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Housing market reflects changing lifestyles

Drastic changes in Taiwan's family structure have resulted in housing projects priced below NT$3 million (US$91,550) gaining in popularity in recent years, according to a survey released yesterday by Sinyi Real Estate Inc (信義房屋), the nation's largest housing agent.

The transaction ratio for such smaller deals has reached 86.7 percent as of June, compared with 44.6 percent recorded in 2000, the report said.

The ratio is derived from the number of deals closed divided by the number of projects commissioned for sale.

Sinyi Real Estate said the transaction ratio is inversely proportionate to the housing prices. The ratio for deals between NT$3 million and NT$5 million was 53.7 percent, that for those between NT$5 million and NT$7 million stood at 40.4 percent, and the ratio for projects between NT$7 million and NT$10 million was 32.7 percent during the same period.

The ratio for houses valued over NT$25 million only reached 12.2 percent, according to the survey.

Victor Chang (張欣民), director of the research and development division at Sinyi Real Estate, said the transaction ratio for housing projects under NT$3 million has jumped to more than 80 percent since 2004, which could be attributed to population changes.

The growing trend for people to stay single or marry later and the increasing number of couples choosing to have smaller families or to become DINK (double income no kids) couples, has resulted in housing agents reporting a strong demand for small-sized suites, in both pre-sale and second-hand property markets, Chang said.

On the other hand, the transaction ratio for luxurious houses priced in tens of millions of NT dollars has been low and unstable.

This could be because trading parties for sumptuous projects usually value their privacy and tend to conduct the transactions via private channels, instead of through housing agents, said Calvin Wu (吳銘鴻), another Sinyi Real Estate director.
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