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Shin Kong Tower crowned `King of the Land' yet again

The Shin Kong Tower (新光摩天大樓) in Taipei, valued at approximately NT$3.36 million per ping (US$31,200 per square meter), retained its "King of the Land" title yesterday.

It was the 10th consecutive time that the Taipei City Land Department has declared the tower the most expensive property in the city.

The world's tallest building, Taipei 101, came in second at NT$2.97 million per ping. The skyscraper showed the biggest increase in value, 8.4 percent on average, from NT$2.74 million per ping last year.

The KMall near the Taipei Railway Station, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store's (新光三越百貨) Xinyi branch and Pacific Sogo Department Store's (太平洋崇光百貨) Zhongxiao store rounded out the top five.

"[Improvements to the] public transportation system, urban planning and urban renewal had the greatest affect on land prices," department Commissioner Huang Rong-feng (黃榮峰) said.

Huang said the Taipei 101 property would continue to increase in value as a result of the rapid development of the Xinyi District and the completion of the Xinyi MRT line in 2012. However, the completion of the Taoyuan Airport MRT line the same year and various urban development projects would see to it that the Shin Kong Tower remained competitive, he said.

On average, land prices increased 6.69 percent this year, with the Neihu District (內湖) experiencing the highest price hike at 9.02 percent. Neihu was followed by the Nangang (南港) and Datong (大同) districts.

While Neihu and Nangang were boosted by the Neihu Technology Park (內湖科學園區) and Nangang Software Park (南港軟體園區), Huang said land values in Datong, which was once considered an elderly, poor community, increased sharply as a result of urban renewal projects.

Huang said his department collected information from real estate agencies and land acquisition companies to calculate average land prices, but did not attempt to influence the market.
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