The housing market continues to improve, with the composite index for the sector reaching a new seven- quarter high, the Architecture and Building Research Institute said in a report yesterday.
The institute said the composite index was 13 points last quarter, up from 12 points for the first quarter, the highest since the fourth quarter of 2004.
"The index marked a third consecutive green light, showing the market is stable and safe as a whole," institute director-general Ho Ming-jing (
Property transactions and investment in the second quarter increased 1.66 percent and 0.93 percent, respectively, from the first quarter, but the number of applications for construction licenses fell 3.77 percent after dropping 8.09 percent in the first quarter, the report said. The leading index also rose 0.8 percent to 104.63 points in last quarter after sliding for two quarters, it said.
The institute conducted a survey on construction companies, real-estate brokers, financial institutions and industry-related companies, with 12 percent of the polled saying they were positive about their market outlook for the next quarter, while 33.14 percent said they believed the market would go down.
By region, property developers in the north of Taiwan are more optimistic than those in the center and south, showing stronger demand and more stable prices in the region, according to the report.
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