Property stocks were the worst performers on the local bourse yesterday, falling 2.43 percent overall after a government report urged investors to be cautious over the market outlook.
As a result of concerns over interest rate hikes and oversupply next year, shares of Cathay Real Estate Development Co (國泰建設), the nation's biggest property developer by market value, dropped 2.5 percent to NT$23.15 (US$0.7089).
On Wednesday, the Architecture and Building Research Institute released a report saying that the real estate market faces a slight downturn in the short term.
According to the report, authorized by the Ministry of the Interior, most companies in the real estate industry worry about capital flows, the number of new housing projects launched, sales and the willingness of financial institutions to conduct mortgage business.
The report urged individuals to refrain from buying properties for investment purposes because supply and demand in the housing market might experience a slight imbalance as the economy expands at an expected slower rate next year.
The report also advised developers to be more conservative in planning projects in view of a short-term glut of supply which may depress housing prices to, at best, stay at the current level or adjust slightly downward.
Shares of Continental Engineering Corp (
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