The land price index climbed 3.82 percent in the six months that ended on March 31 as strengthened infrastructure facilities boosted property values in emerging cities, Ministry of the Interior (MOI) data showed.
The semi-annual land price index stood at 123.32, growing at its fastest pace in five years on the back of strong demand for land in areas with major infrastructure projects, ministry officials said on Monday.
Taoyuan County led the advance as land prices rose 5.79 percent in the past six months, thanks to the recently completed Wugu-Yangmei Overpass (五楊高架) and the ongoing construction of the MRT project to link Taipei Railway Station and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, officials said.
The county is due to be upgraded into a special municipality later this year, allowing it a greater share of public funding for development. Taoyuan land prices may further benefit from the building of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis (桃園航空城), a multibillion-dollar project to develop unused land in the vicinity of the airport into commercial space, the ministry said.
Kinmen County came second with land price hikes of 5.31 percent as property funds poured into the outlying island to take advantage of flourishing cross-strait tourism, the ministry said, adding that the former military outpost has also seen an increasing number of tourists from Taiwan.
New Taipei City (新北市) ranked third, with land prices edging up 5.15 percent, buoyed by the completion of the Xinzhuang MRT Line and its extensions, the ministry said.
Land prices in Miaoli County rose 4.72 percent and slightly more than 2 percent in the mountainous Nantou County, the ministry said, attributing the uptrend to better tourism facilities.
Land prices in Hsinchu City reported a mild increase, but saw a modest decline in Hsinchu County, as the former benefited from the science park’s expansion and the latter took a break from a high base, the ministry said.
Land costs in almost all other administrative districts picked up mildly, while Lienchiang County bucked the trend with a modest decline, the ministry said.
The price index is derived from median values of commercial, industrial and residential land deals.
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