Transactions of residential and commercial property in the six largest cities in Taiwan rose more than 7 percent from a month earlier to hit a new six-year high in December, according to local government statistics.
The data showed that transactions of homes, shops, and offices in Taiwan’s six biggest cities — Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — totaled 27,802 units in December, up 7.1 percent from a month earlier and also up 6 percent from a year earlier.
Charlene Chang (張旭嵐), a section chief at Taiwan Realty Enterprise, said the local property market had been given a boost by ample liquidity, although she warned that the government had come up with measures to cap market speculation
In mid-December, the central bank imposed a fourth round of selective credit controls to rein in the market, with skyrocketing home prices sparking an outcry among the younger generation who say they cannot afford to buy.
Chang said the strong buying in December largely came from those who bought homes for self-dwelling purposes, which continued to push up housing transactions in the six cities.
In Taipei, the most closely watched property market in Taiwan, transactions of residential and commercial properties hit 2,869 units in December, up 5.8 percent from a month earlier but down 11.8 percent from a year earlier.
New Taipei, the most populous city in Taiwan, saw housing transactions total 6,934 units, down 2.5 percent from a month earlier but up 8.2 percent from a year earlier.
Sales in Taoyuan, meanwhile, reached 5,029 units, up 13.6 percent from a month earlier and up 6.1 percent from a year earlier.
In central Taiwan, Taichung saw transactions of homes, shops, and offices grow 15.9 percent from a month earlier to 5,521 units in December. The December figure was also up 4.3 percent from a year earlier.
In southern Taiwan, housing transactions in Tainan totaled 2,379 units, up 6.8 percent from a month earlier and up 5.6 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, sales in Kaohsiung hit 5,070 units, up 7.5 percent from a month earlier and up 18.5 percent from a year earlier.
In 2021, sales of homes, shops, and offices in the six cities totaled around 268,000 units, up 7 percent from a year earlier. Chang said that since the six cities accounted for 75-80 percent of Taiwan’s total real estate transactions, she estimated sales in the entire country had hit 360,000 units for the year.
Amid fears over inflationary pressure, Chang said she was upbeat about the local property market this year as potential home buyers were expected to jump into the market in a bid to maintain their asset value.
But Chen Chin-ping (陳金萍), the deputy head of Yung Ching Realty Group’s research division, urged investors to stay alert of economic uncertainty created by major central banks tightening their monetary policies and the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel