A plot of land on which a two-story building sits in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area was sold for a record-high price of NT$26.08 million (US$801,845) per ping (3.305m2), a property broker said yesterday.
This shows that the commercial real-estate market remains hot, despite reports that the nation could see a downturn in Chinese tourist numbers due to new quotas imposed by Beijing authorities, which could hurt the industry, said Lee Yuan-hao (李源豪), a Taiwan Realty Enterprise (台灣房屋) agent who helped handle the transaction.
The land occupies an area of 11.5 ping on which the two-story building with a total floor area of 41.33 ping sits. The building in the bustling area has been rented out for about NT$500,000 per month, which represents a rate of return of 2 percent, Lee said.
The transaction price for the land set a national record of NT$300 million, or NT$26.08 million per ping, Lee added.
According to Taiwan Realty Enterprise statistics, transactions of single-unit houses in Ximending priced at more than NT$200 million were largely made in 2013 and 2014, with a plot of land on which a three-story house sits in the area’s Emei Street fetching the highest price at NT$248 million.
Charlene Chang (張旭嵐), a spokesperson for Taiwan Realty Enterprise, attributed the high land prices in Ximending to the scarcity of commercial properties in the area and a more than 2 percent return rate.
Chang said that the influence of tourism from China is a factor.
China reportedly is to impose quotas on the number of Chinese tourists allowed visas to visit Taiwan following Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) win in the presidential election on Jan. 16, Chang said.
This has sparked concern that a reduction in the number of Chinese tourists could affect Taiwan’s tourism and hotel industries and its commercial property market, she said.
However, the high-priced transactions of commercial properties in Ximending in the first quarter of this year show that there is still a bright outlook for the shopping areas around Taipei Railway Station and Ximending, Chang said.
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