Residential and commercial property transactions trended lower last month in both Taipei and New Taipei City, amid concerns that the national government will take further measures to cap soaring home prices, city government statistics showed.
The transaction volume in the two cities serves as an indicator of the nation’s market as a whole.
In Taipei, transactions fell 23 percent from May to 2,482 units last month, while those in New Taipei dropped 11 percent to 5,336 units, according to data compiled by the two city governments.
Market analysts said that after the Legislative Yuan approved a bill in late May to raise the property tax on homes not occupied by their owners — to dissuade property speculators from hoarding properties — many potential buyers turned cautious.
Market sentiment was further hurt last week, when the central bank announced new measures to cap the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio — the percentage of a home’s value that a bank is allowed to lend a property buyer, they said.
There are also fears that the central government will come up with other measures to further curb home prices and rein in speculation.
Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) researcher Tseng Chin-der (曾敬德) said the recent government policies to cool down the property market have had an adverse impact on property investor sentiment.
For example, in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山), housing transactions fell to 353 units last month, only about 40 percent of the district’s monthly transactions seen in the past when the market was booming, Tseng said.
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