Minimum Wage Earner’s Guide to Buying a House and Lot

11 May 2021

Inquire Now

Written by: Cielo Fernando

Every Filipino dream of owning a house and lot where we can start anew, raise our family, and build more dreams. However, with the current minimum wage salary range, most Filipinos are terrified of availing themselves of the house and lot they’ve been wanting for so long—or worse, they disregard even just the thought of it—because they are not being paid a livable wage, or just barely getting by.

Recently, a Twitter debate erupted about the compensation of Filipinos in the country after a user complained about a graduate from the Ateneo de Manila University refusing a job with a P37,000 starting salary.

“I just made a job offer to an Ateneo fresh grad, and I was shocked that she declined a 37k starting salary. The role is for an entry level Marketing Associate. I asked for her reason and she said that she expects at least 60k because of her educational background. I’M SPEECHLESS.”

— Kume (@DearKume) April 29, 2021.

The post has since gone viral and sparked different opinions on social media. Some say that P37,000 as starting salary is way higher compared to wages of most workers who have been in a company for many years already. While some noted that the offered amount was indeed too little, especially considering the cost of living in Metro Manila.

The shocking truth about the cost of living in Manila

According to a research done by iPrice, an e-commerce aggregator, Manila is Southeast Asia’s third most expensive city to live in, despite having the lowest average salary for the working class.

The study showed the average cost of living in Manila is 168% higher than the average salary of residents. To be detailed, the research explains that the average monthly cost of living for a single person in Manila is at P50,798, which is in contrast with (and far off) the average net salary of the only P18,900 per month, the lowest among the cities in Southeast Asia.

Can minimum wage earners afford a house and lot?

Given the high costs and low salaries, it leaves us wondering how on Earth can we, especially minimum wage earners, afford a brand new house and lot in the Philippines?

Understanding the cost of owning a house—the construction, taxes, and other fees you have to pay for a home purchase—halt many Filipinos from achieving their goals of buying even an affordable house and lot in the Philippines. We can’t blame them for thinking that way. Besides, a house is the biggest investment we’ll ever make, so the expenses we will sustain should be a major consideration in your home-buying decision.

Going back to our main question: Can minimum wage earners afford a house and lot? The short answer is yes.

While we are not discounting the thought of how expensive and how challenging it is to get that dream home, we will also not take the fact that it is possible, even for minimum wage earners, to buy a house and lot.

Sure, looking for the most affordable house and lot that fits your budget is really challenging but with the right developer like Lumina Homes, achieving your dream home is possible.

Find affordable house and lot in Lumina Homes

With Lumina Homes’ low cost housing, every Juan can have their dream home without breaking the bank.

Lumina Homes is the affordable housing arm of Vista Land, the Philippines’ largest homebuilder known for housing brands including Camella, Lessandra, and Vista Residences among others. One of the missions of Lumina Homes is to provide low cost housing that will make the dream of owning a house and lot possible and achievable. Believe it or not, you can get a Lumina Home with just a P500,000 budget!

It offers an affordable house & lot for sale yet exclusive subdivision lifestyle featuring 24/7 guarded entrance, roving security, and shuttle service. You can also enjoy cool amenities like a play area, gazebo, mini gardens, and more.

If you want to know the cheapest house and lot for sale in Philippines by Lumina Homes, read on for more details:

Affordable pre selling house and lot near Metro Manila

We also have houses and lots for sale in Rizal by Lumina Homes, such as:

You also have the option to have an affordable condominium in Cavite or an affordable house and lot in Tanza, Cavite through Lumina Tanza.

And if you are looking for the most affordable houses in the Philippines, we also have housing units in North Luzon, you may check the Lumina properties in Zambales, Lumina Subic; house and lot for sale in Tarlac, Lumina Tarlac; house and lot for sale in Pangasinan, Lumina Manaoag; house and lot for sale in Nueva Ecija, Lumina San Jose, and Lumina Cabanatuan; house and lot for sale in Isabela, Lumina Cauayan; house and lot for sale in Cagayan, Lumina Tuguegarao; house and lot for sale in La Union, Lumina San Juan; house and lot for sale in Bataan, Lumina Pilar, and The Balanga Residences.

Lumina Homes also has house & lot for sale in other parts of the Philippines available for PAG IBIG home loan. See below for the list:

With Lumina, you will never run out of choices whether you want to go north or south. We have house and lot for sale in Laguna, Lumina Calauan; house and lot for sale in Batangas, Lumina Rosario, Lumina Bauan , Lumina Tanauan, and Lumina Lipa; house and lot for sale in Quezon, Lumina Sariaya, and Lumina Quezon; house and lot for sale in Camarines Norte, Lumina Camarines Norte; house and lot for sale in Legazpi, Lumina Legazpi; house and lot for sale in Sorsogon, Lumina Sorsogon; house and lot for sale in Cebu, Lumina Carcar ; house and lot for sale in Bacolod, Lumina Bacolod East; house and lot for sale in Iloilo, Lumina Iloilo; house and lot for sale in Negros Occidental, Lumina Sagay, and Lumina Silay; house and lot for sale in Capiz, Lumina Capiz; house and lot for sale in Bukidnon, Lumina Valencia, and Lumina Malaybalay; house and lot for sale in Davao del Norte, Lumina Tagum; house and lot for sale in Agusan del Norte, Lumina Butuan; house and lot for sale in Misamis Occidental, Lumina Ozamiz; house and lot for sale in Zamboanga del Sur, Lumina Pagadian; house and lot in South Cotabato, Lumina Polomolok.

Home-buying made achievable for Every Juan

Home-buying can be easier through the large number of financial housing loan programs that Filipinos can consider. These loans can come from banks or the most common option, Pag-IBIG. They are currently implementing housing loan programs for several sectors of the labor force: the Affordable Housing Program (Subsidized Program), Employer Accreditation Program (EAP), and Home Matching Program. For minimum wage earners, the Subsidized Program, which was launched in 2012, would be the most feasible option.

Pag-IBIG members may borrow up to P750,000 with a maximum repayment period of 30 years, but the loan amount you will receive shall still depend on either the actual amount you need, your loan entitlement based on capacity to pay or loan-to-appraised value ratio–whichever is lowest. Eligible members shall be entitled to special, affordable interest rates. The 3% interest rate can be enjoyed for the first 5 years of the loan term while the 6.5% rate can be enjoyed during the first ten.

The Pag-IBIG housing loan program allows minimum and low-wage earners to buy their own dream homes as it carries the lowest interest rate in the market today: 3% annual interest for the first 5 years of the loan term. With this program, minimum and low-wage earners need to pay a monthly amortization of as low as P2,445.30* for a P580,000 housing loan!

Who is qualified for the Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Program?

The Pag-IBIG Fund Housing Loan Program is available to all active Pag-IBIG Fund members, who have satisfied the following requirements:

At least 24 monthly savings. Lump sum payment of the required 24 months savings is allowed;
Not more than 65 years old, and not more than 70 years old maturity of the date of loan application;
Has the legal capacity to acquired and encumber real property;
Passed satisfactory background/credit and employment/business checks of Pag-IBIG Fund;
Has no outstanding Pag-IBIG Fund Short-Term Loan (STL) in arrears at the time of loan application;
Has no Pag-IBIG Fund Housing Loan that was foreclosed, cancelled, bought back due to default, or subjected to dacion en pago. If with an existing Pag-IBIG Fund Housing Loan account, either as principal borrower or co-borrower, it must be updated.

Don’t stop chasing your dream of having your own house and lot. Make your dream possible with Lumina Homes.