Taipei: Transactions of residential and commercial property in Taiwan’s six largest cities experienced a significant decline of more than 36 percent in May compared to the previous year, as uncertainties surrounding the United States’ tariff policies have made potential home buyers cautious.

According to Focus Taiwan, local government data revealed that transactions involving homes, shops, and offices in Taipei, New Taipei, and Taoyuan in the north, Taichung in central Taiwan, and Tainan and Kaohsiung in the south fell by 36.1 percent year-over-year to 17,196 units in May. This decline follows a 45.4 percent drop in transactions across Taiwan in April, when stringent tariffs were initially announced.

For the first five months of the year, sales of residential and commercial property decreased by 27.1 percent from the previous year, amounting to 82,107 units, marking the lowest in eight years. Lai Yung-chang, an analyst with Great Home Realty, noted that the announcement of sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump caused the local stock market to plummet, prompting stock-price sensitive property investors in urban areas to become cautious.

Lai further reported that Taipei, which is Taiwan’s most significant property market with the highest home prices, saw transactions drop by 42.9 percent from a year earlier in May to 1,732 units, the lowest volume among the six major cities. This followed a 46 percent decline in April in Taipei.

In New Taipei and Taoyuan, sales of residential and commercial properties reached 4,816 units and 3,266 units in May, respectively, marking decreases of 27.4 percent and 23.6 percent from the previous year. Transactions in Taichung also fell by 31.1 percent to 3,390 units. Additionally, transactions in Tainan and Kaohsiung dropped 38.9 percent and 56.6 percent, respectively, from the previous month to 1,738 and 2,254 units.

Despite these declines, the data showed a 1.9 percent month-on-month increase in transactions of homes, shops, and offices from April, driven by a rise in sales in New Taipei and Taichung, while the other four cities continued to see lower sales.

Chen Chin-ping, a research manager with Yung Ching Realty Group, mentioned that with selective credit controls imposed by the central bank still in effect, property transaction volumes are likely to remain low. However, Taiwan Realty Enterprise section chief Charlene Chang suggested that an announcement by AI chip designer Nvidia Corp. to build its Taiwan headquarters in the Beitou and Shihlin area could potentially boost home prices in those regions and nearby areas.