Sustainable Housing Affordability in the Philippines: Household Income, Housing Costs, and the Limits of Mortgage Subsidies

Philippine housing policy relies heavily on preferential mortgage financing to widen access to homeownership. Lower financing costs, however, do not establish that households have the resources to acquire and keep adequate housing. This study develops a two-sided affordability framework that links household income and nonhousing expenditure with housing acquisition and financing costs, and applies it to the 2023 and 2025 Family Income and Expenditure Survey Public Use Files.