you want for the project. You can choose between rough or basic finish. This will give you the bare minimum of what your house will look like from the inside, thus informing you of the general cost by the end of the construction phase.
To simplify the process, with all things considered, Donald said that the cost of a project per square meter would be around Php 18,000 per square meter for the basic finish or roughly Php 1.8 million for a 100-sqm project.
Surprised at how this price easily popped up? Donald explains that this is based on trends and previous projects they’ve handled wherein they got the idea of the cost for the materials, labor, and finishing based on their records.
Next, for the standard finish cost of a project per square meter would be around Php 25,000 per square meter or roughly Php 2.5 million for a 100-sqm project. And finally, the high-end finish would cost you around Php 35,000 per square meter or roughly Php 3.5 million for a 100-sqm project.
Do take note, however, that the prices mentioned is mainly for the house construction itself. This means that any add-on you may have such as fence, landscaping, grotto, or swimming pool, furniture, and professional fees are not yet included.
Catch the full video here:
Of course, there are many other technical aspects to a construction project, and that’s where a professional comes in. You may ask them about these things, but just to give you a general idea of how much it costs to build a house in the Philippines, this will be a handy guide.
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