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Property market shows signs of cooling

The nation's property market is likely to slide as the economy shows signs of slowing down, along with legislative elections at the end of this year, said a report released on Wednesday.

The report, released jointly by Cathay Real Estate Development Co Ltd (國泰建設) and National Chengchi University's Taiwan Real Estate Research Center, indicated that in the fourth quarter last year, 23,000 houses and apartments were put up for sale, an 800 unit increase from the previous quarter.

Taipei County accounted for 28 percent of overall sales in the period, followed by Taipei City with 25 percent. The Taoyuan and Hsinchu regions accounted for a combined total of 24 percent of all sales.

In Taipei City, sales and turnover contracted as prices have jumped significantly over the past few quarters, which is a sign of an overheated market, said Chang Chin-oh (張金鶚), professor of land economics at the university.

Although sales in Taipei County, Taoyuan and Hsinchu have increased, the price per unit stayed comparatively low, Chang said.

One challenge for the housing market this year is digesting houses and apartments that remain unsold from last year, the report said. The oversupply has resulted from mass construction over the last three years. The value of houses and apartments on the market was about NT$30 billion (US$1 billion) last year, compared with only NT$10 billion in the past, it said.
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