Soaring housing prices in the greater Taipei area are driving home buyers to take up residency in neighboring Taoyuan County, where people who relocated have accounted for nearly 40 percent of housing transactions in the past two years, a survey released yesterday showed.
A southward migration has become more evident over this period as owning a home in Taipei City and New Taipei City (新北市) has grown increasingly untenable, said Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋), the nation’s only listed company.
Those who relocated made up 39.5 percent of housing sales in Taoyuan County, which was followed by Greater Taichung at 37.8 percent and Hsinchu at 37.2 percent, the broker said.
UNAFFECTED
Taoyuan County, which takes about an additional 10 minutes to commute to Taipei City compared with parts of the greater Taipei area, remains unaffected by the recently implemented luxury tax, Stanley Su (蘇啟榮), head Sinyi researcher, said, adding that housing sales in the greater Taipei area dropped by 30 percent for two consecutive quarters.
According to Sinyi statistics, studio units in Taipei City sold for an average of NT$8.42 million (US$278,000). With the same money, a client could buy a three-bedroom apartment with a parking space in Taoyuan, Sinyi said.
This disparity in prices explains why many would move to Taoyuan, as three-bedroom apartments with parking spaces are the most sought-after properties among prospective buyers in Taipei City, Su said.
PRACTICAL MOVE
Public infrastructure projects, mainly the planned extension of Taipei’s mass rapid transit system to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, makes the move away from the capital both practical and desirable, Sinyi said.
Hsinchu, where major technology firms are headquartered, is also gaining popularity, Sinyi said, adding that job opportunities are playing a key role in facilitating migration to Hsinchu.
Jobs have also compelled people to move to Greater Taichung, the site of the Central Taiwan Science Park, Sinyi said.
An increasing number of people from Changhua and Nantou counties are relocating to Greater Taichung, pushing up housing prices there, the firm said.
By comparison, locals have underpinned housing transactions in Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung, where out-of-town newcomers accounted for less than 30 percent of transactions, Sinyi said.
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