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Real-estate brokers expect housing boom to continue

According to Sinyi Real Estate Inc, the significant increase in the number of real-estate brokers in Taiwan in the past year signifies that the boom in Taiwan's housing market is likely to continue. PHOTO: LU CHING-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES

The significant increase in the number of real-estate brokers in Taiwan in the past years signifies that the boom in Taiwan's housing market is likely to continue, a major real-estate broker said yesterday.

In a research report, Sinyi Real Estate Inc (信義房屋) quoted statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior as showing that the number of real-estate brokers in Taiwan increased 40 percent last year, and is expected to rise another 30 percent this year.

Increase

The number of real-estate brokers registered with the Ministry of the Interior stood at 2,825 as of Oct. 5, with Taipei County ranking first with 492 brokers, followed by Taipei City with 489 and Taoyuan County, which has 307 brokers, surpassing Taichung City and Kaohsiung City for the first time.

A report released last month by the Ministry of the Interior, however, showed that the slower economy appears to have hit the outlook of the domestic housing market, because rising oil and consumer prices have added more cost pressure on construction firms and dampened buyer interest.

Steady growth

The ministry's Architecture and Building Research Institute said on Sept. 27 that the composite index for the nation's property market in the second quarter of the year slid 0.08 percent from the first quarter to 96.47 points, indicating there has been steady growth for eight consecutive quarters.

The institute said the figure is likely to further decline through the end of the year, as 37.27 percent of builders, real-estate agents and lenders polled said that the market will see a downturn in the fourth quarter of the year, while only 12.73 percent expressed optimism.

Still, researchers at Sinyi said they believe that the increase in the number of real-estate brokers is a clear indication of their confidence in the prospects of Taiwan's housing market.

Figures compiled by Sinyi show that housing transactions in Taiwan increased 19.6 percent last year, with continuous growth in each season.

The housing market recorded a 23.5 percent growth in 2002, its first positive growth in six years. The year 2003 saw a growth of only 9 percent, mainly because of the influence of SARS.
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