Growth in the domestic housing market accelerated faster last month than in September as excess liquidity and low interest rates more than offset concerns over the central bank’s selective credit control, a survey showed, citing transactions in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung.
Residential real estate transfers reached 4,864 units in Taipei City last month, an increase of 8.1 percent from 4,501 units a month earlier, although that marked a 12.3 percent drop from the same period last year, according to Sinyi Reality Co (信義房屋), the nation’s only listed real estate brokerage.
The housing turnover picked up 11.5 percent to 3,255 units in Taichung, advancing 9.7 percent from a year earlier, the report said. The number of units transferred in Kaoshiung totaled 2,308 last month, increasing 1.7 percent from September and 2.5 percent from the level a year earlier, the agency said.
“The housing market is regaining heat this quarter as evidenced by the statistics,” Sinyi senior researcher Stanley Su (蘇啟榮) said. “Ample funds and low capital costs weigh more on the market than concerns over selective credit tightening.”
Su expects the market’s momentum to last through the Lunar New Year, spurred by demand from young people who plan to tie the knot.
Cautious sentiment, however, has yet to fully dissipate as transactions in Taipei City lagged behind their level the previous year by 12.3 percent. Taipei accounts for more than 50 percent of housing transactions nationwide.
Su attributed the slowdown partly to the special municipality elections on Nov. 27, as some investors are opting to stay on the sidelines until after the polls before naking their next moves. Su said the elections would have a limited impact on housing prices in the municipalities in the near term.
Housing transactions surged 59 percent last month from a month earlier in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) attributable to the recent openings of Taipei City Hall Bus Station and the adjacent Uni-President Hankyu Department Store (統一阪急百貨), Sinyi said. Zhongzhen District saw the next-highest transactions figure, with a 37.7 percent increase thanks to good transport links and leading schools.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI