The Lunar New Year vacation is not a traditionally busy season for house hunting, so some real estate developers are giving out hongbao (red envelopes) and prizes to buyers who seal a deal.
"It's for bringing good luck to both buyer and developer, although not everyone can be guaranteed satisfaction with the giveaway," said Chung Yin-tang (鍾尹堂), chairman of the market information committee at the Taichung Real Estate Development Association.
Unlike most developers in northern Taiwan who are enjoying precious time off work, Far Glory Group (
"We are very optimistic about New Year sales this year, as house-hunting trips to our sites will be fun with all the food and prizes," said Tsai Chung-i (
Tsai said the company saw a 50 percent increase in daily sales during the New Year vacation last year, averaging a total of NT$150 million (US$4.7 million) a day.
Chung, who is also president of Taichung-based Hsin Yeh Development Co (
Pre-sale properties worth a total of NT$175.5 billion were made available last year in central Taichung, 45 percent up from the year before, Chung said.
However, the number of pre-sale units decreased by some 20 percent from 2006 to total 10,470 units last year because most developers were pursuing buyers of luxury homes, he said.
But Chung is maintaining a neutral outlook for the nation's property market because the recent global stock slump has cost potential homebuyers dearly, especially within the ranks of the wealthy.
He believes that the real estate market may see a rebound late next month following the presidential election.
"Promotional sales may be launched during the March 29 vacation to attract buyers," Chung said, adding that a further boost may follow the presidential inauguration on May 20.
But Chung believes that the market may only see a sustained boom later this year when political uncertainties and economic worries ease.
Even so, property developers in northern Taiwan are less optimistic about this year's prospects because there has been a limited amount of land available in Taipei for new housing projects.
Chen Chin-hui (
The company spent only two months to sell every unit of a NT$2.4 billion housing project in Taipei's Nangang District (
The recent credit crunch over mortgages spelled bad news for potential home buyers, Chen said, and he wasn't upbeat about the prospects of the property market in Taipei, which only high earners can afford to enter, although there was an upside for customers.
"There will be a 10 percent to 20 percent space for price negotiation," he said.
Chen was more pessimistic about the market in Kaohsiung, saying that the company's NT$400 million project there, which was launched five months ago, has only seen a 60 percent closing rate.
"The market there is at rock bottom," he added.
A salesperson at a Kaohsiung-based affiliate of Chinatrust Real Estate Co (中信房屋) agreed, adding the market there had stagnated since the middle of last year.
Traditionally, he said, most agents open all year round -- except for the Lunar New Year vacation, as government offices do not process documents relating to home purchases.
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