Developers plan to launch NT$115.2 billion (US$3.53 billion) worth of presale home projects in northern Taiwan during the fall sales season, 4.3 percent less than they did a year ago, analysts said yesterday.
“The modest retreat reflects caution on the part of building companies, many of which have no choice but to introduce new projects to guarantee stable income under new accounting rules,” Ho Shih-chang (何世昌), research manager at Chinese-language magazine Housing Monthly (住展雜誌), said by telephone.
The fall sales season, which runs from the third week of September to the end of October, is traditionally the high season for putting new projects on the market after the spring campaign in April.
Building companies, especially listed ones, might not be able to book any income if they do not introduce new projects, Ho said.
Under the new rules, developers cannot record profits from home projects under construction. Previously, accounting rules allowed profit recognition in proportion with the progress of construction.
Two and three-bedroom apartments remain the mainstream products as builders seek to woo first-time buyers while investors flee the market, Ho said.
There are 14 projects in Taipei with an overall sales volume of NT$17.75 billion, according to a survey by Housing Monthly.
Developers plan to introduce 27 presale projects in New Taipei City’s Linkou (林口), Sanchong (三重), Xindian (新店) and Wugu (五股) districts, with a projected volume of NT$44 billion, the magazine survey found. There are 20 projects planned in Taoyuan, with a projected combined revenue of NT$28.78 billion, the survey found.
Apartments with price tags of about NT$20 million are considered most acceptable in Taipei, Ho said, but the acceptable price tag drops to NT$15 million for New Taipei City properties and NT$12 million in Taoyuan and elsewhere.
Ho said it is harder to find buyers for homes priced at NT$40 million or more, given mortgage restrictions and affordability concerns.
However, a few companies are pressing ahead with luxury projects in Taoyuan in the hope that the market may regain confidence after the presidential and legislative elections in January, he said.
Luxury projects appear the only choice for some builders because of the high land acquisition costs involved, Ho said.
More luxury projects could enter the market around the nation next year, property research company HouseFun (好房網) said.
The strategy, while reasonable in light of cost concerns, poses a great challenge to the market given the steep tax hikes for holding onto luxury homes, HouseFun boss Ni Tze-jen (倪子仁) said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
RSS