Buying a house on a shoestring budget could be a dream come true for aspiring homeowners this year, as only limited growth in housing prices and an expanding bargain range are expected this year, analysts said.
"It is a buyer's market now," Chang Chin-oh (張金鶚), professor of land economics at National Chengchi University, said on the sidelines of a press conference on Wednesday last week.
Abundant supply last quarter kept prices from rising too much while creating more bargaining power for home buyers, Chang said.
Developers introduced 27,422 housing units valued at a total of NT$249.6 billion (US$7.8 billion) nationwide in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a survey released by Cathay Real Estate Development Co Ltd (
The number of housing units was up 7.9 percent from the previous quarter, while the total value showed a 24.48 percent increase.
For the whole of last year, the total housing supply was valued at NT$837.1 billion, a rise of 22.8 percent from the previous year.
Deal prices edged up by 1.25 percent to about NT$162,300 per ping (3.3m2) on average, while the negotiation range widened substantially by 15.68 percent to an average discount of 8.66 percent last year, the survey also showed.
People who bought houses in the greater Taichung area were the nation's luckiest buyers last year, enjoying a nearly double bargaining range, the largest growth nationwide, while a housing glut has slightly reduced prices in the interim, according to the poll.
Cathay Real Estate started the poll in 1992 to track the nation's real estate market.
Looking ahead, supply volume still poses the biggest risk to housing prices for this year, Chang said.
He predicted minor growth below 5 percent in housing supply value this year as developers may grow cautious because of oversupply concerns.
Another developer's association painted a promising outlook for the property market this year, on the back of low interest rates, a strengthening New Taiwan dollar, rising commodities prices and robust stock market performance.
Since larger land lots in good areas are becoming increasingly scarce, which boosts development costs, homebuyers may see house prices rise to as much as NT$1.1 million per ping in Taipei City's upscale housing market, said Lai Cheng-i (
Areas with superior infrastructure and convenient transportation will remain popular among home buyers, including Taipei City's Xinyi District, Dazhi and the redesigned area around Taipei County Government buildings in Banciao, Lai said.
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